Vanilla Green Tea starts life as gunpowder tea, the rolled-pellet leaf style from China's Zhejiang Province, before vanilla is added to the blend. In the cup it comes across creamy and grassy at once, with a vanilla flavour running through it and a refreshing finish. Tasting notes lean vanilla and cream over a grassy, faintly coffee-like base — an unusual pairing that reads more like a dessert stand-in than a straight green tea.
Gunpowder's rolled pellets carry a moderate amount of caffeine, roughly 30mg per 8-oz cup, enough for a genuine lift without the jitteriness of coffee. Green tea of this kind has long been drunk for its catechin content, including EGCG, and is traditionally associated with everyday wellness, though the vanilla itself is there for flavour rather than any effect on the body.
To brew it, use leaves and vanilla together in an infuser, with water cooled to 75°C. Steep for one to three minutes — push past three and the cup turns bitter, so shorter is safer if you're unsure. It's best taken plain, without milk or sweetener, so the vanilla and grassy notes stay in balance rather than getting buried.
