Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Mellow Monk
Tea Description:
Blissful Buds™ is a mecha, or bud tea, made from young buds and shoots. The aroma is pleasantly herbaceous. The flavor is full and deep, with an apple-like sweetness and overtones of berry and a lightly tangy aftertaste.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Mellow Monk is a company that offers one of my all-time favorite green teas, so when I had the opportunity to try another tea from them, I was very excited. And while this Blissful Buds Green Tea from Mellow Monk is not quite as amazing as their Top Leaf, it’s still quite delightful to sip.
Then again, it shouldn’t even be compared to Top Leaf, because they are two different teas. Top Leaf is a Honcha tea, and this Blissful Buds is a Mecha tea, which is comprised of the young buds and shoots of the tea plant. The leaves are so tiny, and the color is so deep and green. The color reminds me of a Japanese Sencha, but these leaves are even finer in size and shape than a typical Japanese Sencha.
The aroma of the dry leaf reminds me of spring … like the smell of the fresh, newness of spring as all the plants, trees and even the grass begins to sprout new life. It smells vegetative, but not like cut grass or steamed veggies like so many other green teas smell, this has that new, spring “greens” smell to it.
The flavor starts out sweet and lush, and by mid-sip, I notice a bitter undertone. Not a “oh, I oversteeped the tea” kind of bitterness, but a savory bitter greens kind of taste which actually seems to complement the sweetness. It has a brothy kind of appeal to it, like a cup of chicken soup would have – restorative … invigorating!
A very enjoyable cuppa, and certainly different from the usual cup of green tea. I like that, and I like this for being different!
