Advent Day #21

Tea #21 - "Rose Pouchong"

Four days until Christmas, and I finally decided I would sip my tea ON the day it was due for a review! I have been excitedly awaiting this tea for a while now, and I was so happy Lauri chose it for me! 

My first thought is "pouchong is a cool word, but what does it mean?!" This lightly-oxidized tea originated in Taiwan. Also known as Baozhong tea, it is a black oolong that boasts a delicate flavor and floral notes. Intriguingly, the Fortnum & Mason version is from China. The contents of the bag are simply "black tea, rose petals," and I took a picture it was so pretty! The large leaves are always my favorite, and the addition of the rose petals was exquisite! Instead of drinking it straight, I dropped in one single brown sugar cube this morning. I must say, I could indulge in the scent of this tea all day long. The nose is one of a lovely bouquet of fresh roses! The taste is equally lovely, and the rose comes through perfectly for my palate. The description reports "a high intensity of rose flavour perfectly balanced with dark chocolate and caramel sweetness," and I got all of those notes, although perhaps the dark chocolate less so. At any rate, if you love rose, this is the tea for you! 

The bonus this morning was enjoying this tea in my beautiful F&M mug Lauri gave me with a piece of Lauri's homemade lavender shortbread which is truly a treat! As we near the end of our time with this Advent calendar, I plan to order from F&M very soon. We had a few disappointments, but we also had many winners in the bunch, and I look forward to enjoying their tea for years to come! As for the rose pouchong, it will definitely be included in my order. 9/10