Review: Indie Tea’s Lover’s Lane Tea

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The Subject:	Lover’s Lane
Company:	Indie Tea. [More info]

Flavored Tea Rating:
About the new rating designation.

Flavorings work with tea?	No
Tea can be tasted?	No
Flavor blend balanced?	No

Water temperature:	175-180° F
Steeping time:	3-5 mins.
Tea type:	Green
Additions:	Rose buds, orange slices, lavender buds
Aroma, dry leaves:	Rose, orange, dry grass

1st Infusion:
Aroma, plain —	Combined scent seems sagey
Taste, plain —	Quite floral, esp. lavender
Color, plain —	Yellowy-greeny-rosy

Comments:
The label and the vendor’s Website states this tea is a blend of Dragon Well green tea, rose buds, orange slices, and lavender buds. I contrast this to my review posted earlier of a straight Dragon Well green tea, exquisite and a true pleasure to try. The flavored version here shows that she started out with good tea and then kept adding things (rose buds, orange slices and lavender buds) to it. Sort of like starting with filet mignon and making pot roast or curry from it. One option might be to use a lesser green tea. (Like starting with a lesser cut of meat for that pot roast.)

The mélange of scents comes across as sage (we even compared the dry tea side-by-side with some sage we had). A bit of a pity, since Dragon Well is one of the most highly regarded green Chinese teas and is so delicious on its own. Its delicate flavors can’t come through. Too many rosebuds, maybe? Not sure. It certainly didn’t put me or hubby in a romantic mood, which is usually an easy thing to do.

Some positive points: the vendor doesn’t use fancy, overblown descriptions of the taste of their teas on their site, and they have accurate and clear steeping instructions right on the can label (so I don’t have to run to the computer to look up them up when I want a cuppa).

  
Comparing the dry vs wet tea leaves, etc., shows that the biggest difference after the steeping is to the tea leaves. Sure, the rose buds get a bit larger and the orange slices come to life, but the tea leaves swell up nicely.

Tins block light and moisture, but as you use the tea, air gets trapped in the tin, filling the empty space that used to be occupied by the dry tea leaves. You could use a little piece of plastic wrap pushed down in the tin over the tea to keep the air away. It would also help keep the various scents in this blend from fading quite so quickly.

It seemed fitting to serve a tea made with rose buds in a teacup decorated with roses.

It’s organic.

Disclaimer: This tea was provided by the company named. However, the rating of the tea and any opinions concerning it are always strictly objective.