Mark B

I have to admit. This is a guilty pleasure. I know, I know. People aren’t really fans of this tea, but I like it. I almost didn’t review it here, but for the sake of transparency, I thought I’d be real.

I use to shop at Teavana, until the hole they were burning in my pocket got too big and I smartened up. Every now and then when I’m on the road I’ll stop in if I have no other place to restock my tea supplies. For the most part I’m not a big fan of their products. But this isn’t a review of Teavana.

When I was just wetting my feet in the tea world, Pear Luna was one of my side teas; a little afternoon or early evening indulgence. There’s a lot of overt stuff going on with this tea and you can get quite a few steepings for your leaf. Honestly I haven’t drank it in a while so I’m afraid I can’t offer more detail. I remember the strong fruity/floral scent both dry and brewed, the rose and pear, or was it the peach? Now more familiar with white teas, I don’t recall any of that flavor. I’m pretty sure it was overwhelmed by all the other business going on.

Take care the water is not too hot. Instructions call for 175 °F. Hotter temps I found led to more bitter astringency. It can be overbrewed, so I erred on the side of a shorter steep. Anything over 2 minutes and I think you’re in trouble. This is not a tea you just want to pour boiling water over.

The dried fruit has some sugar in it already, so beware. However, a little agave or rock sugar can make this tea quite satisfying. With sweetener or without, this is a big, silly, flowery tea. Not much subtlety about it.

Don’t go into it with your expectations too high. Play around with cooler temps and shorter steeping time and you might just like it!