Perfectly Mint (Formerly Plantation Mint)

I like this tea! Sniffing the bag is very yummy… I love the smell of spearmint. I drank a cup of this with a peppermint brownie – it was delightful. I’ll drink it again!

Even though I normally don’t like spearmint, this stuff is great! It’s fresh, vibrant, and smooth with no bitterness.

I purchased a ton of this last year to make Tea Trees (trees made out of tea bags) for a Christmas Swap. I finally am getting around to having a mug myself. I’m positive I’ve had this out at a restaurant or at a friend’s home. Bigelow is very common in the grocery stores and discount stores.
I steeped it for just over 2 minutes, probably closer to 4 minutes. It reminds me of Wrigleys Spearmint Gum. Which makes sense as this tea bag is black tea and spearmint. I can’t remember the last time I’ve had a stick of it before. I also am not sure when else I’ve had spearmint aside from tea and that gum.
I feel like I should have used it this summer to make sun tea with some of my fresh peppermint. Pretty sure my oldest kid will like this one. The others in the home don’t care for mint flavoring. I know that visitors would recognize it and pick it out of the tea stash. Pretty sure it’s a favorite of my mother in law’s too. It’s not a favorite tea but a “make do with what you have tea” for me.

When I ordered this along with my groceries I was under the impression that it was an herbal spearmint tea. So I was surprised when it arrived and was labeled as a black tea.
I made a cup of this today with a bit of non-dairy milk added. I over-steeped it so I figured the milk would fix it. I actually quite like it this way. It’s nice and minty and the milk helps smooth the base tea/ hide it. I bet this one would be good iced during the summer.

Well, it’s Christmas at the parents house, which means I am cut off from my usual stash of brew. Instead, I find myself stuck drinking the only tea they keep in stock – Bigelow Plantation Mint. I brewed it according to their directions. I can’t say exactly what temp the water is because it was a stovetop kettle. I did follow the directions on the package and only steeped for 2 minutes. It was definitely long enough, the flavor is strong. The Mint of it is for sure present, and it sort of makes my mouth tingle drinking it. The mint flavor also lingers so it gives for a surprisingly fresh mouth feel after sipping. The tea itself is sort of an afterfhought here, and I really don’t know if there is any actual tea in this as it is hard to taste through the mint. Now, my mom has sworn by this stuff. According to her, a steaming cup of this with a shot of Paddys works wonders for a cold. I think I will let her have it. Back when I only drank grocery store tea, this was good enough. But now that I’ve been drinking higher quality loose leaf, this stuff is kinda bad. Nowhere near as bad as the cup I had today at the nursing home (That was something labeled as tea but I’m pretty sure was just sawdust they waved past a tea plant). But Plantation Mint gets a bye from me. Once I’m done with what I have I probably won’t buy any more. I can get better quality mint tea elsewhere.

Plantation Mint has a name that doesn’t really recommend it. It also comes out of the packaging smelling like chewing gum, which was a bit disconcerting, but at least makes it clear they do really seal in the freshness with those little pouches. Once brewed, the scent becomes more subtle. Upon tasting, the mint is still a dominant flavor and leaves a bit of a pleasant aftertaste. Though this tea is a blend, the black tea in Plantation Mint is smooth and not particularly noticeable. The tea’s flavor is not at all bitter and is pleasant to drink completely unsweetened. I don’t drink mint tea everyday, but this one is surprisingly good for the price and it may become a mainstay in my cabinet. In sum, this is a smooth, sweet and inexpensive change from the more typical peppermint teas that line grocery store shelves. Bigelow’s done good with this one.

Note: For those looking strictly for a herbal or decaf tea, please note that is has a black tea and contains a fair amount of caffeine.

​To me this is a perfect blend of black tea and spearmint

I am a huge fan of mint teas and when I found this in our work stash I was quick to try it. Like others mentioned, the smell upon opening the package is fantastic. So minty!

I always over-steep my tea bags, usually leaving them in the cup until the tea is gone and I think that only made this better. I didn’t get much of a black tea taste (although I am happy for the extra caffeine kick), but the mint wasn’t overpowering either.

I’ll be keeping my eye out for some of this in stores.

It smelled so promising. The spearmint was a nice change from the usual peppermint. But (at least as a hot tea), the flavor combo of spearmint and black tea didn’t appeal to me.

I grabbed this one, after I read mention of it in a Rita Mae Brown book (one of the Sneaky Pie Bown books, can’t remember which one). A refreshing cuppa… I think I’ll try it iced this summer, I think it’ll be good. I haven’t tried any sweetener or milk in it.