Strawberry & Vanilla

My interest in flavored green teas has definitely been waning, but when it comes to flavored teas, Lupicia is one of my preferred vendors. This came as a free sample in their monthly newsletter and it’s a nylon mesh pyramid teabag.

The aroma of this is very enticing – I agree it smells like strawberry quik! The tea is also very pretty with rose petals blended in.

The taste though, is somewhat lacking in the flavor department. I like the green tea base (a matcha/bancha blend) and I can definitely taste the tea underneath. The vanilla is certainly present but I am only getting a faint hint of strawberry. I suppose this could be a blessing or a curse depending on how flavored you like your teas. I was hoping for more strawberries in mine. Definitely not terrible but it’s not going on my list of things to pick up when I’m near the Lupicia store.

Hey Steepsters. Changed my name. See below for the reason. 

Yesterday was a very stressful day. I had a job interview that lasted a full day. 5 different people interviewed me, and then at the end of the day I had to give a 1 hr presentation. I think it went well, but now the waiting game begins. I treated myself to a massage today since yesterday was quite the challenge. 

Since yesterday was so stressful (and devoid of tea) I thought I would brew up some tea I got in a trade. This is very yummy and flavorful. Not bitter at all and was quite enjoyable hot. I’ll have to try cold brewing too. 

Since I’m applying for a few jobs, but I like my tealog to be able to speak freely, I thought I would change my name(s). If you forgot who I am, just send me a message. 

(Thanks to Crystal and Lady 0f Spaydes for a sample of this)

After two missed deliveries due to Sandy, my Lupicia order is finally here! I was planning on trying a different tea first, but this one stuck out because it came with a recipe for an iced latte. It’s funny, this isn’t a tea I ever would have ordered without Steepster. I tend to stay away from strawberry teas since they can be so easily artificial-tasting, but this has so many reviews and seems to be a really popular blend. I needed one more tea to hit the $60 for free shipping and the one I wanted was out of stock, so into my cart Strawberry & Vanilla went!

The latte is pretty simple: simmer the tea with water and sugar, add milk & matcha, heat to a boil, then strain over ice. Voila, latte is done! First off, it smells amaaazing. Super bright strawberry scent, and very smooth and creamy. I did try this before adding all the extra stuff, and the cream/vanilla is really strong even before the milk & matcha step. There’s matcha in the leaves, just a bit, which adds a nice grassy/smooth taste. And of course, the sencha base is as fresh and bright as you’d expect from them!

I think Lupicia is one of the few companies to always nail fruity flavors, at least in my mind. The strawberry is pure, sweet, delicate and so on-point. However, it doesn’t overwhelm the tea—it manages to be strong but also complements it. It doesn’t taste heavily flavored, though the strawberry and also the vanilla are super-present. And as a latte, god almighty it’s perfect. Uhnf, creamy sweet grassy fruity perfection. I really didn’t even think I’d like this tea that much, but I LOVE it! I’m looking forward to digging into the rest of my order even more now.

I drank this last night then didn’t feel like writing a note about it, so now I am.
This smells so good, although it has just a hint of chapstick to it for some reason.

It’s in the taste too, something with the strawberry I guess. It’s still pretty enjoyable. I didn’t get much vanilla from it, though it did seem creamier than your average flavored green. I think I’d like to try just a vanilla green.

This was just one sachet, but I think I would try it again.

Such a supremely lovely tea.
Delicate and mellow – that perfect wind down relaxing cup for late afternoon early evening.
I think I shall have another!

Mmm… yummy! I’ve been wanting to try this tea since foreeeever and I finally got to thanks to MadelineAlyce!

The dry leaves smell so good. I can totally smell the rose petals. They remind me of the little baskets of dried roses petals my mom used to put in my room when I came home to visit. Roses grown by my dad! Alas, the rose bush is gone now, due to a barbeque fire last summer.
But anyway, it also smelled a bit like tart strawberries topped with cream. Mmm…strawberries and cream…with rose petals! This is summer. It is not summer without dad’s roses and a strawberry short cake. Not necessarily together. So hopefully, dad has a new rosebush for this year!

After brewing, I was a bit surprised at the color of the tea. So green and powdery on the bottom. Seemed like it was matcha-ed. And now that I read the description, I see that my suspicions were correct. Brewed tea smells amazing. Just a tad of vegetal flavor coming through to freshen up the strawberry flavor. And it’s all smoothed over with vanilla. Not as decadent as strawberry shortcake, but refreshing and a bit naughty, like a strawberry and coconut milk smoothie with a pinch of vanilla sugar.

I’m enjoying this quite a bit. I really need to get an order in to Lupicia cause everything I’ve ever tried from there has been super tasty.

