Well hmm… I’m taking a break from all my Gongfu tea purist snobbery to try some things given to me by friends. I am not known to enjoy many flavored teas. I used to buy them and I consider myself “sheeple” for having done so for many years without somehow ever knowing of the true beauty of pure-leaf simple teas. Funny thing is… when I was a huge Teavana and Celestial Seasonings fan I never found myself drinking all of the tea before I got tired of it or it expired, so I’d end up tossing quite a bit at the end of the season.
When I finally discovered that the world of tea leaves is as diverse as the world of wine, I never really turned back to flavored teas with small exceptions, usually involving floral varieties.
But enough about my snobbery. Let’s review some tea!
The scent of this tea was really inviting… very, very strong citrus aromas of mostly lemon. A friend brought it home after visiting Adagio during a Chicago vacation. I brewed this a little longer than I would in the Gongfu style… I’d say about 2 minutes this time. The flavor is lightly sweet and very citrusy. I don’t really taste the green tea that backs it very much, though there is definitely a woody undertone that balances out the sweetness. With the green teas I am used to drinking I usually experience really grassy or vegetal flavors that are hard to ignore. This one is mellow and woody or nutty. It really serves as the backdrop for the citrus notes, which I think are the centerpiece of this tea.
I probably don’t need to say that tea like this is not my thing. If I’m craving citrus I’ll be hand squeezing up a fresh lemonade. That said, I can give some tips about this tea that I think some others can relate to, despite my bias.
The main thing I want to highlight is that I do not really feel I can taste the tea leaves themselves much in this tea. For me, when this happens, despite it is often the case that the company was trying to create a blend that works well together, it usually comes across as “this is how we cover the taste of otherwise unsellable tea”. I’m not the judge of when that is or isn’t the actual case, but I’m just saying it usually comes off that way to me when the tea doesn’t obviously add to the blend rather than fading somewhere into the background where I can’t pick it out.
The brew tastes clean though, and it’s light… so unless you go wild with it, I think it produces a very non-offensive flavor. If you like flavored fruity teas, this just might be your thing. I could see this tasting a lot better as a sweetened iced tea, so if that’s your thing, this might be good for you too. I’m giving it a straight 50 on the Tea-o-meter, simply because I’m kind of indifferent about it personally.
Give it a try or don’t give it a try! It’s all up to you! I think this one is going to appeal to people with certain tastes though.
Flavors: Citrus, Lemon
