Sipdown (132)!
Queued Tasting Note.
Thank you MissB for the sample! I did a blind tasting with this one, and based on the obviously minty smell I decided to cold brew it because iced/cold brewed mint teas are so refreshing! And really just perfect for the nice Spring weather we’ve been having.
The green base used in this is pretty mild, and really takes backseat to the added flavourings. I thought that maybe it was a little bit nutty in addition to the vegetal taste, but mostly just like a regular green. Visually, I’m guessing it’s Gunpowder? It looks pretty similar to most gunpowder teas I’ve ever seen. I’m seeing now that, in the reviews, you guys think it might be a greener oolong? I definitely didn’t think it tasted like oolong…
This has some solid, kind of “mid range” spearmint notes to it. I say mid range because they were strong but not enough so to cover up the base entirely or mask the other flavourings. Mint can be unwieldy if it’s disproportionate and this one didn’t reach that level for me. This had a very weird finish for me; and it’s pretty much only in the finish that I tasted the weird flavour notes.
They were definitely quite peppery; like cracked black peppers and I also tasted some subtler gingery notes as well as maybe fennel? Something a little bit sweeter, anyway. Honestly my first thought was that this sample had been contaminated by something else it was being stored with because I was pretty sure this was just meant to be a high quality Moroccan Mint blend – but I couldn’t really recall having anything Chai-like where I was keeping it, so I didn’t know what was the ’cause of the weird flavour notes. I was actually kind of shocked when I finally looked up the tea/read the description because I was so sure this was just meant to be Moroccan Mint. Turns out I was very dead on with calling this one peppery.
As for the bergamot, though, I just don’t see it! Or, taste it I should say. Nothing about this gave me any indicator of citrus – and bergamot is usually such a distinct flavour, too.
Overall, this one wasn’t bad – but it sure as hell was weird! I’m going to conclude, now having read the description, by slightly altering my initial ‘closing thoughts’: It’s basically an unconventional/non-traditional take on Moroccan Mint. Worth a try; not worth stocking up on.
