The first thing you are likely to notice about this tea is that it is visually stimulating.  A beautiful bounty of blue, orange and yellow petals and blossoms are sprinkled throughout this blend, making this tea very enjoyable before even taking your first sip.

The scent of the dry tea is vaguely sweet, with a hint of berry (although there are no berries, berry flavor, or even berry leaves in the tea blend itself).   Once brewed, the sweet floral scent becomes more apparent, accompanied by the scent of black tea leaves – earthy and robust.

Red Leaf Tea describes this tea as:

The Blue Moon Tea is a very rare tea from Europe that is made primarily of black tea with pieces of safflower, marigolds and blue mallow blossoms. The tea is characterized by a full-bodied flavor with a hint of sweetness from the Marigold. The safflower and the blue mallow blossoms contributed to the color of this fragrant tea.

The flavor of the tea is brisk with a twinge of astringency to it.  As mentioned in the above description, the petals do contribute a bit of sweetness to the blend.  There is also a soft floral characteristic to the tea.  Despite its delicate floral quality, I would not call this a “feminine” brew due to the strength of the black tea.  After sipping the tea, my palate feels energized and cleansed.

I softened the flavors just a bit with the addition of a drizzle of agave nectar (my favorite!) which curbed the edge of the astringency to the tea, and brought out some of the floral notes.   A thin slice of citrus fruit makes a charming accompaniment – I used lemon and found that it complemented the floral as well as the briskness of the tea very well.

Once cooled, the flavors of this tea become a bit muted, so I prefer it and would recommend it be served hot.   Overall, this is a very good black tea, one that would work nicely as a morning “wake-me-up” tea or an early afternoon tea, perhaps just before lunch to awaken the palate for your meal.