Final tea of the evening, and another first note for a new tea!

I got this from RiverTea because I thought it sounded very different (I don’t have many savoury teas), and because it sounds like it would be awesome to drink when you have a cold.

I was a bit wary of the peppermint being so high up in the ingredient list, though, as well as the long steep time. The canister says 8-10 minutes, and I let that go even longer than I should have, since I was on the computer.

Anyways.

When dry, the leaf smells overwhelmingly of mint, though you can see other green things mixed in and what looks maybe like little flower heads. When brewed, it smells very savoury. I can smell the mint, but the rosemary and sage really come to the fore. This is reflected in the taste, which is reminiscent of a kitchen spice cabinet! Sage, rosemary, mint… I bet you could make a nice broth and add this in as a bouquet garni.

What I’m surprised by is how well the peppermint takes this treatment. In my experience, if you steep peppermint for more than 1-2 minutes, it starts tasting really harsh and chemically. Here, it does have a bit of a metallic aftertaste, but it’s quite light, and that’s after brewing for more than 10 minutes. I bet this would be just perfect for cold winter nights.

Preparation
Boiling 8 min or more 3 tsp 12 OZ / 354 ML

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Bio

Updated March 2016:

I’m a writer and editor who’s fallen in love with loose-leaf tea. I’ve also set up a site for tea reviews at http://www.booksandtea.ca – an excellent excuse to keep on buying and trying new blends. There will always be more to discover!

In the meantime, since joining Steepster in January 2014, I’ve gotten a pretty good handle on my likes and dislikes

Likes: Raw/Sheng pu’erh, sobacha, fruit flavours, masala chais, jasmine, mint, citrus, ginger, Ceylons, Chinese blacks, rooibos.

Dislikes (or at least generally disinclined towards): Hibiscus, rosehip, chamomile, licorice, lavender, really vegetal green teas, shu/ripe pu’erh.

Things I generally decide on a case-by-case basis: Oolong, white teas.

Still need to do my research on: matcha

I rarely score teas anymore, but if I do, here’s the system I follow:

100-85: A winner!
84-70: Pretty good. This is a nice, everyday kind of tea.
69-60: Decent, but not up to snuff.
59-50: Not great. Better treated as an experiment.
49-0: I didn’t like this, and I’m going to avoid it in the future. Blech.

Location

Toronto, ON, Canada

Website

http://www.booksandtea.ca

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