My profile says, ‘No peppermint.’ so obviously it’s time to give peppermint another chance. It’s 2014! The year of tea bravery! Besides, I would really like to learn to enjoy minty teas.
In the bag, this smells very fresh and light; it’s all crisp, cool peppermint. In the cup, the scent seems much thicker, a little dirty – a gritty mint. The earth tone reminds me of gardening; a few years ago they sold me peppermint plants instead of regular mint by mistake and I didn’t notice until they started growing bigger (they were very small from the start) and I had to dig them up and banish them to a less coveted spot. (Don’t look at me like that. Think of the poor orphaned mojitos. Priorities, people!) This is exactly that – garden soil and crushed peppermint leaf.
Steeped, it’s… fair. It’s not the most aggressively evil peppermint I’ve tasted, but it’s not super mild. It doesn’t leave that minty coolness mouthfeel I have such a hard time with, and it’s consistent throughout the sip, taste wise. Unoffensive, fresh, clean and a little earthy.
That much said, I have not been converted – peppermint teas might just not be for me. Overall, I feel mint should be served in very small amounts, preferably inside some form of chocolate casing.
It was good to try, though, and definitely nice to add Bluebird to the list of tea companies I have tried. I’d never heard of them, but will consider placing an order with them after this – their website is great, the packaging pretty, they ship fairly cheaply within Europe, and they blended a peppermint tea I could actually finish a whole cup of. Definitely worth a try.
Thanks, KittyLovesTea for adding this to the box!
[Sample from the second round of the EU Travelling Box, spring 2014.]
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I have a problem with peppermint and boiling water. When peppermint (or any mint, actually, because a lot of mint on teas is another kind of mint) hits very hot water it goes bitter and weirdly spinachy to me.
My trick is to not brew teas with mint very hot. It works very well for green teas with mint (I am currently addicted to Casablanca), but it can baffling. I have a bit of Mariage Freres Rouge Sahara, which smells heavenly, good rooibos, roses and mint, and I loathed it till I learned the trick – cold brewing overnight. It went from loathe to crazy in love – though for me of course that is a summer tea!
That’s really interesting! I’ll pick up a sample of Rouge Sahara next time I’m at the MF shop. Definitely worth a try.
I have a problem with peppermint and boiling water. When peppermint (or any mint, actually, because a lot of mint on teas is another kind of mint) hits very hot water it goes bitter and weirdly spinachy to me.
My trick is to not brew teas with mint very hot. It works very well for green teas with mint (I am currently addicted to Casablanca), but it can baffling. I have a bit of Mariage Freres Rouge Sahara, which smells heavenly, good rooibos, roses and mint, and I loathed it till I learned the trick – cold brewing overnight. It went from loathe to crazy in love – though for me of course that is a summer tea!
That’s really interesting! I’ll pick up a sample of Rouge Sahara next time I’m at the MF shop. Definitely worth a try.