Flowering Tea (Rose)

Day 3 of the Inoki calendar! This was a more elaborate blooming tea than I expected. It gave me fond memories of the first time I visited my partner when he was living in Taiwan – I drank so much blooming jasmine tea when I was there. I was just starting to get into tea and I would drink the bloom grandpa-style, just topping it off periodically. This is obviously a different floral note, but it has that same balance of floral note to vegetal green. Three solid steeps from this. The rose is definitely present but it’s not overwhelming the base. This was such a nice stroll down memory lane!

Adventageddon Day 3

Flowering teas aren’t really my thing so this was another pull from the Inoki advent that I was feeling so-so about. Mainly, I just feel like the quality of the tea used to make them is usually not super great, and because they steep for so long while blooming they usually get pretty bitter and unpleasant.

I made a giant Western-style pot of this, though, in the one big glass teapot I own to give it a proper shot and it was another tea that did actually surprise me. I was nervous with my first sips because it took a LONG time for the bloom to fully open up, but the tea was actually pretty smooth and not as astringent/bitter as I’d been braced for. Plus, I have to admit that this particular bloom was really quite gorgeous. Very elaborate with multiple “tiers” of flowers culminating in a full rose bud. And the notes of rose were really fresh and authentic! Still nothing AMAZING tasting, but definitely one of the better blooming teas I’ve had in recent memory.

Today’s Advent Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DDIdoKPSOFh/?img_index=1

It took a while, but I actually got a really clear photo of the bloom!

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiYPodjvvNE&ab_channel=ChineseAmericanBear%E5%8D%8E%E8%A3%94%E7%BE%8E%E5%9B%BD%E7%86%8A