THE ENGLISH TEA SHOP- Buckingham Palace Garden Party Loose Leaf Tea

Buckingham Palace Garden Party Loose Leaf Tea http://www.englishteastore.com/1mt-bpgp.html

I bought this tea mainly because of the name-"Buckingham Palace Garden Party".  The other reason was the jasmine blossoms in this tea.  I have discovered this year that jasmine, hibiscus, and black currant are three of my favorite flavors in tea.

And I have to say that I really don't like this tea. I wanted to like it, I really did!!!  I tried steeping it for 3 minutes like you would for black tea, and even for 1 minute like some green teas.  I tried it with a little milk and without milk.  (I am always hesitant to put milk in green teas, but with the black tea in there, I think you can get away with a little milk.)  Unfortunately, I did not like it with milk or without milk.  It was way to bitter for me.  I tried to drink this tea out of a tea cup, close my eyes and pretend I am having tea with the queen. I raise my pinking and talk with a British accent.  Okay, maybe no accent...but how great would it be to have tea at the Palace????  I am not one who can pick out the differences between Assam Ceylong or Kenya Blends, or even Earl Grey's- I just know when I like the flavors together.  Too bad that this was not one of those times. 
I passed the tea along to my friends Robin and Charlie- we will see what they think of the tea.

$4.89
Lighter afternoon tea with a hint of Earl Grey and Jasmine
Ingredients: Black tea, Green tea, Jasmine blossoms, Cornflower petals, Natural flavors

FROM THE WEBSITE:
The Buckingham Palace Garden Party tea loose leaf blend from English Tea Store is a delicate medium tea with a hint of Earl Grey and Jasmine. This is a lighter afternoon tea. Every May the Queen holds a garden party at Buckingham Palace, a lovely English springtime tradition. The tea that is served is long time favorite and delicious Palace medley specially selected for this occasion. Intriguing hints of high-grown pure Ceylon Earl Grey blend effortlessly with the soft jasmine from Fujian Province. Couple this with malty Assam (from the estate of Borengajuli) flavory Dimbula Ceylon (from Hatton), brisk and golden cup East of Rift Kenya (from Kambaa and Kagwe) and you have one of the most flavorful teas to come from the British Isles. Each cup is a cup of mystery - the flavors all come to the fore at separate times - one minute you taste the Earl Grey, the next second you can almost feel the soft floral notes of jasmine and finally you get the satisfying fullness of the Assam Ceylon and Kenya blend. Enjoy this tea and be a part of the annual tradition in the west gardens of Buckingham Palace, without having to dress up.