The Secret Garden Tea Company, Wild Strawberry Green Tea

The Secret Garden Tea Company Description:
Sweet strawberries blended with green tea: the next best thing to enjoying sun-ripened berries fresh from the patch. Pairs wonderfully with mild dishes such as lemon-buttered halibut or berry muffins.

Ingredients: Green tea, strawberry pieces, safflower petals, natural flavors

Price: $10.95/100g

Sample provided by The Secret Garden Tea Company

My Review:
The Secret Garden Tea Company is the newly opened online store side of Vancouver BC's The Secret Garden Tea Room. They generously furnished several large samples of their tea for my honest review.

Today I am reviewing their Wild Strawberry. I have high hopes for this one. Removing the seal on the aluminum lined paper sample bag, I am met with strawberry. Duh, you say? You know it doesn't always turn out that way. Sometimes I really have to search for the expected aroma. Not so here, and it smells like the real deal.

Removing a scoop of leaf, there are a few small dried strawberry pieces here. This is a good thing. It gives enough visual image without becoming filler. The leaf is flat and dried grass in appearance. I am assuming it is sencha, though I see nothing in the description to confirm it.

The leaf was steeped with 180 F water for three minutes in my press.  A grassy leaf scent could be detected along side the wonderful strawberry aroma.

The liquor is honey yellow or maybe a little lighter. There is a lot of unexpected dust in the water that settles to the bottom after moments. I am not sure what this is from as the leaf itself is nice size pieces of broken leaf. The scent is again natural strawberry.

The taste is just what I wanted. Strawberry. Not just strawberry, real tasting strawberry. It is not puckering tart like the real thing. On the other hand it is very natural tasting. The green tea is present but stays far out of the limelight. Often I want more balance in my flavored teas. Not today. This is strawberry.

I have thought a couple of my reviews of The Secret Garden Tea Company products have been a bit harsh - but in my defense, as honest as I could make them. This tea however, I really do like. I have enjoyed it so much I am about to steep up another cup. I believe I will use more leaf and see if I can imagine the tartness of biting into a fresh ripe strawberry.  

You can find Wild Strawberry Green Tea here.