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Aroma Tea House’s Rose Petal Red Tea

Rose Petal Red Tea by Aroma Tea House
Black Tea / Flavoured
$10.00 for 100g

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First Impressions

First things first, “red tea” is what the Chinese call black tea, and “black tea” is what the rest of the world refers to as pu’erh (puerh/pu-erh) – just in case you though I lost my ever-tea-loving mind. That said, onto the review! I first tried Rose Petal Red Tea at Aroma Tea House’s 2017 Vancouver Tea Festival booth. It was one of the teas that they were sampling and I honestly just kept coming back around to their booth to taste this tea – it was that enticing and that good. I ended up buying it (obviously) and was happily given more samples of this tea.

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There’s no ingredients listing on either the packaging or the product page online, but from the appearance of the day I would say it’s pretty much Chinese black tea, red rosebuds and red rose petals. This tea is amazingly floral and sweet. I would describe this tea as smelling pretty, if pretty had a smell.

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Preparation

There was no recommended water temperature for this tea, so I opted to go with 100°C (212°F), but Aroma Tea House did suggest steeping it between 1½ to 3½ minutes. My initial steep of Rose Petal Red Tea was 2 minutes.

First Taste

Rose Petal Red Tea steeps to a beautiful golden orange, and has a very floral aroma that comes up from this tea. It smells mostly of roses and I can barely smell the black tea base. For the flavour of Rose Petal Red Petal – there’s the distinct sweet floral notes of roses, as well as a nice bold earthiness from the black tea base. Some of the sweetness tastes like roses, and part of it tastes like honey. The earthy notes from the black tea base help to accentuate the flavour of the roses and keeps it from being a very ‘one note’ tea.

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A Second Cup?

I resteeped Rose Petal Red Tea a total of four times, adding an extra 30 seconds for each subsequent steep. The flavour gets a bit stronger, and starts to wane by the third and fourth resteep – I found the flavours to still be pretty good and I would say it probably needs a bit of honey for maybe the third or fourth resteeps if you like it to be a bit sweeter (otherwise, it doesn’t really need sweetener because of the floral sweetness that naturally comes from the rose petals).

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My Overall Impression

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I loved Aroma Tea House’s Rose Petal Red Tea. It probably doesn’t surprise anyone that I love this tea, since I tried it so many times at the Vancouver Tea Festival. This black tea blend tastes delicious, I found it flavourful and resteeped well. I think it would be the perfect tea to partner with an afternoon tea – black teas tend to be the norm and this tea just feels pretty to me, and who doesn’t want to feel pretty when having afternoon tea?

Curious about the cup rating system? Click here to learn more.

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Tea Ave’s Tie Kwan Yin Oolong

Tie Kwan Yin Oolong by Tea Ave
Oolong Tea / Straight
$14.99 for 25g

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First Impressions

Tie Kwan Yin Oolong from Tea Ave came to me in a sealed (and resealable!) foil pouch. I must say that I really do like Tea Ave’s packaging – it’s minimalistic, has all the information you could want or need about the tea on the label, and it’s functional. Tie Kwan Yin Oolong is described by Tea Ave as being a “distinctive-tasting tea” and uses words like “subtle bitterness”, “mellow, fruity notes” and “sweetness” to describe it. Bitter? Fruity? Sweet? I do love a tea challenge.

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Tie Kwan Yin Oolong has a beautiful colour – all of the leaves are tightly rolled up and they have a dark reddish brown colour to the leaves. The dry leaf has notes of plum, pine needle, and a general earthiness that I find hard to pin point what it reminds me of. Either way, the combination of what I smell is intriguing.

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Preparation

Tea Ave has steeping recommendations for steeping Tie Kwan Yin Oolong in a gaiwan, in a tea bag, a tea pot, or as a cold brew. Because I’m steeping in a teapot, I’ll share those steeping instructions with you. Tea Ave recommends steeping in 90-95°C (194-203°F) water for 3-5 minutes, and suggests resteeping up to 3 times (with an additional 30 seconds to 1 minute for each additional infusion). My initial steep of Tie Kwan Yin Oolong was in 91°C (195°F) water for 3 minutes.

