Primula Tea, Juliet's Kiss

Primula Tea Description:
Primula Flowering Teas are made by aritsans in China. The flowering teas are comprised of hand sewn AA grade Green Tea with all natural flowers.

My Review:
As I write this, I have no internet connection, so I will be posting after the fact. Losing your internet is one of the realities of living in the boondocks where no cable is available. Another reality, at least in our area, is trees. I am surrounded by them. Or at least I was. Yesterday I had a couple of chainsaw masters come and drop 2 persimmon and 3 oak in my front yard, because after 24 years, I am finally adding a porch to the house. They also dropped 27 ash trees because the ash borer beetle destroyed them this winter.

My 2 acres now looks like a tornado or bomb went off in the middle of it. I have friends coming to chop it up for firewood but my guess is this is a way bigger project than they realized. We'll see. Not two worry, I still have 100 persimmon trees as well as a number of oak, pine, and many others, including a pecan which I did not even know grew around here.

OK tea, so this is another of the Primula teas that come in a carboard tube with a variety of different flower arrangements. Each bloom is sealed in its own mylar bag. Opening it, the pod is solid and completely intact. It has a light scent of jasmine.

I used my crystal teapot and 12 oz of just under boiling water (about 209 F). The pod steeped in the neighborhood of five minutes. I did not really time it. I simply waited until the bloom dropped to the bottom.

When you first pour water over the pod it begins to open pretty quickly. Then it slows down while occasional air bubbles escape. The final opening and dropping happened suddenly.

The bloom is kind of neat but small. The green tea blades surrounding the blooms fold outward and remain mostly intact. A cascade of cream colored jasmine flowers form a background arch around the globe amaranth bloom. A few of the petals came loose but it is almost entirely intact.

The liquor is quite clear and light yellow in color. The taste is pleasant. It is mostly jasmine flavored with a light touch of globe amaranth. I personally do not like globe amaranth. In a larger dose it has a very soured dishwater taste to me - OK, what I imagine soured dishwater would taste like if you were foolish enough to try it. Here it is not a main component and is really not a distraction after my initial response.

Mostly you buy these as conversation starters, or they come your way from friends trying to encourage your tea addiction. They are pretty, and fortunately tasty enough to actually drink after you have enjoyed the display.