Petit Tea, Organic Lemon Grass Green Tea

Picture Credit: Petit Tea

Petit Tea Description:
Fair Trade & USDA Organic Tea in Artisan Pyramid Sachets
This high grown and lightly oxidized Sri Lankan organic green tea offers a unique balance between flavor and universally known benefits of green tea with tropical aroma of refreshing lemon grass.

Contents:
24 Pyramid Tea Sachets

Ingredients:
Organic green Ceylon tea with lemongrass

Sample provided by Petit Tea

My Review:
We have had a week of the most incredibly beautiful spring weather. The red bud and dogwood trees are in full bloom. Our magnolia tree is covered in blossoms and filling our yard with its fragrance. Today it is raining, which brings me back indoors and reaching for something light that continues to remind me of spring.

The tea of the day is Organic Lemon Grass Green, a pyramid sachet from Petit Tea.  The $6.95 box contains 24 sachets. That translates into $0.29/cup. That is a fairly economical cup. Whether it is a value depends on how it tastes. Let's find out.

Each sachet is individually wrapped in its own sealed wrapper. Once opened, I give it the sniff test. It has a pleasant and light grassy aroma with just a hint of lemon. I can clearly see lemon grass pieces along with pieces of tea leaf.

To me, what makes this tea interesting is knowing this is a Ceylon green tea. I seldom see that on the label. Sri Lanka is more noted for its black tea production.

I looked over the box and the website for some general brewing instructions. Not finding any, I went with the generic parameters found on virtually every box of tea on the grocer's shelves. Bring water to a boil and steep 3-5 minutes (I used 4 minutes). I would generally treat green tea more tenderly but opted to go barbarian on this one the first time as I suspect most newbies would approach it in this manner.

The result is a honey colored brew with a light lemon fragrance.

After noticing the color, I removed the sachet and was impressed by its swollen nature. It is not over stuffed but it's close.

Tasting, the lemon grass captures your senses without overwhelming. The downside of the cup is the fair amount of bitterness. I believe this is due to using too hot of a water temperature or too long of a steep. I must add it is not undrinkable. Ceylon black tea often has a good deal of bite and most people don't mind it.

I added some sweetener and that mellowed out the cup. Now I not only am enjoying the cleansing flavor of the lemon grass, I am also catching the green tea underneath.

For my second cup, I decided to experiment by preparing the tea at 195 F and steeping for 2 1/2 minutes. This looks the same as the first cup. The cup scent has more grassy notes and less lemon.

Tasting, I am amazed at the total difference. The bitterness is completely absent however the lemon grass flavor is very light. I can taste more of the green tea and a light smokiness that I thought I caught it in the first cup. I added a little sweetener and it evened the cup out a little by slightly lifting the lemon flavor.

This one is going to require a little more effort to find the sweet spot. As long as I used sweetener both cups were good. There should be a spot where sweetener is not required. What I want is somewhere between the two cups. My thinking is to try the boiling water that the lemon grass seems to need and cut the steeping time to 2 1/2 minutes, so as to hold down the bite.

If you always sweeten, this is a good value tea. If you don't use additions, I remain convinced this is still worth trying. It just requires trying different brewing parameters until you hit the spot that speaks to you.

You can find Petit Tea Organic Lemon Grass Green tea here.

---------------------------------------------
Edit:

Found the sweet spot! Full boiling water and steep for 2 1/2 - 3 minutes. The lemon grass is present and flavorful and there is no tea bitterness. Did not require sweetener but takes it well.