Carol

I could not resist this tin the last time I was in Lupicia. It was so pretty. Lupicia has the prettiest specialty tins.
I dearly love a strawberry and vanilla tea. I dont really associate it with Christmas, however. But all of Lupicias holiday flavors are diffrent then what I am used to. Less spice, more fruit. Interesting.
This smells lovely,remining me very much of my beloved Yume. It brews up very nice, a soft and dreamy cup of strawberrys and vanilla cream.
Maybe not a traditional western Christmas tea, but very tasty.

And it’s another free teabag!

This smells like Strawberry Quik. I think I’ve said that about another Lupicia Strawberry thing. A green tea one maybe.

Out of curiosity (and to compare to ROT’s sad little 1.8g teabag), I weighted this teabag too. 3.3g! Good job Lupicia! Still making it in a 6oz cup but I’m glad there’s a good amount of tea in there. Thumbs up to you!

In the cup, I’m still getting the Strawberry Quik smell but that’s okay because I like it (and can’t have it anymore) so it’s making my mouth water. I could be very disappointed when this tastes like tea… Actually, I think I smell a little vanilla underneath the strawberry, too.

Hmm. I’m not so much disappointed as I am just… not excited. The flavoring is nice and not overly fake tasting (well, aside from the whole Nestle Quik thing – so maybe ‘chemical’ is a better word). But it is very light and there seems to be a disconnect between the taste of the strawberry and the taste of the tea. Most likely because a lot of the taste of the strawberry is actually coming from the smell. I think I’m going to add a little milk to see if that brings it together.

It helps a little – gives both the strawberry and tea tastes a little creaminess which creates a little taste bridge between the two. But it just doesn’t make the flavoring pop. Ultimately I’m a little disappointed in this because the flavoring is so soft. That’s what I like about Lupicia’s flavorings with their greens and oolongs, but I tend to like those teas flavored more lightly. For blacks, I tend to like them a little more in your face (not mean, I just like to see a little aggression in them). This would be a good afternoon-in-the-garden tea. But I’m not a big afternoon-in-the-garden type girl.

Yay! My monthly “magazine” arrived with a sample of this inside.

This is yummy. It reminds me a lot of Strawberry and Vanilla from Lupicia – especially the aroma of it. The black tea is very soothing – not a get-up-and-go kind of tea, but more of a relaxing tea.

I just submitted a review for this tea on the Tea Review Blog – it should publish soon!

One of my Christmas present requests was the Lupicia sampler that had all their holiday teas. I love that they don’t go with the traditional holiday flavors like peppermint, orange and clove—they seem more original and inspired by the season itself. Sadly they sold out the day after I added them to my wishlist, so it was not meant to be. But thanks to Emily M I am getting to try a few of them!

Carol is very much like one of my favorite Lupicia blends, Strawberry & Vanilla. It’s strawberry, vanilla, and a hint of rose with a black base instead of green. So, Strawberry & Vanilla minus the matcha and with black tea instead of green. And honestly I don’t remember if there are roses in S&V… I think there are? Maybe not.

The strawberry isn’t as candy-tasting here, a lot of people have said S&V reminds them of Nesquik and I definitely agree, that’s one of the reasons I love it! The flavor here is more natural and juicy, with softer vanilla tones. I don’t get any floral from the rose though, maybe a tiiiiiny bit at the end of the sip but it might be wishful thinking.

This is a nice tea, but I keep comparing it in my head to S&V. They’re so different though even with all the similarities—this is a lighter, softer, less sweet blend with a fuller black base that “covers up” the flavors perhaps a bit better than S&V. I think this would be really great as a latte, and I definitely have enough to try it out that way!

Sipdown no. 20 of 2014. I had a single sachet of this in my work stash.

I know I’ve had flavored black tea with strawberry among the flavors before-Marco Polo comes to mind-and of course I’ve had black tea flavored with vanilla. I’m not sure I’ve had a black tea flavored just with strawberry and vanilla, though.

