Minecraft Creeper

From Here’s Hoping Teabox 3. I have friends who are crazy addicted to Minecraft, but so far I’ve avoided the game. Sipping this to just say I have tried a minecraft fandom blend!

Very interesting combination of gunpowder, hojicha and kukicha. Its got lots of green tea complexity going on with grassy brightness, spring leafy, bit of smoke and hint of roast.

Already on my 3rd cup from the teabox, and I just picked it up a few hours ago!

’Here’s Hoping’ traveling teabox Round #2 // Tea #20
I have a passing familiarity with Minecraft. I haven’t played any videogames lately, though I wish I was – I miss them! Minecraft seems like it would take 100% of my time though, which is exactly why I must not play any videogames right now. haha. I had to try this tea though – this here is a green tea triple threat! I don’t think I’ve actually had these three types together before, or even two of them, so interesting! The hojicha makes itself known on the first sip, even though there isn’t a ton of it that I see in the blend itself. Then the gunpowder flavors – vegetal green. I didn’t really taste the kukicha, and I’m confident I would have been able to…maybe not. A nice blend!
Steep #1 // 30 min after boiling // 3 min
Steep #2 // (half cup) 30 min after boiling // ??

From the HHTTB2

Minecraft is a big, big thing at our house. Creepers and Skeletons and Endermen, oh my! So, when I saw this tea in the tea box I knew I had to try it. I have to say that the combination of Gunpowder, Hojicha, and Kukicha made a tea that looks very creeper-esque.

This is not a subtle tea. As far as green teas go this one has kick which I guess is appropriate since creepers explode when they get close to you. The scent is roasty and lightly smokey. I was actually expecting much more smoke from this tea, but it’s fairly light. The taste is like dry hay. In fact, as soon as I sipped this it reminded me of walking in my grandpa’s hay field. My grandpa lives in Mississippi, and the hay during August smells hot, dry, and toasty. If you grab a piece and bite it there is a sweetness to it. That is this tea. The roasty flavor from the Hojicha comes through at the beginning of the sip. The end has a soft sweetness that almost seems out of place, but at the same time it’s really nice. I’m not sure if my particular cup didn’t have a lot of the Gunpowder green in it, but there was not a lot of smokey flavor. I do think it would work well in this tea, and if I have another cup I’ll be sure to mix the tea up so I can get more smokiness in my cup.

A very nice tea. I wasn’t sure this would be something I’d like, but it was thoroughly enjoyable, and I love the memories it brought back as I drank it. Tea is awesome like that.

Presented by one of my favorite tea companies Adagio Tea and their great ‘design your own blend’ ability, the Creeper tea is my dedication to two beloved things, Minecraft and tea. It is a blend of Gunpowder Green for the explosive quality of the Creeper and the unfurling leaves (plus it drops Gunpowder!) Hojicha for the ‘dry leaf’ texture that Notch said a Creeper would have it touched, and lastly Kukicha for the glorious bright green of the Creep. The colors look great together and the dry leaves smell delightful.

It smells like a blend of smokey, roasted, floral leaves. Perhaps this is what the air smells like after a Creeper goes boom, though I imagine that there is more of a sulfur smell which I do not want in a tea! The most prominent aroma would have to be the Gunpowder, which smells like a spring field with a slightly smokey undertone. After the leaves have been steeped they still retain their beautiful green color and the aroma mellows out to an almost honey like orchid.

Have you ever tasted a tea that seemed to have layers of flavor, not a typical Green that tastes floral then vegetal, but that you can actually taste the different teas in a blend? Usually when drinking blends like English Breakfast it tastes almost like you are drinking a whole different tea rather than a blend. With the Creeper tea you taste all the different teas separately. First you get a delicate slightly floral slightly vegetal taste, like drinking spring time. Next you get the taste of the roasted Hojicha that always reminds me of laying on the ground in a summer sun-warmed pine forest. I know it is an odd way to describe roasted tea, especially since it does not taste like pine it is just what the taste evokes to me. Lastly is the raw honey-esque smokiness you get from the Gunpowder.

The straw colored tea tastes slightly sweetened, but not enough so to be called a dessert tea. No bitterness to speak of, just flowers, smokiness, and springtime all the way though. It also is good for many infusions, I am on my third and it seems to be ready for more.