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Hello everyone. Today we are going to be taking a look at a flower herbal infusion that is becoming more and more popular amongst herbal tea drinkers. Rose Elderflower Tea.
What Is Rose And Elderflower Tea? Rose Elderflower Tea is an herbal infusion created by steeping both rose petals and elderflowers in near-boiling water. The result is a flowery, slightly earthy herbal infusion.
I used Elanen Naturals Organic Dried Elderflowers(*affiliate link) and Dualspices Organic Rose Buds & Petals(*affiliate link) as the basis for this article. Both Can be found on Amazon. Let’s dig a little deeper into this wonderful flower infusion and discover how to make yourself a cup and what it should taste like as well as answer some common questions about this herbal blend.
How To Make Elderflower Rose Tea
Rose And Elderflower Tea is a straightforward blend. Since we are only using 2 ingredients it is simply a matter of getting the balance right for your particular tastes.
I tend to reduce the number of rose petals in this herbal blend because I find it will overpower the milder elderflower if I overdo it. I tend to try and get a 33% rose petal to 66% elderflower ratio for this herbal tea blend.
However, you may want the exact opposite and tune your ratio more towards a 50/50 split. It really is solely up to your individual tastes so think of this as just a starting point for this herbal flower blend.
Use The Right Water For Your Cup Of Elderflower Rose Tea
Water is an often overlooked aspect of making a cup of tea for most people. This is strange because tea is mostly water. Flavored water but water nonetheless.
You want to find neutral water with a ph around 7 with a limited amount of minerals. Bottled spring water or filtered tap water are your best options to use as the base for a great cup of Rose And Elderflower Tea.
DIY Cup Of Rose And Elderflower Tea
- 1-1 1/2 teaspoon of elderflowers,
- 1/2 teaspoon of rose petals. You can increase this to 1 teaspoon but be careful as the rose flavor will overwhelm the elderflower if you get the balance wrong.
- Steep for 5 to 10 minutes at about 205°F/96°C.
- Always Steep covered and use a good quality spring water or filtered tap water.
That is all there is to it. You can also choose to mix your ingredients ahead of time and store in as you would any other herbal tea.
I recommend using a little bit less rose petal than elderflower if you mix them ahead of time because the rose flavor is more pungent than elderflower.
I think a 33% rose petal and 66% elderflower ratio works best if you choose to mix large amounts of these ingredients for later use. Then simply use 2 teaspoons of the blend for a standard 10oz cup of elderflower and rose tea.
What Does Elderflower Rose Tea Taste Like?
Mix two flower herbal teas together and you are going to get a flower herbal tea. Rose and elderflower tea fit into that paradigm with some subtle nuances that make it unique. Let’s have a look at the flavor profile for this herbal infusion.
Elderflower Rose Tea Is A Very Floral Tea
This is a flower herbal tea and that can be enough for many people to say no thank you. Too much floral flavor can literally give some people headaches. But if you love floral tea then this is a great one to try. The rose flavor will be noticed first but if you get your balance right the elderflowers bring a nice natural sweetness for their part in the infusion.
It Is Rose Dominant
Rose is a pungent ingredient, especially when it comes to herbal tea. Care needs to be taken when balancing rose petals and bulbs and elderflowers in order to make sure you don’t overpower the flavor of the elderflowers. However, most rose and elderflower blends tend to have the rose flavor dominant and the elderflower playing a supporting role.
With A Slight Earthy Flavor
Rose tea has a bit of an earthy flavor, as does elderflower tea. Neither of them has a very strong earthiness to their flavor profile and as a result, we get a very subtle earth undertone in this herbal blend.
And A Bit Of Bitterness
There is a slight bit of bitterness in this herbal blend. I find that most flower herbal infusions tend to have at least some bitterness. There may be a few exceptions but as a general rule, you can expect a little natural bitterness.
However, with some herbal teas, you can mitigate this by blending it with something like ginger or vanilla that goes a long way to remove any bitterness. In the case of elderflower and rose tea, there is really nothing to mitigate that bitterness so you end up with it. It is mild and shouldn’t be an issue for most drinkers.
The Aroma Of Rose Elderflower Tea
The rose aroma really dominates this herbal infusion. Rose leaves that you typically use for rose tea are pretty pungent and tend to overpower the smell of the elderflowers. Elderflower has a nice floral aroma but it is not nearly as pungent as the rose floral aroma. That said you can still smell the underpinnings of the elderflower tea in both the dried flowers and petals and in the steeped herbal infusion.
Related Questions For Rose And Elderflower Tea
Does Rose Elderflower Tea Break A Fast?
Elderflower and Rose tea are naturally calorie-free. This makes it an ideal beverage to drink while you are in a fasted state. Rose And Elderflower Tea is also sugar-free and has no carbohydrates which make it not only great for fasting but for a wide variety of low sugar and low carb diets.
Does Elderflower Rose Tea Have Caffeine?
Elderflower rose tea is naturally caffeine-free. Both rose tea and elderflower tea are herbal infusions that are caffeine-free on their own and paired up they retain this quality making this herbal blend a great option near bedtime as it won’t mess with your sleep rhythms the way a caffeinated tea would.
If you blend it with a true tea like green tea then that would introduce caffeine into the mix. This won’t be a problem if you make it yourself since you know exactly what you put into it. But if you find a brand that makes a rose and elderflower tea, be sure to check that they don’t use green or black tea as the best. That does sometimes happen.
Can You Buy Rose Elderflower Tea Bags?
It can be tough to find packaged herbal tea blends, especially for the more obscure herbal blends. Typically what happens is that companies will through 6 or 7 different ingredients to gather and it just makes a non-distinct cup of herbal tea. Finding blends that only have the 2 or three flavors that you actually want can be a challenge.
While I couldn’t find a rose and elderflower only packaged blend I did find this rose elderflower and strawberry blend that is very nice. The strawberry does tend to be the dominant flavor but the elderflower and rose are still prominent. You can find the Fortnum and Mason Elderflower, Strawberry, and Rose Tea(*affiliate link) on Amazon.
Is Rose Elderflower Tea Really Tea At All?
I get this question quite often. Not about rose elderflower tea specifically but about herbal tea in general. Herbal teas are not true teas. They are herbal infusions. The only true teas are teas that come from the Camellia sinensis plant(source). However, it is completely acceptable to call herbal infusions, like elderflower rose tea, herbal teas, herbal infusions, or tisanes if you really want to.
The Rose And Elderflower Tea Finish
If you like the flavor of rose tea or herbal flower teas in general then Rose And Elderflower Tea might be right up your alley. It is a floral extravaganza of flavor. The rose flavor tends to dominate so if you do not like rose tea then I would probably pass on this herbal infusion.
If you love rose herbal tea on the other hand then this rose tea blend is a great new way of experiencing the robust rose flavor of rose tea with an added flavor of subtle elderflowers. Plus you get all the great benefits of both of these herbal teas.