I was in the mood for a cup of green tea with my lunch, and I picked up a single teabag of this from Ost’s cupboard sale, so thank you Ost! This is exactly the sort of thing I want to sample first, because I actually really don’t like jasmine; typically it is always scented way too strongly for my migraine-sensitive head to handle, giving the tea a “perfumey” feel that I just can’t handle. Unless the tea has a very delicate touch of jasmine, or is blended with other flavors and scents just right, I just can’t take it, so I always avoid it in blends unless I can get a tiny sample first. Thus far I’ve only ever found one blend that hit my sweet spot just right, Bird & Blend’s Jasmine Poached Pears, but they don’t make it anymore… and the last time they blended that one, they were still Bluebird Tea Co.
I was wondering if the mandarin in this would be enough to balance out the jasmine, but sniffing the brewed cup… yaaaaaa, I’m smelling way too much jasmine. I don’t think this is going to be a tea for me, I’m afraid. The flavor is fairly pleasant (it’s never been the taste I’ve had a problem with, just the overwhelming feel that I’m inhaling grandma perfume because my head is so sensitive to strong aromas), with the strong floral flavor having a slight orange citrus tanginess toward the end of the sip. An added plus is the mandarin isn’t coming off with that extremely artificial taste like most mandarin teas I’ve tried, perhaps because the dominant flavor is the strong, sweet jasmine flavor. The base has a nice warm hay note and there is a green bean/vegetal aftertaste on the tongue, after some of the floral sweetness has died down a bit. There is no bitterness or astringency.
It’s a nice tea, and easier for me to drink than several jasmine teas I’ve tried in the past; if another sampler teabag showed up my way, I’d be able to drink it. But it’s still a little too aromatic that I don’t think I’d ever add it to my collection.
Flavors: Citrus, Floral, Green Beans, Hot Hay, Jasmine, Orange Zest, Sweet, Tangy, Vegetal
