I have always enjoyed watching blooming teas as they steep – they open up so gracefully and reveal a delicate little flower (or flowers!) inside the tender green leaves. This tea, with its delicate green leaves with silvery tips, was pressed compactly into a heart shape. The aroma is vaguely reminiscent of jasmine pearls – a very fresh scent with a whisper of jasmine perfume.
After placing the heart in my glass teacup and pouring the hot water over it, I watched in eager anticipation, not just for the revelation of the showy display, but also for the tea itself – after all, it smells like jasmine, by this time, I’m hoping it tastes just as good as it smells.
And I was not disappointed. The pale amber tea possesses a very faint, sweet floral undertone, but even more delightful (and quite unexpected) was the buttery flavor that washed over my palate. This tea has a very rich, smooth flavor that is so good. There is absolutely no hint of bitterness, and just a slight edge of astringency that is curbed pleasantly by the sweet, buttery essence of the tea.
GrandTea.com describes this tea as
Blooming tea is a small bundle of dry tea leaves and flowers hand-embroidered together with cotton thread into a ball. When steeped, the ball opens up and transforms into a bouquet of flower. Heart of Love blooming teas are made of spring harvest tea leafs, the taste is gentle and delicious.
I steeped this tea twice, and it produced two very flavorful infusions. It wasn’t until the second infusion that the heart completely bloomed and revealed a delicate cream, gold and burgundy colored bouquet.
This tea tastes great without any sweetener. My only complaint would be that I would have liked the jasmine flavor to be a bit more pronounced. However, I found that the complex layers of flavor here were very unexpected and delicious. This is a tea that you’ll not only enjoy watching it brew, but enjoy drinking it just as much – if not more!
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Recent Comments
"Dear Tea Guru, Hi, my name is Travis and I do some of the promotions for Tipu’s Chai. To answer your question, yes, we do use the same spices in our instant chai tea as we do in our slow brewed chai. The reason for this is the very same one that you mentioned. When you discover the perfect chai flavor, why change it? Thanks for your..."
Travis said, in reply to Instant Black Chai from Tipu’s Chai on September 8, 2010 at 9:06 am
Travis on:
Instant Black Chai from Tipu’s Chai
"Thank you for clarifying that! I’ve edited the review to include that correction – GREAT chai!"
The Tea Guru said, in reply to Tipu’s Chai Slow Brew from Tipu’s Chai on September 7, 2010 at 7:56 pm
The Tea Guru on:
Tipu’s Chai Slow Brew from Tipu’s Chai
"Hector: I agree, you do NOT need to strain their instant chai, however this is a review of their SLOW BREW chai, which does require straining as the spices are not as refined in the slow brew mix
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The Tea Guru said, in reply to Tipu’s Chai Slow Brew from Tipu’s Chai on September 7, 2010 at 7:53 pm
The Tea Guru on:
Tipu’s Chai Slow Brew from Tipu’s Chai
"Tea Guru, Straining Tipu’s isn’t necessarily necessary. I leave the instant mix in and just don’t drink the settled stuff on the bottom (or sometimes I do depending on the “kick” I’m seeking). Either way, it’s a great cup of chai!"
Hector said, in reply to Tipu’s Chai Slow Brew from Tipu’s Chai on September 7, 2010 at 11:05 am
Hector on:
Tipu’s Chai Slow Brew from Tipu’s Chai
"Dear Tea Guru, I very much appreciate your comments and am very happy you like our slow brew chai mix. I just wanted to make sure that its clear that the Assam tea is organic, but the spices are not certified organic. They are fresh and non radiated however. I hope that you continue to enjoy a good cuppa chai! regards, Bipin Patel,..."
Bipin Patel said, in reply to Tipu’s Chai Slow Brew from Tipu’s Chai on September 6, 2010 at 9:53 pm
Bipin Patel on:
Tipu’s Chai Slow Brew from Tipu’s Chai
"Great site, I love tea especially orange and green are my favorites"
whosethatlady said, in reply to Cranberry Matcha from 52 Teas on September 4, 2010 at 3:33 pm
whosethatlady on:
Cranberry Matcha from 52 Teas
"I live in zhejiang province. Sounds good!
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becky said, in reply to Zhejiang Silver Needle from Enjoying Tea on September 3, 2010 at 9:09 am
becky on:
Zhejiang Silver Needle from Enjoying Tea