SBT: Strawberry Kiwi Green

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Pulled out the second of my green SBTs. In some ways, I’m glad I waited a while before trying them, because I feel like my appreciation of green tea is greater than it used to be. This one got the usual SBT treatment, modified slightly to take into account the green base (cooler water, slightly shorter steep time). I noticed this last time, but they seem to come out almost fluorescent yellow, which is interesting. It’s much brighter than a “normal” green tea colour, but I’ve no idea why. Answers on a postcard.

To taste, I get mostly candy strawberry and just a hint of kiwi. The strawberry is front and centre, the kiwi mostly in the background (and a little more in the aftertaste). It’s super smooth, with no bitterness or astringency from the base. I’m not even sure I’d peg it as a green tea, if I didn’t know. It’s so smooth and delicately sweet that I’d probably think it was just fruit. It’s nice to have the caffeine, though! The strawberry flavour is clear and fruity-juicy, but I’d really like a bit more kiwi. I feel like kiwi isn’t a flavour I see a lot in tea, and yet I can imagine it pairing perfectly with so many things. I feel like the strawberry here would come over a bit less sweet if the kiwi was more prominent, but I like sweet so I’ve no real complaints.

While I know it’s definitely time to drink these up, I’m also sad that they’re disappearing from my cupboard. SBT are a big part of my tea history, and mostly what got me drinking iced tea in the first place. It’s going to be fine, but it’s not going to be the same.

Backlog:

I’ve noticed that over the past year or so, my iced tea consumption has increased significantly. I used to only drink iced tea during the hottest months of the year, and when it wasn’t the hottest months of the year, the iced tea pitcher got stashed back into the cupboard. But now, I keep a pitcher of iced tea in the fridge at all times. I like having something cold to drink in the fridge and since I don’t drink soda, that’s out. I drink water but I sometimes want something other than water and when that happens, I pull out the iced tea pitcher and enjoy a glass of iced tea.

And usually, it’s a SBT tea that I’m drinking because I love the convenience of the large tea sachet. It makes it easy to brew and especially to cold brew. I usually prefer loose leaf but when it comes to iced tea, I find myself wanting more convenience.

All that said … this isn’t my favorite green tea offering from SBT. But it IS tasty. With my first glass, I had trouble identifying flavors until I reached the end of the glass. Then I poured myself a second glass and I could really taste the strawberry and kiwi. The strawberry is more prominent than the kiwi and the green tea is soft and buttery.

Tasty and refreshing.