Numi's new Savory Tea

When I fetched the mail recently and opened a card from tea friend Frances, I couldn't help grinning. She'd received a sample of a new tea she didn't care to try, but she knew that I'll try anything once, and so it was that I went to sampling this Spinach Chive tea from Numi's new Savory Tea line.

The directions alone were quite different from those I usually find on a green tea: "Bring fresh water to a boil and pour 10 ounces over a bag of Spinach Chive. Steep 10 minutes while covered, or forever if you like. Its cornucopia of flavors will continue to stew. Squeeze tea bag after steeping to maximize flavor."

The scent was just what I expected from a brew named Spinach Chive. Spinach, chives, very vegetable-y. I took a sip and was pleasantly surprised! (I asked my hubby if he wanted to try a sip and, like Frances, he politely declined.) Now here's the thing: I would not want to drink this with, say, a pumpkin cupcake or a chocolate truffle, but if you treat this like a vegetable broth, I think it would be a *great* snack food, or even a light "soup" at teatime. There are other flavors too, I learned, including Tomato Mint, Carrot Curry, Fennel Spice, Broccoli Cilantro and Beet Cabbage. Except for the beet flavor (beets are about the only thing on earth I won't eat), I would love to try all the others, perhaps even cooking with them. And inside this sample there was a $1 off coupon from Numi tea, so I'll definitely be looking for their new Garden Sampler of Savory Teas. Would you have tried this tea if someone had sent it to you?