Rose Conjou is either a green or black tea blended with organic rose petals and since my own rose bushes are hibernating, this tea is a nice way to bring the delicate scent of roses into the house.   Roses are just one example of a plant that is often used in tea blends.  Other plants include jasmine, sunflowers, cornflowers and of course lavender.  If you buy a tea with plants in the blend make sure its all organic with no synthetic flavourings.  Rose Congou tea can have a strong scent that many people aren’t fond of so its not everyone’s cup of tea!  Also it is important to remove the leaves from the water after about 2 minutes so the tea taste is light, if the leaves are left too long to steep this will cause the tea to taste perfumey.

The word congou is Chines and it translates to tea skillfully made by hand.  Also congou like the word kung fu comes from the Chinese word gongfu and has to do with skill, as in Chinese martial arts.  The word bara-no-ki is Japanese for rose tea.

Personally I like rose tea now and again and especially in the dark winter it reminds me that spring then summer are just around the corner!

Pinkie’s Up!