Carol from Lupicia

Steepster Score 6 Ratings Rate This Tea

69/100

Carol

Black Fruit Blend by Lupicia

Tea flavored with strawberry and vanilla and elegantly decorated with rose petals.

7 Tasting Notes

Auggy
39

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.

205 °F / 96 °C
3 min 30 sec
11 comments
Suzi
95

This was the free tea with Lupicia’s December 2009 newsletter. I’ve had it before – it’s one of their annual Christmas blends – and a tin of the decaffeinated Carol currently sits in my tea cupboard. But here I am, thirsty at work, so I might as well use this Carol teabag for a refreshing drink!

The strawberry flavor is pretty strong. Lupicia teas tend to be very fruity and heavily perfumed; Carol is no exception. When brewed I don’t really taste much vanilla, but the strawberry is rather creamy and I assume that’s the influence of the vanilla? Maybe?

I’m debating whether I want to buy a tin of the loose tea because the tin is so cute. Is that a silly reason to buy tea?

Cecilia Tan
68

As I wrote in TeaWritings.com (http://teawritings.com/?p=105) this was one of three strawberry teas I tasted this week (completely coincidentally!).

The first scent is intensely strawberry and I worried I wouldn’t taste the tea at all, but of the three I tasted this was the only one where I could also taste the tea and not just strawberry. I think the vanilla helped with that. I actually liked the second steeping better than the first. I would definitely buy this tea if putting in a Lupicia order or if I saw it in a store. (Sadly, nearest Lupicia store is 3000 miles from me.)

200 °F / 93 °C
2 min 0 sec
0 comments
fcmonroe
82
fcmonroe 3 tasting notes

Another one all gone!

This is so much better with milk!! That’s the only way I’m drinking it from now on. With milk, it’s not so overwhelmingly floral.

Nice, but the rose comes on just a little too strong.

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silvermage2000
51

The black tea here I’s decent but the strawberry and the vanilla turn out to taste too cloying and artifical.