Spearmint Green Tea (Thé Vert à la Menthe)

It’s so warm in my office (not to mention outside) that I’m starting to wish I’d brought cold brewed tea to work with me this week. I hesitate because sometimes it’s so cold on a morning that it doesn’t seem sensible, but then that turns into a day like today and I’m stumped. Hot office, hot drinks, sad face.

I did the next best thing and made up a cup of this one. Mint sounded the most cooling and refreshing thing out of the choices available, and spearmint is always a favourite with me. Having said that, it’s been a long old time since I last drank this one. Clearly mint isn’t as appealing during the winter!

As ever, this is sweet from the spearmint and cooling on the palate, with just the tiniest bite from the green tea base. I’d happily cold brew this one, and must remind myself to do so once I actually start preparing cold tea for work. It won’t be long now, based on today’s weather!

Pretty much the perfect tea for today’s situation. I like that there’s a tea for every occasion, and that mint can be cooling even when it’s hot. Oh, the paradoxes.

1 tsp, 2 minutes, 175. No additions.

From Teeny tiny TTB2

Whoa, thats minty! Spearminty! Toothpastey! The super minty smell appealed to me to try it, even though I’m more of a peppermint person. It is pretty minty, not enough to feel like you cleaned your teeth, but enough to have a minty taste linger for awhile in your mouth. The smokey gunpowder tea is an interesting contrast. Not bad and very refreshing.

The weather here in Boston has been rather Morrocan of late, so I figured that this would be a good time to try out Kusmi’s version of Morrocan Mint tea. I have had this small tin for a while, but I usually change my mind upon lifting the lid, as the preponderance of spearmint makes me realize that this is not really a good first green of the day choice—at least not for me.

The appearance of the dried tea reminds me of an old can of Republic of Tea Morrocan Mint. I must never have developed a liking for it, because it eventually became so old that I ended up throwing it away when I moved.

Gunpowder green appears to be the tea, and the mint of course is spearmint. This tastes okay, but it’s not my favorite combination. I should get my hands on some straight-up high-grade gunpowder to see whether I like that tea. In the past, I tried some middling versions with left me with a negative impression of the entire genre.

Thank you Cameron B., for sending some of this my way!

I’m usually a fan of Moroccan mint teas so I figured I’d enjoy this. Oh my gosh, is it MINTY! I smelled the mint in the mailbox before I even opened up the package… he he

I steeped up a pot of it this morning in my little red Stump teapot. It definitely looks like a pellet-shaped gunpowder green tea and is a dark yellow in color. I am finding the spearmint in this blend to be a bit overwhelming to say the least. I like Moroccan mint teas where you can taste a bit of the smoky green underneath it and I’m not getting that here. I wonder how this is flavored and could you please tone it down, Kusmi? hee hee.

This seems to be a common theme between Kusmi and I — their flavored teas just seem a bit too flavored for me.

Anyway I tried this plain and then added a bit of sugar, it is good both ways but I do sort of feel like I’m drinking toothpaste. I put the rest in my Lupicia cooler to cold brew, as I’m thinking this would be really nice with tomorrow’s lunch and a few ice cubes might tone it down a bit as well.

Thanks again Cameron, it was fun to swap with you!

Yum yum yum! I cold steeped this one for about 12 hours (1 heaping tsp for 8 oz) and it came out very tasty indeed. It’s very refreshingly spearminty – I don’t really taste green tea at all to be honest. I added some syrup because I like my minty things to be a little sweet. This would be amazing after you’ve been outside on a hot day, it’s so cooling and relaxing.

I think I may try this one again with a shorter steep time just to see if I can get a combination of green tea and spearmint flavors, but I am finding it very yummy as is. I’m going to bump up the rating a couple points. :)

Voila un thé que j’aime beaucoup mais pas assez pour le prendre sans arrêts . Je l’utilise sous formes de tisane ou bien de thé glacé car l’été approche a grands pas . Ce thé est frais rafraichissant et très agréable a prendre … je vous le recommandent vivement … un bon thé bien frais rien de mieux pour l’été je n’ai pas grands chose a dire sur ce thé mais je l’adore … kiss

This is not my favorite green-mint blend. Kousmi used to have a better one with a stronger mint flavor and pieces of rock sugar mixed in, since the N. African taste is to drink it very sweet. I prefer the spearmint-green blend from TeaGschwedner, which also makes Le Touareg—gunpowder green with peppermint. Extremely strong and addictive!

The dry leaves smell delicious, and a little bit of the tea goes a long way. I love green tea, and the mint flavor was not overpowering like in most minty teas. This tea has the perfect balance between earthy and refreshing.

I love this spearmint tea iced! It is absolutely delicious. I do recommend adding a little bit of sugar and not steeping it for too long. The spearmint smells wonderful and tastes great.

I tried it as a sample in the Kusmi Tea shop (Montreal) and have been addicted ever since.

Green tea usually makes me sick (heart palpitations) but this one seems to be fine.

The box looks lovely, which counts a lot for me!

Great tea, overall. Reminds me of the Moroccan tea I drank a while ago, with fresh mint.

A favorite — minty with a smoky quality.