2 Tasting Notes
Anyone who is giving this tea a bad review is honestly just not familiar with chrysanthemum tea in general. It is incredibly popular in China and in any North American city with a large asian population. I grew up in a very multicultural city and was exposed to many cultures including Chinese culture from a young age. So i’ve been drinking chrysanthemum tea (often chilled in juice-box looking containers, and very slightly sweetened with honey), or hot either plain or with honey as a cold remedy. I find it to be extremely delicious, and my advice is, if you don’t like chrysanthemum tea, then don’t purchase or drink the object of your disapproval. However if you’re open to trying new things, or already have a penchant for chrysanthemum tea, you will absolutely love this tea, it is made of incredibly high quality pure chrysanthemum flowers and petals, and tastes explosively floral, slightly sweet, and has a flavour and aroma similar to the scent of freshly blooming spring chrysanthemums. (Side note… has anyone seen the movie Curse of the Golden Flower? – the Tang dynasty period-epic? – well, this is the golden flower.) All in all a wonderful tea, I just wish David’s would bring it back.
Flavors: Floral, Flowers, Fruit Tree Flowers, Lychee, Medicinal, Narcissus, Orchid, Perfume, Sake, Smooth, Sweet, Tropical, White Wine, Winter Honey
This is the only Jasmine that David’s tea makes that is sub-par. I find the flavour to be bitter, chemical and unpleasant (though I was careful to brew it correctly, in a number of varied ways). It has a smell that is mildly reminiscent of rubbing alcohol, and drinking it gives me an unpleasant, mild-headache-like sensation. (And yes i am fully aware of the possibility of placebo effect, but I have experienced this mild-headachey-ness on many occasions, in varied circumstances.) Perhaps there is a particular quirk to the processing of this tea as opposed to the others, or it is interacting with an allergy of mine, as I have not spoken to anyone else who has felt this effect. While I personally do not recommend this tea, and rather recommend the dragon pearls, or the butterfly jasmine from David’s instead (which are far more light, natural-smelling, and deliciously floral), there are a number of people I know who don’t mind this tea. However, none of them rave about it. In summary, while I would not recommend this tea, I highly recommend David’s tea, as this is only one of two two teas I have ever tried there and disliked (out of over 100).
Flavors: Alcohol, Bitter