First Taste

Tie Kwan Yin Oolong steeps to a golden orange. The aroma that I found wafting up from the cup, I think I would describe it as “light woodsy” – there was some definite earthy aromas, pine fragrance. I could also smell what reminded me of dried stone fruits (so like dried apricots and plums). The flavour from this oolong was interesting – I could definitely taste some fruity essence (plum flavour!), some deep woody/pine flavour, I did note some honeyed sweetness at the beginning of each sip that really highlighted the plum flavour – and (true to the description) I did note a very mild bitterness at the end of each sip. It wasn’t off-putting, it was just a little bit and it didn’t linger – which I found good. It was a complex cup of tea though – the sweetness is offset by the bitterness, and the fruity flavour gets balanced out by the woodsy notes.

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A Second Cup?

I had to resteep Tie Kwan Yin. Tea Ave suggested resteeping up to three times, so I had to do four times (just for fun). I found that the flavours were strongest for the initial, first, and second resteeps. The third resteep was beginning to get a bit watery, and the fourth was pretty much forgettable – so three resteeps was right on the money for this oolong. I found the bitterness got weaker with each subsequent steep, while the sweetness mellowed. The woody/pine flavours got stronger, but the plum got bolder (without becoming more sweet). It made for a different cup of tea with each steep.

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My Overall Impression

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I loved Tea Ave’s Tie Kwan Yin Oolong. The complex aromas and flavours of this oolong, and how the flavours change with each subsequent steep makes this oolong both interesting and tasty. I really appreciated how the bitterness subsided with each steep, it make this tea just so much more enjoyable – I don’t think I would have enjoyed it as much it had become stronger with each steep. This is a tea that I would definitely recommend resteeping over and over to experience the changes in flavour, and to also savour with each steep because it is a fun experience. I loved the plum and woodsy flavours in this oolong so much.

Curious about the cup rating system? Click here to learn more.

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Gift Guide: Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day is a mere 4 days away – are you still struggling for some gift ideas for that special tea lover in your life? With a gift giving holiday so soon after Christmas, it can be a struggle at times to come up with some ideas. But I’ve got your back, tea friend! Whether you’re shopping for your sweetheart or your tea lovin’ bestie, I’ve got some gift ideas for you for all sorts of budgets.

20180210-giftguidevday1 For That Special Someone

If your sweetheart loves boxes of assorted chocolates, how about a tea sampler box from their favourite tea company? This shows them that you listen when they go on (and on) about their favourite place to shop, plus you’ll be the one to introduce them to new teas. $

For the person who loves feeling decadent at home, might I suggest a tea-for-one set, a tea pot, or a cup-and-saucer set? You can find some gorgeous vintage and modern styles these days. With tea growing in popularity, you can find teaware in department stores, home goods stores, bookstores, thrift stores, and so much more. You’ll pretty much be able to find something to fit their style anywhere. $-$$

If you’re feeling particularly spendy, might I recommend signing them up for a tea subscription box? For the person who otherwise has everything tea related, a tea subscription box is a fantastic way for your special sweetie to get introduced to new teas every single month. This is decidedly the most spendy option of the three, but it’ll be the gift that keeps on giving until the subscription ends. I’ve reviewed a few different tea subscription boxes, if you’re looking for ideas. $$$

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For Your BFF

Your tea-loving bestie needs a travel mug, if they don’t already have one. You’ll probably get bonus points if it has a built in tea infuser, or if you include a packet of tea with it. There’s such a huge variety of tea travel mugs out there these days that it can be hard to decide on one. I’d go for one in their favourite colour that also looks easy to clean – nobody has time for travel mugs that need an instruction manual to take apart. $

If you want to spoil your friend with an at-home spa experience without completely breaking the bank, I’d recommend some tea-infused soap products or bath bombs. With tea gaining popularity, there’s a lot of bath products out there that are infused with teas (particularly green tea or Earl Grey), along with a myriad of essential oils and dried flowers (like lavender). There’s even products like herbal bath tea bags that you can buy that basically look like giant tea bags, but they’re designed for use in the bath tub and not for your teapot. $

For the ultimate gal pal get together on Galentine’s Day (yes, I went there), I don’t think you can go wrong with a date for two for a favourite spot for afternoon tea. If you’re in the Metro Vancouver area, I have reviewed several local places to sit down for a scrumptious bite to eat! The nice thing about this option is that you get a #treatyoself moment as well while you’re catching up with your friend. Because of the popularity of afternoon tea for Valentine’s Day, I’d highly recommend book a reservation in advance if you can. Bonus, a lot of places are vegetarian or gluten-free friendly, just be sure to let them know when booking. And, as an aside, remember that traditionally macarons are made with almond meal/flour, so if your bestie has a nut allergy, best let them know as well. $$-$$$

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I hope this list of gift ideas helps you out a bit with any last minute gift shopping for that special tea obsessed person in your life.