Pique Tea

We have a major lake in the back yard from heavy rain. Thankful. In northern Indiana they are getting heavy snow. I hate snow. I hate winter. I thought I hated spearmint.

This is a spearmint and sencha green tea in crystallized form. While my brain keeps telling me this is instant tea, my taste buds remain unconvinced. Super easy to make. Pour the packet powder into the mug add some water at 175F. Drink. I don’t even need to stir.

Instead of tasting like toothpaste which I never ever buy spearmint toothpaste – ever, this is just different. I am thinking it is like jasmine, which I thought I didn’t like until I had a better one. This is obviously spearmint and intense, but not icky intense.

It is accompanied by an equally intense amount of grassy bite. It reminds me of the level of bite often found in Ceylon tea. I rather like that.

I’m pretty sure if someone handed me a cup of Pique tea and didn’t tell me, I would not know it wasn’t home brewed loose leaf. It is an interesting idea, done well.

I feel like I have too many things going at once and I am not doing any of them justice. I’d give you a list but I’m sure you have your own. Tea is on the list. I don’t seem to have time to drink just for the enjoyment much less serious meditation on the cup for reviews. With that in mind, I have been enjoying the alternative brewing methods that have come my way lately. Of these Pique tea is the simplest and most convenient. Cut the individual serving packet open. Pour the crystals in the mug. Add hot water (or add to cold bottled water). Drink. Except for RTD there is not a simpler method out there. Unlike almost all bottled RTD there are no piles of sugar added. Pique says they use only organic whole leaf to brew their tea before crystallizing it. While it is essentially instant tea, it is unlike anything remotely instant I’ve had before.

This is a scented green made with jasmine blossoms (not flavored). It has a very natural jasmine fragrance. The brew is golden in color. The taste is sweet, floral, jasmine. It is not overly intense but definitely not a wall flower. If you want a mellower cup add more water. The green tea jumps forth halfway in the sip and finishes with a clean bite. The aftertaste is sweet, grassy, and lingering.

This is really pretty good. Better than any bagged jasmine I’ve had. As good as many loose jasmines I’ve tried. The however here is if you are accustomed to the higher quality loose leaf, the crystallization process does seem to scoop some of the nuances out of the middle of the sip. If you need something for everyday on the go drinking, or a convenient fast way to have tea in the office, in my opinion this would be a solid one to try.

Pique Tea Earl Grey comes in individual serving packets. There website says they use organic whole leaf teas to brew the tea, then they turn it into crystals. I’m open to trying about anything tea related. My fear was this would be similar to the Nestea I drank in my misspent youth. I promise you, this tastes nothing like that stuff.

I used 8 oz of 205F water. The crystals dissolved immediately without the need for a spoon. The color was a beautiful Burgundy. Just a light bergamot fragrance. The taste was far more citrusy than I expected. What impressed me most was I could tell they used a Ceylon base. It has that brisk bite of clean almost tart astringency that I crave in my Earl. How they managed this I have no idea.

While sipping the cup I hit upon an idea to test the limits of the crystals. I grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge and added the contents of a packet. Replaced the lid and shook the bottle. After a few moments I had an icy cold bottle of Earl Grey. It was a 12oz bottle but really didn’t seem weak.

I look forward to trying their unflavored teas to see if they capture the taste correctly. For now, I’ll say this Earl Grey was extremely convenient especially for on the go drinking and I thought it tasty both hot and cold.