Vanilla Mint

Made this sample last night. Really soothing hot, but OMG much better iced IMO!
The vanilla is perfectly balanced and the mint is just right, not so over the top that you feel you are drinking mint chewing gum, it feels pleasant in my mouth. I have never been a fan of green tea, but this combo with the black tea is a win win for me. The pleasantness of a green without the grassy notes and the comfort of a black tea without the bitterness. I wish I had sampled this before I placed a GM order, but there is always next time:)

Golden Moon Sampler Tea #6:
After running around campus all day handing out conference fliers, I was really in the mood for something refreshing, but I also wanted to try something completely new and interesting. Green and black tea with mint and vanilla? Sounds like a winner to me! Provided it pulls it off, of course.

This tea is wonderful! I’m not sure I can do a description of the taste justice, but it starts with a core of mint that seems surrounded by a layer of vanilla, surrounded by a hint of black tea, finishing off with the taste of green. At least, I think that’s what I got out of it. I finished the cup in the space of about three minutes, so I can’t really be sure. The mixture of black and green makes this tea light and ensures that the two flavors, which are usually quite overpowering enough on their own don’t dominate the tea – I think the green especially serves to smooth everything out.

I still have some left over in the teapot and I am really tempted to chill it and see what it tastes like iced. Unfortunately, we recently had a pretty nasty kimchee (one of my roommates is Korean) spill in the fridge, so that is probably a bad idea. Maybe I’ll just leave it overnight? It does get pretty chilly at night here.

Definitely need more of this.

Another sample I received from them yesterday (only two left). Opening the package I instantly smell mint and vanilla, like a creme de menthe. The wet leaves, which are very disappointingly broken little things, smell like an Andy’s candy:chocolate and mint. I brewed this up at 175 instead of boiling because of the green tea in it. The package says boiling but I’m always afraid to bitter the green tea. It came out nice and smooth, the vanilla tempers the mint a bit and at first all I could taste was mint, black tea with a vanilla like aftertaste. Now that it’s starting to cool I can taste the green tea, it’s gunpowder green tea, I know that smokiness just about anywhere. I can definitely taste the flavors more as it cools, I would like to try this iced but I would have to buy more considering that I find that I have to use their entire sample to make a 10oz pot or cup. But it’s good and if I buy from them again this will be on the list!

Two flavors I never would have thought about combining – how is it going to come out? Two different kinds of tea, too. Brave, those souls at Golden Moon. I like both vanilla and mint, but in sampling this tea I realize that I think of mint as a high, cool note and vanilla as a low, warm note. I keep getting thrown off all the way through – the smell as I open it up, the smell as it’s steeping, and the flavors as I drink it. It’s like I’m listening to a bass and a soprano at the same time, and wondering where the tenor is!

It’s weird, I like all the flavors in this, and it’s probably just me but I think it would take some getting used to if I were to drink this on a regular basis. Not quite sure what to rate this yet, so I’ll throw it somewhere in the middle.

Didn’t know exactly how to steep this as it was a green and black tea blend, so held the temperature around 175 for 2.5 minutes for the full sample bag. I would definitely order this tea, I like the way the vanilla calms down the mint and the black tea alerts you as the green tea soothes. It was just what I needed this afternoon as a refreshing tea. I’d love to try this one iced.

I decided to try this because I wanted to get it out of the way. See, I don’t really like vanilla or mint, so I figured I wouldn’t care much for this. Sometimes when I make such assumptions I’m pleasantly surprised, but not this time. Dry, the tea smells like one of those pinwheel candies, except I can’t quite make out whether we’re talking spearmint or peppermint, here, or a combination of the two. Steeped, the minty fragrance is dulled just a little bit; I’m not able to detect much vanilla, at all. The taste is balanced, though. The very first sip had an odd bitterness to it, but it didn’t reappear. The aftertaste is again a bit odd: neither mint nor vanilla lingers, but suddenly I feel like sweet spots are covering my tongue like glitter. So weird. (The tea is sweetened with demerara sugar, but I didn’t eat or drink anything before this, so my palate should be clean/neutral.)

I’m obviously biased, but I think even if I loved vanilla and mint (in tea), this one wouldn’t be at the top of my short list. Unrelated to this tasting note, I’m also giving this tea growly face because it burned my tongue. Hmph.

Delicious! I don’t usually like mint mixed with things, but this is really tasty. Good vanilla, and peppermint. I love that GM uses real things to flavor the tea – even in my sample I could see chopped vanilla beans. Not sure I’d drink regularly enough to buy, but I’d definitely recommend trying this one.

I’m drinking it cold now. But it was good warm too. It’s quite gentle. Soothing.
Perfect weekend tea…

I’m pretty happy with this blend, actually (although it may have been a bad idea to drink hot tea in this hot weather- sweat). It’s definitely a mint-black primarily, and I do think I drowned out the green tea with my 4 minute steep time. The vanilla is there and lends the tea a creaminess that I am enjoying. MmmmMmmm…darn you and your delicious expensive blends, Golden Moon. I wish you had a student discount ;)

I sampled this today, and took pictures, but they’re not posted yet.

When I first smelled the dry leaves I thought it reminded me of Candy Cane Lane, but then I realized what I was smelling was almost exactly like Harney & Sons’ White Christmas. I’m more a fan of green and black teas than white, so I was excited to see how this held up.

Also, I recently realized that I’m not really a fan of vanilla teas, so this was also kindof a test to see how much I dislike them.

Of course, I was wrong. I love vanilla teas when blended with other flavors. I can tell by my past tea ratings. And this was no exception. I adore both Candy Cane Lane and White Christmas, but I think I like this one more. The tea stands up to the flavors a bit better, and you know you’re drinking tea, while still getting a nice blend of mint and vanilla. This mix of green and black teas is really nice as well.

So, I might consider this as a holiday tea this year, or maybe just a tasty tea to keep on hand. :)