"frosty garden" by mellow monk.

The folks over at Mellow Monk were kind enough to send me a tea I wanted to try after reading & enjoying my previous review! I was extremely excited to accept this offer, because I've been meaning to purchase more types of Japanese green tea. They sent me their Frosty Garden tea ... a shiraore!

I've never had this type of tea before ... it is made from tea leaves with some leaf stems included. I've had a kukicha (a stem tea) before, but this is NOTHING like that. It was so fresh looking in the bag, and when I poured a small amount out to photograph I found the leaves were glossy and a very rich green, with light green stems scattered amongst them. It smelled very grassy and strong.

I waited to taste this until after a head cold I had decided to finally leave my system. It was wonderful to get such a flavorful cup of tea after days of dulled senses! The first sip was tangy on my tongue. I got a vegetal flavor from it, like fresh asparagus and grass, and then if softened into ... avocado! If you've never had avocado outside of guacamole/California rolls, it's a savory green fruit with a large pit, and the flesh is a nice yellow green color. The flavor is smooth, slightly sweet, and nutty. Avocados happen to be one of my favorite things to eat, so this tea was an absolute delight for me to drink! (After drinking this tea I cut one up for a snack!)

The aftertaste was light and citrusy, and reminiscent of a sweet lime or sugared lemon zest. 

This tea was absolutely delicious, and I'm so glad I chose it! The color was remarkable too. So bright, like a little peridot gem inside my glass teacup! :D It was exceptionally difficult to photograph and capture the true bright color of it, but rest assured, if you pick up some of this tea you'll find yourself marveling at it too.