Ghostly Green

This was in a my Christmas stocking this past December in festive holiday packaging. I remember thinking Ghostly Green was an odd name to add into a Christmas based tea collection but hooray for a tea I’ve not had before.
There is a strong mint flavor with a hint of floral in the back. There’s a bit of creaminess to it as the tea cools.

English Tea Shop Advent Calendar: Days 7 & 11

I’m a big fan of Halloween/winter holiday/Christmas crossovers (Spookmas!), but even I don’t understand why this one is in a “festive” advent calendar. Is it referencing the ghosts from A Christmas Carol?! Maybe. As Nattie pointed out when this one came up in her advent, the palate and name are eerily (heh) similar to 52Teas’ Graveyard Mist. The latter quickly became one of my favorite teas when I tried it earlier this year, so I was curious how this one would match up.

Unsurprisingly, it doesn’t hold a [flickering, drippy] candle to Graveyard Mist. I’m actually getting only a tiny amount of mintiness. I can maaaaybe smell a little cinnamon if I concentrate really hard, but there is no rose or ginger at all. Why are they even in there?! Even the green base is flavorless. And I’m pretty sure it’s not covid talking, because I have been smelling and tasting other things all day long.

Edit: OK, now that it has cooled down a LOT, I’m getting a more noticeable creamy mint flavor. But still not much.

Don’t ask me what a tea called ‘ghostly green’ is doing in a Christmas advent calendar, when it seems like it should belong with some Halloween theme, but whatever the reason I’ll take it because I actually like this! I came downstairs for lunch and found the kettle still warm, so being too lazy to re-boil it just to let it cool again, I used the water that was already in, and I’m pretty sure it was too cool. Maybe that was key, because although a light brew, this is tasty! It’s a creamy mint, a profile which I love, on a green base which I don’t, but the base isn’t very prominent and because of the cool steep there’s no astringency at all. It reminds me a bit of 52teas Graveyard Mist – a favourite of mine – only not as good. Also the name is kind of similar, huh? Hmm… I resteeped in boiling water and there’s still no astringency, and I’m happy to report it holds up well! The leaf is actually quite large, which might account for the lack of astringency, but I can see something mixed in with it that looks like pieces of cinnamon bark (I don’t have the ingredients handy to check), and whatever it is it’s not coming through at all. I suspect there might be a few redundant ingredients in the mix, if the previous blends are anything to go by. This is definitely one of my favourites from the calendar.