Teagardenia's Green tea is beautiful
Tea : Misty Mountain Green
Producer: Teagardenia
Website: Misty Mountain Green
Website description: A specialty green tea from the misty mountains of Darjeeling, has refreshing notes of fresh greens and legumes. The liquor is light-bodied, smooth, and slightly umami notes. Notes of fresh cooked veggies greets the palate and gradually grows into prominence. The light notes of cooked corn layered the middle beautifully and at last a hint of umami notes makes it a perfect joy. The tea has no astringency and a lingering sweet aftertaste.
Brewing Specs
Water: 240 ml/ approximately 8 oz
Temperature: 175 F
Steep Time: 3 minutes for 3 gm.
My Review System: https://artofthepair.com/tea-overview/
My Overall Impression (Score of 82.0%)
This is an amazing tea that contrasts the green teas I’ve previously reviewed. This is a very smooth, clean, easy drinking tea compared to the others. The aromas are very mild; so much so they are hard to distinguish. However, it makes up for it in the flavor and mouthfeel. I can state it this way:
- This is a great tea for me to relax to (a simple tea for a simple time). This is what I sip on when I want to walk away from everything for a few minutes.
While some may say that its lacking depth, I believe that its simplicity is all the depth you need to be happy.
The price as of 4/6/23 is $10.58 for 50 grams or 1.76 oz weight. Broken down:
- 50 gm / 3 gm for steeping = 16.7 cups
- 16 cups from package = app 66 cents per cup
Typically, I double steep all my teas (use the tea twice) so I can get 32 cups or approximately 33 cents per cup. This is definitely in line with other teas I’ve reviewed and I would definitely pay this over and over for a good cup. Definitely worth checking out for the flavor nuances, and easy drinking.
Quick note: This is one of the few teas that I would be apprehensive with pairing food. Yes, you can do it, but I would try it first a couple of times and look at my suggestions below. It’s delicate and you want the tea to shine, not be overpowered with your pairing.
Aromas
- Opening the package, very faint tones of dried apples, white pepper, malt and moss. There are hints of brown sugar, tobacco, and dried spinach.
- This is a flat bell curve meaning that none of the aromas really stand above the others on the profile.
- In the cup, its again very mild on the nose. Primary aromas are malt, moss and fresh zucchini and green bean leaves. This is followed with faint notes of canned corn (Yep, I said it), non-distinctive herbs and a light floral essence. Exceptionally pleasant but very hard to determine exactly what’s there.
Flavors
- The mouthfeel is filled with umami like the sensation of eating sauteed mushrooms.
- It’s a very smooth, clean drinking brew with not a lot of distinctive stand out flavors.
- There are notes of butternut squash, malt, biscuit crackers, and sea salt. This is followed by hints of dried apple, lavender, and green vegetables.
- One of the most delicate cups of tea that I’ve encountered which makes it special.
- Low tannins, acids and dryness contribute to a lower body tea on the palate.
Scores
- Aromas (3.8/5)
- Flavors (8.2/10)
- Overall impression (4.4/5)
- Total score = 82.0 percent (16.4/20)
Foods to Pair and Why
- Squash finger sandwich to match up with the mouthfeel and flavor profiles.
- Garden picked lettuce and tomato sandwich with a hint of herbed mayo (Duke’s) to match the flavors, mouthfeel, and umami and contrast the acid levels.
- Olive oil poached tuna finished with a tea infused herb vinaigrette to match the flavors, sweetness, and acid along with umami.
- Corn maque choux (without spicy peppers and substitute oyster mushrooms) to match the flavors, mouthfeel, sweetness and acid levels.