I’m surprised at how much I ended up liking this one! I wouldn’t usually choose an outright mint tea, though I don’t mind mint as an ingredient in the teas I choose. So I chose this as a sample on a whim. The scent of the dry tea reminded me a lot of Winterfresh gum, in a pleasant way: cool and minty with a hint of spice.
I’ve already poured my second cup before I even got far enough to talk about how it tastes! Again, surprising to me for a mint tea. Anyway, I feel like I get 3 distinct layers of flavor, and each seems to sneak up on the previous. The first is, as expected, mint. This quickly gives way to spice and the black pepper effect really stands out here—it’s a great little kick. I get a hint of the fennel, too.
The part that intrigued me was the very end, right after swallowing the tea, this sweetness crept up, presumably from the licorice root. It lingers for a few seconds along the with the lasting spiciness of the black pepper and has a really neat effect. I usually drink most teas, especially non-fruit teas, sweetened with something. But this really didn’t need it as that licorice root kicked in.
I added a spoonful of honey to my last cup out of my sample batch and, while I think this honestly would make it too sweet for many people, it officially knocked this tea out of the park for me. Having that warm sweetness from the start to accompany those spice notes is just really nice. Yum!
Flavors: Black Pepper, Earth, Fennel, Mint, Spicy, Sweet
