Staff Favorite from Stu

Of all of the delicious teas that we sell, one of my all time favorites is the Dark Rose: “a smooth, medium-bodied dark tea with a floral aroma in a beautiful compressed heart shape.” A simple blend of Chinese dark tea and rose petals, this tea is perfect any time of day (I usually drink mine in the afternoon). The rose adds a subtly to both the taste and aroma of the tea and makes a classic black tea feel more light and vegetal. While you can steep the tea anywhere from 1-3 minutes, I usually prefer to steep mine on the longer end to bring more flavor and richness to the taste and color of the tea—which brews to be a beautiful deep red amber color. This tea is deeply comforting, and in my opinion has more nuance than just an herbal blend. As someone who is not always the biggest fan of fruity/floral blended teas, the Dark Rose has the perfect balance of floral notes without feeling like you are drinking a bouquet. The tea is rich enough that you can add milk and honey if you want more of a treat, but it is also lovely as is! 

When I am in a sharing mood, this tea is one of my favorites to give as a gift because it is easy to distribute in individual servings and is a sweet gesture no matter the occasion. Because the tea is already compressed and portioned into hearts, it simplifies the process of measuring or weighing out the right ratio of tea to water; just pop a heart into a tea pot and watch it slowly unfurl! 

A single heart cake!

The Perfect Iced Tea in Minutes!

Seven Steps to the Perfect Iced Tea

Step 1: Measure out your loose tea to create your concentrate. For a 24oz iced tea we typically use 2 tbsps of tea.

Sep 2: Begin Steeping your tea with the ideal water temperature for the tea you are using. 208 for a black tea. (Different teas steep at different temps, more on that in a later post!)

Step 3: Set your timer. We normally steep black teas for 3 to 4 minutes.

Step 4: Prepare a cocktail shaker and a glass with ice. If you want to add a touch of honey, I suggest pouring the honey over the ice in the cocktail shaker.

Step 5: Once the tea is properly steeped, pour the concentrate into the cocktail shaker and do you best impression of Tom Cruise from the movie Cocktail.

Step 6: Pour your iced tea over the ice in your glass.

Step 7: Find a comfortable spot to enjoy your perfect iced tea!

That perfect spot is whatever works for you, is it a view of the mountains, sitting on the porch with a friend, or at home as a nice afternoon treat. Thanks.