Dec 07
Review: American Tea Room Immortal Green
American Tea Room, Green Tea, Passion Fruit Tea, Peach Tea, Sencha Tea Add commentsLynn’s Teaview Snapshot
 | " I had the sensation of small pieces of tart fruit slowly dissolving on my tongue. The dark, vegetal, slightly bitter flavor of the sencha was well balanced and contrasted well with the fruit. Between sips the peach flavor really came to the fore, as if I had just bitten into a slice of fresh raw peach—and then sipped some sencha."
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9.5/10
From the American Tea Room website: "In this blend, sencha the color of nori is flecked with brilliantly colored marigold blossoms. Juicy, thick scents of candied peaches and ripe passion fruit give this ethereal, misty yellow brew an almost palpable aroma. The infusion’s delicately grassy and richly fruity flavor gives way to a clean aftertaste with light astringency and lingering passion fruit notes."It's hard to improve on that description, except perhaps to dispute the color of nori, but the glistening dark green sencha leaves are certainly redolent of candied peaches and passion fruit, with the latter perhaps just a smidge in the lead.
I infused a level teaspoon of the sencha and marigold petals in a cup of 175F water for two minutes. The infusion was, in fact, "misty yellow," with a heavily sweet fragrance that wasn't quite identifiable and not entirely pleasant to my sensitive nose. The first sip, however, revealed an impressive and surprisingly tart mouthful of peach-and-passion fruit infused sencha. I'm not sure how the flavoring is achieved but I had the sensation of small pieces of tart fruit slowly dissolving on my tongue. The dark, vegetal, slightly bitter flavor of the sencha was well balanced and contrasted well with the fruit. Between sips the peach flavor really came to the fore, as if I had just bitten into a slice of fresh raw peach—and then sipped some sencha. The longer I lingered between sips, the more the flavors developed. The listing for this tea claims it as one of their top sellers and I can see why. It's mouth filling, refreshing, lightly astringent, and unique. Apart from a somewhat cloying fragrance, highly recommended.
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December 7th, 2009 at 10:42 am
thanks for the nice review. If you think the fragrance of a particular tea is too strong it may be the vessel that you are preparing it or drinking the tea out of… YiXing promotes fragrance and is great for oolongs, pu er and black tea that have a strong aroma factor. Green tea and other teas that have a more concentrated flavor tend to work better in cast iron or glass which tend to hold in the aroma.
I have been having some great discussion on this very subject with Hojo from Malaysia whom you so nicely introduced to me their website.
December 7th, 2009 at 12:47 pm
I brewed it in glass. It was definitely the passionfruit, not the tea itself. A minor note compared to the flavor.
December 8th, 2009 at 3:30 pm
A nice review I like flavored greens and the peach and passionfruit I will keep this in mind.