It took me a second to recognize that the entire peony flower was in my sample. I’ve never tried a whole huge flower before and don’t have a glass teapot yet so I copied one of our local tearooms and put it in a wineglass to see if it bloomed. It doesn’t. This isn’t a blooming tea apparently, it’s a tea that uses whole dried flowers—pretty fun. The peony turned the water instantly deep reddish brown and after two and a half to three minutes I took it out of the wine glass. There’s something sweetly fruity in the scent and matches the fact that it’s in a wine glass surprisingly well. I can sense sweet, fruity florals and woods, like a tall spread of a fruit-bearing vine growing against a redwood trellis. The tea is lightly sweet and smoky, though it makes me look for a depth that isn’t there. There is also a slight astringency that is just right, but indicates that a longer steeping time wouldn’t work for me. This would be tasty with a bit of honey and milk to enhance the sweetness that’s there. I’m glad I tried this, but I’m going to keep looking.