Steeping instructions:

Amount of water: 6 oz

Amount of Tea: 1 Flat teaspoon

Water Temperature: 180° F

Steeping Time: 4-8 minutes.

Note: Do not use boiling water for Green and White teas as they will burn and create bitter flavors.

A good way to guess water temperature without a thermometer is to bring the water to a boil, and wait about 30 seconds (for White tea) or 60 seconds (for Green tea) before pouring over the leaves.

Do you remember the first time you fell in love? Did you use words like "butterflies" to describe that indigestion feeling you got whenever that special someone passed by. Did your heart skip a beat? If so, did your left arm go numb? (That could be a sign of a serious medical condition.)

Okay, I'll be honest, I've never been in love. So when I see a tea touting a name like "First Love", it kinda makes me sneer a bit. Could it not have settled on something a little less ambitious? Like "Crush on the Gym Teacher"? Or something equally cheesy and punny like "Swoon Lake"? I'd respect that. Tea folk appreciate their puns.

Red Leaf Tea's First Love is comprised of Silver Needle white tea and pink rosebud petals. Not red...pink. There is absolutely nothing manly about this tea. Even the smell of the dry batch invoked feelings of a strawberry-scented dollhouse with hints of potpourri. You know, a place that a 32-year-old male with a five o' clock shadow should never find himself.

The Red Leaf Tea site provided no brewing instructions, so I went with my best guess; treating it as I would other Silver Needle teas. The sample provided about 1 tablespoon, so I steeped the leaves and petals in 12 ounces of hot water and let it sit for five minutes. The liquor was pale-to-pink, smelled very perfume-like; lovely to look at but very dainty.

Hrm...how to describe the taste...

Imagine you're walking through a mall outlet clothing store. You're drinking a bottled water. To reach the section you want - let's say, shoes - you have to pass through the cosmetics aisle. A perfume girl sprays a dash at a female passerby but misses. A smoker is in the path of the aromatic cloud, which catches fire the moment his zippo lights. The resulting fragrant fireball hits your water bottle as you're in mid-sip. Something like that.

Geoff -Teaviews.com -Reviewer

After just one cup of Red Leaf Tea's "First Love" blend, I am ready to proclaim this as my favorite floral tea. This tea blends delicate silver needle white tea with small pink rose buds. The result is a tea that is subtle in flavor, yet truly enjoyable. The rose flavor is, for me, at a perfect level, as it could have been easy to overdo it on the rose, making one feel as if he/she was drinking perfume rather than tea. Here, the rose is not overwhelming, but just enough to really offer a pleasant lift to the cup of tea. Besides tasting wonderfully, this tea is also a delight for other senses. Visually, I am not sure you can get a more attractive blend, as the large white tea leaves and the pale pink rose petals really are a stunning display. The tea also has a wonderful aroma that is surprisingly sweet despite the floral overtones. I would highly recommend this tea to those that love floral teas, particularly jasmine teas, because this tea offers a less common floral element. I think this tea, because it is not overpowering in its floral fragrance, could also be enjoyed by those that do not typically identify themselves as lovers of floral teas. The only downside I see with this tea is its price; while not outrageously expensive, at $25.99 for 3.2 oz, it is pricier (as are most white teas) than what many people may be accustomed to spending on tea. However, this tea was interesting and tasty enough to convince me that it's worth the splurge!

Vanessa -Teaviews.com -Reviewer

Red Leaf Tea included 4 free samples on my last order – this is the last of them. The aroma is sweet white tea with a hint of rose… as is the flavor. Huh. I was expecting this to be more overpoweringly floral and am pleasantly surprised to be wrong. Delicate white tea with a hint of rosebuds, not perfume. Nice!

Teabird - Reviewer - Steepster.com

• Process of growing and making tea
• Tea History
• White Tea