Watermelon Mint Limeade

So, I decided to try this today. It steeped about 4 minutes at 177 degrees.

The mint and green tea are definitely the strongest flavors in this one. The mint reminds me of spearmint gum. However, I’m not getting much watermelon or limeade flavor from this at all. Would sugar bring those flavors out? Maybe. It is a nice tea (I definitely enjoy mint teas, but I was hoping for more of a mix of flavors. It is a little bitter and astringent, which balances nicely with the mint. I probably could have avoided the bitterness by brewing at a lower temperature like I often do. It makes me wonder if maybe the higher temperature might have killed the fruity flavors, too.

Update: Interestingly enough, as I let the tea get cold, and started taking bigger gulps, it lost some of that astringency and bitterness I was getting at the beginning.

The flavour I get right off the bat in this tea is mint – mint and green tea basically. I let the tea cool a bit and at that point I could taste a bit of watermelon but it was sort of an odd ‘green’ watermelon taste – like the white part of the rind rather than the sweet, juicy red flesh. There’s a bit of a lime flavour tucked in there too but not enough to really justify calling this tea ‘limeade’. i might try it again with less leaf (2 tsp in 12 oz of water is quite a lot) to see if that makes it taste less minty.

I brewed this hot this morning and then promptly forgot about it for the next hour or so until I made it back to my desk… Holy smokes this has some amazing and authentic watermelon flavor and there’s the perfect hint of mint to even it all out and make it a super refreshing tastebud sensation… I don’t really get any of the limeade but I honestly don’t miss it with those juicy juicy watermelon and fresh mint flavors front and center… Can’t wait to try this cold brewed (on purpose) I can definitely see this being a staple by the pool throughout the never-ending summer months in socal!!