Strawberry is one of those flavors that I don’t ordinarily seek out because I’ve experienced so many examples of it done badly, starting with Kool Aid when I was a tot. Carol was a pleasant surprise.

The sachet had the same feel and the tea base the same somewhat bakey smell as the Sweet Potato Pie of last week, but with the addition of a very lovely, sweet strawberry note. Once steeped, the bakeyness mellowed and was absent from the taste altogether.

The strawberry flavor is sweet and mild. I thought it was really well done. I can imagine a lot of ways it could have gone wrong. Fakey, medicinal, etc. My impression, though, was of something between fresh and dried strawberry made creamy and mellow by the vanilla.

I’d like to drink it again. It’s going on the shopping list.

I have been wanting to try this one for a LONG TIME and thanks to LiberTEAs I was able to! Thanks so much!!!!

The aroma dry and post-infusion is heavenly! Ahhhh! Like Strawberry Candy or Strawberry/Vanilla Swirl Hard Candy or something! LOVE the aroma!!!!

This has a gentle yet light-to-medium strength black tea taste to it. There is quite a bit of flavoring tho. The Strawberry is more prominent and the rose and vanilla are about neck and neck. At the end of the sip it has a nice creaminess to it. The after taste is more rose and a light-black tea type taste.

I know there are mixed reviews on this one…but I like it quite a bit!

Thank you so much Devilish for sharing a sample of Carol with me.
The dry leaves were so beautiful, a lot of pink flowers mixed with tea.It smelled like candies.

First sip was disapointing for me, I got a very artificial flavour of red fruit candy and behind a vanilla base mixed with a strong black tea.
I left the mug a while and retried it, this is the flavour : strawberry candy, artificial type.

It’s really a pity because the tea base is really nice, smooth, mellow, strong enough. It is correctly blended as well, the balance between the flavours and the tea base are respected.
But I’m sorry : Natural flavourings exist to be used ! I cannot understand why a good tea manufacturer prefers artificial ones EVEN if it is supposed to be dedicated to a candy taste.
Dammann Frères Violette tea is dedicated to Violet Candies and natural flavourings are used, none artificial. It means it’s possible.
Quand on veut on peut…at least for something easy like this !

Now I know why they call this “Carol”—it’s short for “caroling” (like during Christmas)! How clever! :)

I’m so happy this was Lupicia’s free teabag selection this month. I’m always game to try strawberry-flavored things.

This doesn’t disappoint in its strawberriness. Over the tannic “bite” of black tea, I taste a creamy, candied strawberry—like Creme Lifesavers. Very yummy. I agree with the Strawberry Quik comparison, too.

I’m drinking it plain, but to diffuse the black tea’s astringency, it would be better with milk.

Overall, pretty good. Glad I tried it. But it’s cooling down now and the bitterness is getting a little distracting.

I added about 1 tsp half & half, instead of the several teaspoons warm milk and steamed milk suggested, but ti was still rich and creamy. It is rather like a grown-up, caffeinated version of Nestle Strawberry Quick, because as Auggy pointed out, strawberry + vanilla = strawberry quick (aka “pink milk”) if that is your childhood memory of those flavors.

This is nice, but doesn’t really conjure up the holidays to me. I love Lupicia’s Strawberry Green with matcha and plan to order some early next year, but this one I will let pass.

I received this free in the mail. Upon looking at the description, I thought I’d be disappointed since fruit in tea are always too tart for me. I was completely wrong. I opened this up and smelled some sweet candy popcorn and warmth. For some reason I thought it would brew pink, just like the photo, but I thought to myself, “well this is a black tea based blend… how can it be?” … lo and be hold… it was a nice brown shade. Still, smells sweet and warm… vanilla and strawberry.

I tried it plain first, like I usually do, then decided to add sweetener and milk. It is just one of those cold, drab mornings. Very sweet and creamy. I love sweet. I feel like a child again :)

EDIT – I saw Auggy’s tasting note, describing it as “Strawberry Quik”… and YES that is exactly what it smells like!!