Yum!  This tea smells so good!  The aroma of the dried tea is so delightfully fruity – abundant with the fragrance of juicy pears, pineapples and mangoes, and just a hint of the fresh tea leaves.

As you might imagine, the flavor of this tea is quite tropical, with mango being the most prominent flavor of the three fruits featured in this blend.  There is a fair amount of naturally sweet notes in this blend, but, also a certain tartness that lingers on the palate in the finish.

The pear is the real surprise component in this blend.  Since it is not really considered a tropical fruit, it seems to be a bit out of place amongst the pineapple and mango, but the mild, pleasant sweetness of the pear is a very agreeable addition to this combination of fruit.

Because of the very strong fruit scent of this tea, I thought that these delicious flavors might overwhelm the flavors of the green and white tea leaves.  And, yes, the fruit flavor is quite powerful, but not so much that I cannot taste the fresh notes from the green tea.  I can even detect the faintest whisper of white tea in this blend; it is quite delicate, and seems to struggle to hold its own in this blend, but it IS there.

ESP Emporium describes this blend as

This noble blend of different green and white teas captivates the senses with the typical, attractive Pai Mu Tan and a Yunnan which is dominated by light, fluffy, tips. Yellow rosebuds, pineapple flakes and mango cubes enhance the delicate yet significant freshness of this aromatic variety. The tea leaves dominate the overall taste with their typically delicate, slightly bitter notes. A touch of juicy pear and creamy sweet exotic flavors envelop the characteristic flavor of green tea.

I do not necessarily agree with the above description, I don’t think that the tea leaves dominate the flavor; but, I do think that the blend is balanced well so that the flavors of the tea are not overpowered by the fruit essence.

This is a tea that would taste terrific served either hot or iced.  A small amount of sweetener is all that is needed to enhance the fruit flavors here, because there is a decent amount of sweetness already in the blend.  If you do choose to ice it, you’ll probably want a little more sweetener because as the tea cools the flavors soften somewhat, and a little sugar will perk them back up.