My Overall Impression (Score of 85%)

This is the first tea that I’ve reviewed that I classify as a food tea.  Most teas can be paired with food or enjoyed on its own.  This one I feel will match better with food.  Do not get me wrong; I Love this tea.  I can drink it for a quick pick me up as the green tones and drying qualities wake up your palate.  However, matched with the food ideas below will elevate this tea to another dimension.  I did try a bit of red romaine with this.  The bitterness and astringency in both were canceled out.

As of 3/3/23, the tea normally costs $10.80 for 2 oz (50 gm) but is on sale for $5.40.

Broken down:

• 56 gm / 3 gm for steeping = 19 cups
• 50 gm cost $5.80 (Sale Price) or 31 cents per cup

Typically, I double steep all my teas (use the tea twice) so I can get 38 cups or approximately 15 cents per cup.  Without looking at the price, this is a great cup of tea that is full of body and lovely aromas.  For the discounted price, its even a better value. 

Quick note: In the title, you can see the letters FTGFOP1.  These refer to the following terms:

Fop – flowery Orange Pekoe describes large tea leaves.

G – golden refers to the gold tips of the new leaves.

T- refers to Tippy or describes the high portion of gold tips that make up the tea.

F- Finest level of quality.

Therefore, FTGFOP1 is the Finest Golden Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe which makes this tea one of the finest ranked teas.

Aromas

• In the bag, large aromas of grassy notes and hay followed by Italian herbs such as parsley, thyme, marjoram, rosemary with a hint of alfalfa.
• In the cup, the herbal qualities shine with a hint of hops and seaweed.
• The aromas are not as strong initially but build over time.

Flavors

• This is a bone-dry tea with pleasant astringency.
• It’s filled with green flavors throughout such as oregano, parsley, and bay leaves. These are long lasting and dominate the grassy notes.
• The tea has drying properties for the palate so you may consider a touch of sweetener (in this review, no sweetener was added).

Scores

• Aromas (4.6/5)
• Flavors (8.2/10)
• Overall impression (4.2/5)
  • Total score = 85 percent (17/20)

Foods to Pair

• Basil Pesto Pasta with Sauteed Shrimp as the pesto would bring out the natural herb qualities in the tea.
• Herb Based Salad as the herbs in the salad would match with the tea’s qualities.
• Grilled rosemary marinated roasted vegetables as the grilling will caramelize the sugars to balance the astringency in the tea.
• Spinach Frittata as the spinach would balance out the herbal qualities and the tea’s acid would clean the palate.
• Chicken Salad in endive cups as an appetizer as the bitter endive would balance the tea.