I decided to try this because I wanted to get it out of the way. See, I don’t really like vanilla or mint, so I figured I wouldn’t care much for this. Sometimes when I make such assumptions I’m pleasantly surprised, but not this time. Dry, the tea smells like one of those pinwheel candies, except I can’t quite make out whether we’re talking spearmint or peppermint, here, or a combination of the two. Steeped, the minty fragrance is dulled just a little bit; I’m not able to detect much vanilla, at all. The taste is balanced, though. The very first sip had an odd bitterness to it, but it didn’t reappear. The aftertaste is again a bit odd: neither mint nor vanilla lingers, but suddenly I feel like sweet spots are covering my tongue like glitter. So weird. (The tea is sweetened with demerara sugar, but I didn’t eat or drink anything before this, so my palate should be clean/neutral.)
I’m obviously biased, but I think even if I loved vanilla and mint (in tea), this one wouldn’t be at the top of my short list. Unrelated to this tasting note, I’m also giving this tea growly face because it burned my tongue. Hmph.