My 1st Lupica order! I needed a matcha sifter so I picked up their tea strainer and decided to make my order free shipping and magazine qualifying. 1st some notes on Lupica: Pretty quick shipping/delivery time. Ordered late last Fri afternoon, was shipped on Monday, and got here at 9am this morning. On a side note, boy is my FedEx person precise! Both times I’ve had something delivered via FedEx s/he’s gotten here at almost exactly 8:50am. Free shipping on orders $35 and up. Each order at this price also qualifies you for a 1 year subscription to their monthly magazine that comes w/ a free sample. If you place a 2nd order at this level before your subscription is up, your new subscription expiration date is a year from your latest $35 purchase. Free sample w/ purchase (which unfortunately is listed on your shipping confirmation so it isn’t a surprise. I got 2 though (this one was a surprise), is that because I also qualified for the magazine? Tracking number provided.

I was thrilled to get this! This is what I call a psuedo flavored matcha- tea that’s meant to be decanted, but also contains matcha. Another surprise- the description mentions nothing about rose petals, but there are several gorgeous rose petals in this pyramid bag. When I weighed the bag I was pleasantly surprised at the weight- 3.3g!

The raw leaf is exactly what you’d expect. The matcha, strawberry, vanilla, and rose are all evident. It’s definitely sweet and doesn’t smell jammy like I expected- probably because strawberry is only one of 4 aromas and flavors here.

I knocked the temperature down just a couple degrees from the suggested boiling temp, but otherwise steeped it as suggested: 5oz water for 2min.

Odd… the liquor is quit translucent except for the matcha that settled at the bottom. Not like mecha or herb green. The translucent liquor is a lovely golden color.

It smells exactly like the raw leaf. The vanilla added to the strawberry kinda makes it smell like strawberry milk.

Served clean. Lupicia says it pairs well w/ milk (it’s even in their tea latte sampler), but I don’t like strawberry milk, so I’ll pass.

It also tastes like it smells… well pretty much. The strawberry, vanilla, and rose are the dominant flavors w/ the rose being the weakest of the 3. The decanted green tea is also in the back ground, but unfortunately my suspicions looking at the liquor were confirmed. I didn’t tasted the matcha til the last half of the cup, and even then it was weak. Maybe I should have stirred it? All in all a good tea, but I wish the matcha was stronger. 52teas should definitely come up w/ a strawberry, rose, vanilla matcha!=D

The dry tea in the sachet smells like strawberry milk (i.e. strong strawberry, but a bit artificial), but once brewed it smells more like cut berries. The flavors of vanilla, strawberry, and green tea seems to be melded perfectly. No one overpowers, but I can pick each out if I try. I can see how this may be good with a drop of milk, because it does taste like the green tea equivalent of strawberry milk (seems to be a theme for me today, as I had Strawberry Sensation Carnation Instant Breakfast with some added matcha this morning!).

I really like this tea, and wish I had more of it (it was a Lupicia free sample — with my order).

I received this pyramid sachet as a free sample with my order from Lupicia.

The Lupicia website indicates that this tea has some Matcha in it, and there is a noticeable green dust that emits from the bag upon opening the pouch. After trying Den’s Sencha last evening, I will say that this does not have as much Matcha as that Sencha pyramid sachet, as you can hardly see it (the matcha) in the brewed liquor of this tea. But that’s OK. It sort of reminds me of my own La Vert Pear blend that I used to carry, I would coat the dried pear chunks that I added to the blend in Matcha… it resulted in a “hardly noticeable” matcha dust in the leaf and a “hardly noticeable” change to the liquor, but, added just the right touch to the flavor, which is what I wanted to achieve….

Anyways… I digress!

This is a very good blend. The flavor is very fresh, the strawberry flavor reminds me a bit of sweet-tarts – it kind of leaves that tarty tang on the tongue like sweet-tarts do. Although, it doesn’t taste like candy… it does have the same effect.

This is one that I would definitely consider buying again (so it was a good move on Lupicia’s part to send me this as a sample!)

This was my iced tea of choice a few days ago. Cold brewed it up nice and strong and threw in a few freeze-dried strawberries to make it a little more fruity. Turned out very nice with some sweetener added.

Steep Information:
Amount: 1 teabag
Water: ~150°F hot spigot water 12 oz
Steep Time: a little over 1 minute (http://steep.it)
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: strawberry, vanilla, hints of vegetation
Steeped Tea Smell: vegetal, matcha, slight hints of berry
Flavor: mild vegetal, slightly floral, smooth
Body: Light
Aftertaste: vegetal
Liquor: translucent light green

Not a bad tea at all, but too floral for me. I also am not a huge green tea fan.

I am not getting the berry or vanilla in the taste, only the smell.

