Evergreen is a unique tea, to say the least. That usually means it's going to be a major turn-off, a surprising crowd-pleaser, or just weird. How about, "pleasantly weird"?

Like Shania's boyfriends in her pop-country song, the first couple cups had me thinking, "That don't impress me much!" Unlike them with her, however, this tea grew on me more favorably with time. To know is to love? Perhaps it's the highly unusual flavor/ingredient combination of rosemary, juniper berry and jasmine, all in a green-black tea mix. I haven't seen nor tasted anything else quite like it in the world of tea yet. Somehow the combination seems to complement well, but as with many green-black blends, works best for maximizing the body and background tea element of flavor if one lets the water cool a few degrees off a boil before steeping. The best part for me was opening the sack and breathing in the aroma, but the flavor has grown on me as well, becoming more pleasing by the cup since my first impression of it was akin to boreal potpourri. If you enjoy the taste, you'll also be pleased that the aftertaste is similar, a little sweeter, and lingers. I recommend trying a small sack, and if you don't like it, send the rest to me. :-)

Evergreen was named for the nature of the rosemary and juniper ingredients, and to me indeed evokes slight warming, with mild scented-candle effect. To accentuate the mood, I guess you could crank up a fireplace and light a spruce Yankee Candle before sipping. This tea was part of a seasonal sampler pack of loose teas at 2 oz. per Ziploc-style plastic sack, but as with most Murchie's loose teas, can be bought in its own 2-, 4-, 8-, and 16-oz. sizes.

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