Among the many teas sold by Tazo (from South Seattle WA) are three green teas that my daughter got for me recently, to replenish my supplies. The company is into lush, poetic descriptions of its products — quite entertaining, if you’re in the right mood.
The descriptive material comes in two parts: one part characterizes the taste of a tea, the other is copy poetically evoking a scene or feelings associated with it. Sometimes I think these are cool, but often I think they’re just funny.
The three cases at hand
chun mee green: Pure green tea from China with a unique, baked flavor.
[copy] Clouds tumble down a lush mountainside go meet artfully arched, pencil-thin leaves that are aptly named chun mee, “precious eyebrows” in Chinese. A pleasantly earthy, slightly smoky copy of brow-unfurrowing bliss. [stock image in clouds tumbling down a lush mountainside; brow-unfurrowing is nice; and note the go + V construction in [clouds] go meet [leaves] (a “quasi-serial verb” in some of the syntactic literature)]
china green tips: Fine fresh-tasting, spring-harvested green teas from China.
[copy] Linger in the pure, steam-fired broth of this first-flush green tea thinking clear, peaceful thoughts. Like watching mist rise off a thermal spring, hidden behind a wooded glen and only accessible by trampoline. [a “broth” of a tea; the rising mist, thermal spring, and wooded glen are pretty much stock images — but the trampoline?]
green ginger: This bright green tea blend has a kick from ginger & a sweet note of pear.
[copy] Smooth green tea takes root in the fiery depths of ginger, yet runs lithely through the lemongrass. It pauses only to pluck the juiciest of pears from bowed branches (and to thank you for inviting us in to warm up your daydreams). [highly animate tea that runs lithely, pauses, can pluck pears, and thanks people; plus alliterations]
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