This was a free item included in my order.

pictures: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/12/lupicia-teabag-green-tea-strawberry.html

I had this hot last night without any milk, but did add about 1/2tsp of german rock sugar (as I do to most of my teas). Now, the smell of this tea smells soooo good, just like a glass of Promise Land strawberry milk! When I went to search the bag/tin for how to steep it, it said “boiling water for 2-5 minutes”! Now, I was afraid with it being a green tea that boiling water wouldn’t be a good idea, but I did as they said and steeped for 2.5mins. The smell off the strawberry milk is still very much there with a bit of the sencha smell. I tasted it and it tastes like strawberry milk…umm in tea form! LOL which is a little watery since it is tea, but my brain and nose kept telling me, “this is strawberry milk! It will be thick and creamy!” sooo since it wasn’t “thick and creamy” my brain was 10 different kinds of confused by this! Still a good tea, but I imagine this is one that definitley needs to be iced and/or have milk added first before drinking =)~ I will be trying this one very soon with some milk!

Busy weekend with setting up the in law’s tree. I still need to set up my tree, once I find space for it. I’m still knitting more ornaments, sigh. Never ending! They take 1 to 2 hours each, but I have so many to do!

DRY LEAF: Smells like sweet sweet strawberries and candy!

STEEPED: Green tea smell, little bitter smell.

TASTE: Good strawberry flavor and creamy vanilla. Grassy base from the sencha and hint of matcha. A little bitter, but I think that’s my fault.
I actually made this tea yesterday as a latte (not really following the recipe card it came with) and it was very berry, vanillay and not grassy at all. It tasted just like strawberry bubble tea!

COMMENTS: Next time I make this tea I’m not following their suggested boil + 2 min steep and doing a lower temperature like I did last time.

Also, sneaking in some RLT’s Strawberry matcha would be a good fit for this tea!

Lupicia’s Strawberry & Vanilla has a strong perfume scent coming from the dry leaf. It makes me think of Bath and Body Works’ fruity sprays. Kinda artificial, but not at all unpleasant.

This tastes like those prepackaged strawberry milk drinks. It’s very sweet and creamy. There’s barely any flavor from the green tea; it’s completely buried under the strong strawberry note, which does not taste like the strawberries found in nature. It’s more syrupy, I guess. Does that make sense?

I like this, but I don’t love it. It definitely works better as a cold beverage, but I’d drink it either way.

I was craving strawberry ice cream for about a week now! I wasn’t able to get any either! So today, I whipped this up in my work mug. As my husband was driving me to work, I took a sip of this. OMG HEAVEN!! I was so giddy with excitement because I was having the strawberry ice cream I had been craving! Woo! This is absolutely delicious and hit the right spot. The amount of green tea matcha in it is perfect. Absolutely amazingly delicious!

This is a nicely flavored green. By that I mean I can still take the semi-sweet green tea taste and it’s accompanied with both strawberries which are both sweet and sour AND vanilla which adds a nice creaminess to it. This is nice.

Thanks LiberTeas!

The dry leaf of this smells exactly like strawberry milkshake mix! Steeped, it smells less strong and I can mostly smell the green tea. The matcha in this cup has settled at the bottom so the liquid is a clear, light green. The taste is very pleasant – the strawberry and vanilla flavours are subtle but this is a very smooth, enjoyable cup with no grassiness that I sometimes get with greens.

Thanks to Will Work For Tea, I was able to try this heavenly perfect blend! I love the ingredients in this blend. The leaves look great too. I just saw Amy Oh’s review that mentioned it tastes like Strawberry Quik. I forgot about Strawberry Quik! But it does really taste like it! The steep color is a cloudy light green. Cloudy from the matcha. I think this is the first loose leaf matcha I’ve tried. The strawberries are only sweet to me, not sour. The only difference I would make is a stronger vanilla flavor, but that might make the other flavors hidden. I really like this one… realy fresh and delicious. I just wanted to sit here & do nothing but slowly sip this tea for the next three hours!

It smells delicious! This is a yummy green tea.

It’s much less bitter than other flavored teas I’ve had lately (see Sakurambo Vert). But the strawberry & vanilla flavors are less strong than the cherry flavor in Sakurambo Vert.

Still, a good tea on its own without milk. Honestly, I don’t see how you could add milk or sugar to this. But I’m not sure I’m tasting any of those matcha notes in there.

It probably should be brewed with a water temperature less than boiling (even though that’s what the package suggests).

This came in my Lupicia $60 Happy Bag. (Is there anything better than unwrapping a mystery assortment? Answer: No!) I’ll admit I was afraid when I opened this tea and the smell hit me. It’s fruity vanilla, and reminds me very strongly of those old-fashioned strawberry-flavored hard candies/ribbon candy. There’s an undertone I can’t quite pin down that reminds me of bubblegum.

When steeped, the smell mellows quite a bit. It’s still like inhaling pink candies, but more subtle. I can’t smell the tea yet. Very pale green in color.

It tastes a little…dainty? It could be my fault, or a cretinous oblivion on the part of my taste buds, but it lacks the strength I’d like. Compared to the enormous candy-sweet scent, it’s watery. I’ll try another brew or two of this before I decide. I suspect it would make a really nice dessert drink with lots of cream and sugar (but what doesn’t, right?)