Iced Mint 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 Organic Mint 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 third in a series of posts on Numi Teas’ new Pu-erh Iced Teas.

After the Organic Mango Pu-erh and the Organic Jasmine Pu-erh I reviewed over the weekend, this iced Organic Mint Pu-erh is a continuation in the impressive collection Numi seems to be putting together with these iced pu-erh teas.

The cloudy liquor is reassuring in the bottle. It’s a deep copper bronze with notable sedimentation. As mentioned in prior reviews, this should be expected with natural or organic bottled teas. Almost all teas of this nature suggest shaking the bottle profusely before drinking.

While most iced teas aren’t very aromatic, mint has a way of making its presence known. As soon as I opened the bottle I could smell the mint. However, as though it had been waiting to escape, the aroma dissipated quickly. After that the bottle needed to be very close to my nose for me to smell anything here.

On the palate this tea is clearly mint. More spearmint than peppermint though, which was refreshing. I was expecting more earthy tones from the pu-erh which I didn’t find. No gritty textures or mossy aftertaste either. The flavor sits nice and light on the palate. While some minty-ness does continue through the finish, there’s not so much to be overwhelming.

This tea has little to no astringency. It doesn’t dry the tongue or mouth and actually seems to whet the palate instead.

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