My brother works at Starbucks, and yesterday night, he texted me saying they got in some Festive Teas for Christmas, and that he was going to bring me one called ‘Joy’.
Little did he know, I’m a sucker for blackgreen blends. He didn’t know what it was, he just saw that they had new ones in, and so he grabbed a teabag out of one of their serving tins and tucked it into a plastic glove (to preserve the freshness!) for me.
I didn’t think they would DO a black-green blend. You really have to have the taste for them. Even more interestingly, this is a black_oolong_green blend. I set it aside to make this morning.
The dry bag had a strong black-green odour. Brewed, not much difference. The brewed tea itself, however, had more of a bakey oolong smell in there.
Initial, first hot sip was green and black. As it cooled, you can definitely taste the oolong in there. It’s a very dark, baked taste, and I’m almost not sure if it actually fits in. The green is bright, almost jasminey (I think I’ve been tainted; I always associate green tea with jasmine, regardless of whether or not it’s actually been scented with it). The black is… black. It’s not there very strongly, the two greener teas taking over with just the black to ground them. Sipping it more as it’s cooled, the black is definitely bright, Darjeelingy, although I think there’s supposed to be another black tea in here as well. It’s darker, and I can taste it too. It grounds everything.
Overall, I wish the black were a bit stronger, but it’s still nice. I doubt Joy is sold outside of Starbucks, so I’d probably have to pay some outrageous price for a box (this is the fancy Full Leaf bag they get in).
Must look at the Festive Teas next time I’m in Starbucks! This sounds good!