I picked this tea up at a farmer’s market in LA – Sugarbird is available throughout the city, and one of my favorite sandwich places uses them for their iced tea, so I thought I would give them a shot. They had several options available, but this one appealed to me the most, so I picked up an ounce.
It has taken me several tries to brew this mixture of white and green tea correctly, but I think I’ve finally got it dialed in. The dry leaf has a muted fruity smell, and that translates pretty well to the taste of the hot tea. The flavor is very delicate all around. White tea is the predominant flavor, with hints of sweet and tart from the strawberry and acai in the mix. The green tea seems to be giving it a bit more body than a white tea would ordinarily have, which is nice. As it cools, the fruit flavors become more dominant, and they aren’t artificial tasting in any way.
I’ve cold brewed this tea a couple of times as well, and it makes a decent, if light, iced tea. I’ll be trying again with some more leaf to see if that improves the flavor. Overall, though I do like the concept of the tea, I won’t be picking this up again. It’s pretty frail and finicky, and for me, there’s not enough of a taste payoff to make it worthwhile. But I will probably try a couple more blends from this company in the future.
