Guihua Hong
Tasting notes: Chocolate, caramel, orange cake, flower petals in the summer sun. Both warming and sweet, it is ideal for crisp Autumn and Winter mornings.
The dry leaves of the Guihua Hong has an incredibly sweet fruity floral nose to it, due to the inclusion of dried osmanthus flowers (guihua). This is the only blended tea I am offering so far on the website, and the blend is very modest, with less than 5% flowers to 95% tea.
Price range: $23.90 through $184.00
For those familiar with the Lapsang Souchong, this tea has similar characteristics, though is noticeably more dry and starchy on the tongue. The tea brews up a deep orange and is fun to watch the guihua flowers dance among the leaves in a glass teapot.
Osmanthus black tea has been enjoyed in China for centuries. Osmanthus fragrans is a highly fragrant flowering plant, with the Latin fragrans literally meaning “aromatic”. Earning the title “fragrant for ten miles,” the diminutive osmanthus bloom yields an incredibly powerful aroma. It offers a rich yet refined sweetness reminiscent of ripe apricot and honey, explaining its enduring legacy in Chinese culinary and healing traditions.