Strawberry

I guess now I’m getting Lupicia’s newsletter out of nowhere, not complaining but this was waiting for me in my mailbox. The jerkface mail deliverer jammed the Verdant teas of the month sampler into my mailbox. I almost gave up getting it out and writing a not very nice message on the side facing out.

I finished my closet: http://25.media.tumblr.com/0112f8b47cac4a20d472e10ffb72872d/tumblr_mk72xkat8Q1qz5e5oo1_500.jpg Now to finish my bedroom and the rest of the apartment…So I ended up drinking this cold.

It’s okay, I was curious about those Tochotome teas when the email about them came out but I’m really not fond of Lupicia’s strawberry flavoring I think. This one isn’t as chapstick-y as the green tea one; it tastes quite good at first but the aftertaste is kind of odd. I am wondering if that’s the flavoring or a product of steeping it for 3 minutes.

It does just really taste good at first. If only I lived near a Lupicia, that would make me give in to the desire to try the other strawberry tea too.

I will say it at least tastes better than the strawberry jalapeno soda I brought back with me…so painful.

Sipdown, 185. I, like many others, received a sachet of this with the Lupicia newsletter, although my newsletter seems to have come much later than most other people’s. Ah well. I figured I would go ahead and drink it down otherwise it might sit for a while. I’m not the hugest fan of strawberry flavored things, although I guess I like them ok. I used to love strawberry candy when I was a kid.

When I unwrapped the sachet it smelled intensely, incredibly strawberry. Strawberry candy, strawberry pie, strawberry jam. Basically strawberries + sugar, which is to say not like fresh strawberries. After steeping it calmed down a bit (but only a bit) and the black tea base came out more. I tend to enjoy Lupicia’s bases, so I am definitely pleased.

My first thought upon sipping was wow, strawberry candy! But then a tart note appeared, toning it down and reminding me of the white part of fresh strawberries, the part that never gets super sweet. There’s also almost a leafiness here, which is surprising given that this is a black tea. A lot of people are disappointed that this one doesn’t taste as strong as it smells, but I for one am glad it doesn’t taste as strong as it smells. I like it at this blend, and I like it more than I thought I would. Go Lupicia, for making me enjoy a strawberry tea.

I am not going to say much about this one as I haven’t tried it by itself.

I opened the bag and sniffed and there was a strong, sweet scent of strawberry, but following was…mold? Yes, a smell like a big bag of moldy oranges. So I chickened out about serving this for tea time and instead mixed it half and half with Harney’s chocolate tea. The result was….weak chocolate flavor in a weak tasting tea that didn’t really have a remnant of strawberry left. I will have to try this again by itself to really know anything at all about it. I hope the weird smell doesn’t come through after steeping.

I really wanted to try my new Verdant teas, but my husband wanted to go out fairly early, so I don’t have time to drink multiple infusions, so I decided to try this one instead and save the Verdant teas for when I have lots of time :)

I got this as a sample with the Lupicia newsletter, which I FINALLY received after signing up for it around October of last year! Geez! I’m happy it’s finally coming now. Anyway, this came as a teabag, and although I really like the little pyramid teabag (so cute and silky!), I was disappointed that it would only brew one cup.

The smell of the dry leaves and the steeped leaves smelled great! Juicy, tart strawberry, and pretty natural. The taste, however, left something to be desired, in that it was a significantly weakened flavor compared to the smell. Oh well. It was nice to get a free sample!!

hmm, I agree with the other review here, the aroma of the tea is fabulous but I was really hoping for more of a strawberry flavor, I recommend the strawberry black rhubarb tea from Lupicia, it’s a lot more interesting.

Got this in the March newsletter. I’m quite shocked at the reviews because I loved this! The dry tea smells of heavenly sweet strawberry. The brewed tea has the same flavor as the scent. I didn’t even need sugar! I brewed it in a 16oz cup but I think I’d prefer it stronger so using 8-12oz next time.

It definitely smells like strawberries, but the taste isn’t very strong. It’s good, but I don’t think I would buy it in bulk.

It says it goes well with milk, and I tried it both ways. I like it better straight because the strawberry flavor wasn’t very strong. Strange for a tea named Strawberry. This was kind of disappointing.

It’s not a bad tea by any means! But I had very high expectations.

Oddly enough, the empty cup smells exactly like strawberry fruit roll-ups! Too bad it doesn’t taste like that. But for those of you who haven’t had it, go to Outback and order a wildberry lemonade (non-alcoholic). Now THAT tastes exactly like a liquid fruit roll-up!

Thank you for this monthly newsletter sample, Lupicia!

It was nice to try this, especially since I love Lupicia’s strawberry flavoring, but judging from the tea bag sample – which is as close to loose-leaf as I’ve seen a teabag get! – I don’t think I’ll be seeking the loose-leaf version out to purchase. Lupicia just has so many other strawberry-flavored tea options that this above-average strawberry black isn’t interesting enough to revisit. It’s a good flavored tea but it’s nothing special, and it has noticeable astringency issues that keep it from being solid.

I imagine it would be good as a strawberry milk tea, but then Lupicia has a ‘Matcha Au Lait Strawberry’ specifically for matcha milk tea, and a ‘Strawberry & Vanilla’ green tea that seems more interesting…
Then there’s the yearly ‘Tochiotome’ (a Japanese strawberry cultivar) teas, both black and green, that are more season-appropriate, and seem to have more strawberry pieces in the dry leaf…

Then of course there’s the ‘Chocolate & Strawberry Puer’ (that I already own) which takes milk well too, oh and it
smells
just
like
Meiji Apollo.
http://tinyurl.com/bpuzd59
…WHICH IS MY MOST FAVORITE CANDY OF ALL TIME.
……so there’s just no contest here.

………In short, this was okay, but Lupicia has better strawberry teas.

Got this as a free sample with the Lupicia letter that comes in the mail once a month. This one is okay but I just wish it had more straberry flavor to it. It smells wonderful and I wish that came across in the flavor. Oh well it was free so I can’t really complain :-)

I got this as a sample in the March Lupicia newsletter. It reminds me a lot of their Neptune, which I also sampled recently – the black base tastes the same, and the fruit flavoring strikes me as similar although that one’s supposed to be something like “fruits & honey” vs. the strawberry here. The dry teabag had a very strong strawberry candy aroma, but the brewed tea smelled and tasted more generically fruity. The black base is definitely dominant. I’m glad I got to try this tea, but it’s not one I’ll be purchasing.

Got teabag as a freebie last time I bought something at Lupicia.

A good black tea that smells like strawberry, but tastes more like regular black tea with a hint of strawberry. Second steeping yielded similar results

Received a sample from the Lupicia newsletter~

It has a nice aroma before and after steeping.

A nice tea – the strawberry flavor is just about right; you can still taste the black tea in the background while the strawberries are present throughout.

I think this might go well with milk and sugar. In the hot summer months, it might be perfect straight and chilled (need to try this in a few months)

Smells very much like strawberries but it tastes more or less like regular black tea.