Green Tea with Coconut

Okay, technically I got this tea to take to the office, but come on, who can resist trying all of the new teas ASAP when they’re delivered?

I drank this one in stages. I had about half of it hot, and the first thing I noticed was the vanilla scent. That flavor doesn’t come through as strongly on my tongue, where the flavor is dominated more by the lemongrass and the richness of the coconut. I couldn’t identify the ginger at first, but once I’d read it on the label it was clear how much the sharpness of the ginger adds. I adore coconut in a tea (and in everything else), but it can sometimes create an oily mouthfeel, and this blend avoids that: it’s more velvety than oily. Between the coconut and the tea itself, I get a nice floral aftertaste with minimal astringency.

So that was Stage 1. Then I realized I was running low on time to run a couple errands, and I had to run out of the house. By the time I got back, the tea had cooled to room temperature, and unfortunately, Stage 2 cannot compete. I couldn’t taste the green tea anymore or even much of the coconut. It was all lemongrass and ginger.

Would I drink this one cold? Nope, nope, nope. But that’s on me and my bad time management today, so based on the hot tea, this one gets an A. It’s the most I’ve enjoyed a cup of tea since I restarted the tea habit.

My 89-year-old grandmother has more joie de vivre than anybody I know. Every time I’m visiting my home state, I try to make time to have tea with her — we’ll spend a couple hours drinking tea while she regales me with story after story. I just sip my tea and listen! She mostly drinks decaf Lipton (or the grocery store brand equivalent) but usually has a few Harney & Sons tins kicking around in her cupboard. When I was back for the holidays, she brought some of this tea to my parents’ house during a quick visit and insisted I take the rest home with me. I complied, and I’m glad I did!

This feels like a very good entry point for the casual tea drinker who “doesn’t like” green tea (which is probably why she had a tin of it!). The coconut flavor is present but juuust muted enough that it’s not overpowering (it trends a bit toward the artificial end of the coconut flavor spectrum, but not aggressively so), and then the lemongrass brings in a subtle twist. I don’t get any ginger, honestly, although I am picking up a smidge of vanilla.

This is just a solid, tasty, mellow, smooth green tea with pleasantly subtle flavors. It’s an easy drinker and I have no complaints (although I guess I do wish the second steep was a little stronger; I’m mostly getting weak lemongrass). But I’d happily keep it on hand.

G is for … Green Tea with Coconut!

Let me tell you I am not a huge green tea fan at all, but when I steep these tea bags just right, I am obsessed with these light, coconut flavored teas! I was gifted a baggie of four a while ago in a swap and this was my last one, sad to see them go but there’s another blend I get to see leave my collection. I won’t be officially counting this as my empty until I finish the last green tea by Harney that I kept in the same baggie. It’s not the coconut blend, but it is some mystery green tea I have loved!

I purchased this tea on a whim after reading a blog post by Harney and Sons. And, I’m SO glad I did. I loved it! Truth be told, Im not a big green tea fan, but I WANT to be a green tea fan. And this was so pleasent, mild, no bitterness, with a sweet coconut taste. It was perfect for me. I even resteeped a second cup, which I don’t usually do. I was on day 2 of a headache and this was also soothing while I attempted homeschooling my kiddo today.

I didn’t find any of the flavors of this tea particularly pronounced. It was very much a mild green tea with a faint hint of coconut. I loved the pink tin, but wouldn’t purchase this again.

Found a tin of this at Winners. I didn’t bother reading the label and assumed that this was literally just green tea with coconut and nothing more. Upon bringing this home, I read the description, realizing that this also has lemongrass, vanilla, and ginger. Sounds good to most, I’m sure, but I groaned. Isn’t this basically Bangkok, then? That’s what I’m groaning about. I know a lot of people enjoy that one but for me, there’s something about the combination of lemongrass and coconut (and a touch of ginger) that reminds me of Thai coconut curry, which is fabulously delicious, but I’m not too crazy over drinking a tea that tastes like it. It’s just a little wrong for me.

So cold brewed, this is lemongrass and ginger followed by a puff of coconut. I probably would have preferred this without the coconut, or only the green base with coconut. One or the other.

Since Bangkok got a 71 from me a few years ago, this will too since I swear they’re basically the same tea. Do I regret it? Not really. At least I got a cute pink tin, and since I use at least two bags at a time when I cold brew, I could easily polish this off.