Today, I’m reviewing a tea that was gifted to me – TWG Tea Silver Moon. This green tea blend comes from a brand that claims to provide the finest tea in the world. So, let’s examine that claim in a little more detail. If you are new to my tea reviews here at Immortal Wordsmith, this tea review will cover the flavour of the tea, the best method for brewing it, and some extra info about the brand.
You can also find links to purchase the tea online, if you decide that you’d like a sip!
Silver Moon is a blend of green tea and strawberry. I’ve had some hit and miss experiences in the past with strawberry flavours. Lipton Strawberry Black Tea in particular is one of the lowest scoring teas. So, I am going into this experience with low expectations.
TWG Silver Moon Tea at a Glance
- Blend: Green tea with strawberry pieces
- Flavour: Mellow, slight dull green tea with hints of strawberry
There were two things that this tea did really well: a delicious aroma and a syrupy thick texture. The flavour, however, was a total disappointment. This tea is drinkable but average at best.
Full Review – Green Tea Blend with Berries and Vanilla
- Type: Cotton teabags
- Tea: Green tea blend
- Additives: Dried strawberry pieces
- Flavour Notes: Dull green tea, mellow, smooth, hint of strawberry
- Aroma: Fake strawberry, vanilla and strawberry shortcake, tart, syrupy
- Milk or Lemon: Neither
- Where to Buy: TWG Tea or Amazon
TWG describe this tea as having berry and vanilla notes with a hint of spice. From the dry aroma of the tea leaves, only the strawberry note comes through. And yes, it is unmistakably fake. But despite the artificial strawberry note, it was quite pleasant and had a good tartness. Unlike some strawberry fakes, it doesn’t smell of chemicals.
Once brewed, the aroma develops further and I have to admit, it is delicious. There’s a good vanilla hint that smells just like strawberry shortcake when combined with the strawberry aroma. It’s rich and yummy – I can’t wait to take a sip.
Ah. What a let-down.
This tea tastes like any generic green tea brewed from a teabag. It’s mellow, totally lacks freshness, and is honestly quite dull. The strawberry note is just a suggestion that appears in the aftertaste – another let down.
I did enjoy the texture though. I have noticed that artificial flavours often create a thicker texture in the final cup of tea, so TWG Tea Silver Moon has a good syrupy sensation. As I mentioned before, it’s drinkable but nothing more than average.
How to Brew TWG Green Tea
TWG Tea’s instructions are to use water at 95°C and let the single teabag steep for two to three minutes. For the purposes of this review, I followed the instructions perfectly then played around with the brew time and water temperature.
Honestly, a longer brew doesn’t seem to bring out the flavours more. Lower temperatures, which usually coax more freshness from green tea without enhancing bitterness, had little effect either.
Each cotton teabag contains 2.5g of green tea. I assume that this cotton teabag is designed to make the tea feel more high quality. As it is bleached white and the paper tag attached is coated in plastic, I’m fairly certain it is not for any eco-friendly reason. So, why bother at all? I think I have the answer.
Why TWG Tea Company?
With “The Finest Teas In The World” proudly written across the TWG Tea logo, you would expect these teas to be delicious. Instead, I’m reminded of that scene in Elf where they taste “the best coffee in the world” which turns out to be just a crappy cup of coffee.
The vagueness of the tea descriptions (this is a “green tea blend” with no disclosed variety or even origins) plus the quality of the leaf, as well as the price, paint a very different picture. Rather than being the finest tea in the world, this is an average to good brand instead.
Of course, that’s very far from bad! In fact, the quality is above the UK standard for crumby teabags found at the supermarket. P.S., if you’ve been drinking PG Tips and Lipton, now is a good time to stop and here’s why.
Essentially, this is an okay tea. It’s not the finest and it’s not the best. But I have sipped a lot worse on the blog. The green tea leaf pieces are not whole but they are large and 2.5g is a generous amount.
Summary
Overall, this tea is horrifically overpriced. I imagine it is aimed at tourists and people shopping for gifts. Although it was entirely drinkable, it was not worth the price in my opinion. There are far fresh and brighter green teas available with tastier strawberry flavouring as well.
You can find this tea on Amazon using the button below or link above, however I strongly recommend checking out some other options. I have a tea recommendation below (keep scrolling).
Tea Recommendation
My current favourite berry-flavoured green tea is Goji Acai by Whittard of Chelsea. This blend has whole fruits in it, rather than flavouring, and is well balanced with good sweetness and tartness. Buying this tea in loose leaf format also gives you the freedom to use fillable paper teabags, a metal infuser, or a tea brewer like my Lucky Cat Solo Tea Set.