Dry leaf has a strange aroma, a little perfumey. Upon brewing though, I like the aroma much more. I also find that it tastes even better once it has cooled to room temperature.

This is my first osmanthus-scented green tea; I've had osmanthus-scented oolong tea before, and it's among my favorite teas. I find that the floral scent doesn't blend as seamlessly with the base tea as in the case of the oolong tea that I tried in the past. This may reflect how some of the greener Anxi oolongs, like Huang Jin Gui, have been bred to resemble the scent of osmanthus and other flowers.

Flavor is quite bold: moderately bitter, and this tea produces a fairly strong cooling sensation, leaving a cool sensation on the palate. Yet it is also moderately astringent.

If you're used to jasmine tea, this tea has a very similar flavor profile and leaves similar sensations on the palate, but its aroma was wildly different: more fruity and herbaceous than any jasmine.

Tea Horse recommends only steeping 2 minutes, and I agree. I tried a longer steeping and it became more astringent without being more flavorful.

I enjoyed drinking this tea but I don't think I'd buy it...apparently, I strongly prefer the osmanthus - oolong pairing over the green tea base, although I suppose I can suspend judgment until I've sampled more examples of osmanthus green tea.

It also didn't quite seem as smooth or high-quality as the other two samples from Tea Horse...which were exquisite! This was still a good tea, it just didn't wow me.

As a side note, this tea is currently out of stock and Tea Horse's website apparently doesn't list prices when the tea is out-of-stock. I think this is a bit of an oversight! I think it makes sense for companies to list prices on all products, whether or not they're in stock!

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Comments:

E. Alex Gerster wrote: on August 9th, 2013

Osmanthus is popular in the summer (in China) because of the cooling properties it imparts. I love the flavor brewed alone or with tea leaves, but I have never had it with green tea. Samovar Tea in San Francisco had a wonderful white needle tea with osmanthus, and I have seen it mixed with Longjing (Dragonwell) and various oolongs as well. If you buy dried osmanthus flowers (they are readily available on eBay), you can experiment with adding small amounts to your teas--a fun experiment!

Alex Zorach wrote: on August 9th, 2013

That makes sense about it being good for the summer drink...I can definitely see that. I can see this blending better with longjing than the base tea used here. I think I would probably choose a green oolong (like the tea I've had in the past) as the base. I've definitely seen the flowers for sale before. I've never tried making my own floral-scented teas in that manner, but it sounds like it would be fun.

I even had the idea of experimenting with other floral scents that grow near where I live, so I could actually pick fresh flowers. There are some beautiful fragrances that I've wondered if they would blend with tea, that I've never seen used in such a way.

E. Alex Gerster wrote: on August 9th, 2013

My grandmother in Germany always had Chamomile, Fennel and Lavender growing in her garden. In the summer these would get dried and added to tea or made into an herbal concoction. Since I was born and grew up in Miami, FL we always had various citrus flowers (and dried rind) that were added to our tea with much of the flavor of Constant Comment Tea. I was never a big fan, but in the past few years seem to have developed an appreciation for floral flavors -- as long as they are not overwhelming!

I think it would be great if we could all learn to use more of local plants (and their fruit, flowers, etc) to balance our diets. Good for us, good for the planet. :)

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