Iced Mango Pu-erh (Numi Tea)

It’s been a while since I’ve reviewed an iced tea. In the interim I’ve had a few I’ve liked and a few I haven’t. This iced Mango Pu-erh from Numi Tea provided a nice respite from the usual iced tea by offering up a pure iced tea. But to have a mass market iced pu-erh is something special altogether.

This is the first in a series of posts on Numi Teas’ new Pu-erh Iced Teas.

Something about an iced pu-erh is instantly intriguing. It’s not a commonly considered option. The most common iced teas here in The States are all black teas. Green teas would be next. Pu-erhs? Probably dead last, though I haven’t the numbers to support that.

The bottle is shapely and feminine. A pinkish red and a grass green label adorn its outer surface with the word “Enliven” proclaiming the possibilities toward the center.

Numi Tea is making a big push here. Pu’erh teas are their newest options and they’ve added a myriad of both iced and hot teas I’ll review individually here in the upcoming weeks. I chose to start with this Mango Pu-erh by mere happenstance.

The liquor is clearly cloudy in the bottle. This is the mark of a good natural tea and indicates the use of actual ingredients and not flavorings. The coloring appears a milky caramel brown.

When I opened the bottle to smell the aroma, I don’t capture anything from a distance. Like most iced teas you need to be right up on the liquid to get anything here. When I get up close I note a light fruity scent, tropical but not as sweet as expected. This is likely due to expected flavorings or inclusion of sugar.

This specific iced tea has both mango and passionfruit ingredients and less than 10g of sugar content. These individually don’t mean much, but when combined provide a lightly crisp and refined flavor that’s both refreshing and alluring. The pu-erh plays on the palate well. It’s earthy gritty textures seem to keep the palate interested while the smoothness of the mango plays its role.

This tea isn’t very astringent. Unlike some ices teas it doesn’t dry the palate or lack nuance.

Fans of Pu-erh teas will enjoy this iced beverage. Because of its more subtle nature when iced, those who don’t enjoy Pu-erh as much might still want to give this one a try.