Champagne Rosé

This will be a drive-by logging of this month’s freebie teabag.

Smell: Dry Leaf – Alternately like sparking white grape juice and muscat. Occasionally with strawberries or something pink.
Liquid Tea – Mellow muscat gummy.

Taste: The front is floral. The name says ‘Rose’ but nothing in the description that indicates that there is rose in this… Is there rose in this?

Next is slightly tart berries. (Yay for a Lupicia Strawberry tea that is not strawberry Quik flavored.) There is some light astringency that plays into the whole fresh berry feel. Not too dissimilar from this morning’s Marco Polo but a tad thinner.

Last up is an endnote that is a cross between white grape juice and muscat. (The tastes are similar but white grape juice tends to be sweeter and muscat more wild/pungent… at least to me.)

Verdict: Pretty darn good. If it didn’t have the astringency, I could see this vying for Marco Polo’s place in my pantry. But it is a little drying, which does fit with the whole champagne and strawberries thing but don’t always appreciate astringency, particularly in black teas. Otherwise, great flavor and the first strawberry tea from Lupicia that doesn’t make me think of that cartoon rabbit. If they stopped making Marco Polo, I’d probably replace it with this and only be a little sulky.

Many thanks to my wonderful friend Isabella for giving me a sample of this tea! If you read this, Bella, you’re amazing!

I understand that this will be quite awkward as I am only 15 and writing a review on a champagne flavored tea…. Regardless, I have had a sip of my parent’s here and there and I know what it tastes like (trust me, I’m not a drinker!).

Anywho, on to the tea. The dry leaf smells like champagne and there is a subtle sweetness in the background… Steeped for 3 minutes with boiling water in my mug. The tea smells kind of bland. Sort of a champagne-y scent (if that makes sense….) but I can tell there’s a sweetness in the tea. The smell isn’t as strong as the dry leaf but the sweetness comes through more, if that makes sense.

For the first sips I’m getting kind of a chocolate-y taste, which is weird because there’s no chocolate. The aftertaste in my mouth is slightly sweet with a champagne-esque flavor.

As it cools the sweetness of the strawberry and the sort of slash (that’s the only word I can think of) of the champagne comes out, and it makes for a nice brew. Overall pretty tasty, though I don’t think I would purchase a full size version of this.

Thanks again Bella!

PS: I’ve realized my ratings don’t make sense (at least to me) so I will be going through and fixing them…. If anyone was wondering :P

I’ve been hitting duds lately when it comes to drinking black tea, hence why I have been adding a ton of green tea tasting notes. I found this sitting in my cupboard and thought of steeping it. I received this as a sample in the last Lupicia newsletter and I’ve never tried it before. This tea is very light with a subtle taste of strawberry. I’m considering of giving black teas another chance after tasting this one. I can’t go wrong with Lupicia, they’re flavors are usually spot on and delicate. Just stay away from the teas on sale, those tend to be a little funky.

PSA: Don’t try with milk, it’s pretty gross.

Thanks to Azzrian for the sample!

I’m not much of a drinker, and when I do drink on occasion, it’s not usually champagne. But, I am a sucker for odd flavored tea, so I couldn’t pass this up.

I steeped it for the recommend 4 minutes, and it was a little too bitter for my liking. And then I steeped it for less time and it was still a little bitter, so I’m thinking it might just be the flavor of the tea. Since I’m particular about the types of champagne, this may be my problem.

Thank you, Brandy3392 for this cup of tea! It smells like a nice black tea combined with a strawberry candy I ate ages ago. The taste is light and delicate! The aftertaste is similar to a candy heart. There is somewhat of a faint flavor of champagne in the swallow, and I really like that it adds dimension to the entire sip. Really a lovely, fancy and beautiful tea! I want to save this for special occasions, but do see myself drinking this weekly or daily instead.

This reminds me of Lupicia’s Bonne Nuit, another champagne-flavoured black tea. Both Champagne Rose and Bonne Nuit taste exactly like real champagne! God knows how Lupicia has managed to do that! The dry leaves of Champagne Rose smell of grapes and muscat (quite similar to Fanta Grape). The liquor has a fruity black tea base, which complements the sweet, candy-like grape flavour very well. I am not getting the strawberry flavour that everyone has mentioned, perhaps the grape flavour is so potent that my taste buds have become too occupied to entertain other flavours :P As I am drinking the Japanese version, there are tiny pink and silver pearls among the tea leaves. I am not sure whether they contribute any flavours to the tea, but it certainly is a nice decorative touch! Next time (I think I still have a sample from Lupicia?) I am going to try it iced! :)

Btw, just want to point out that the name of this tea is Champagne Rosé instead of Champagne Rose, so I guess it should have nothing to do with rose flower at all. ;)

Received this in the mail. For some reason its not hitting me the right way. I can’t describe it. Its alright.

This a nice and tasty tea. Definitely got a strong strawberry taste, does it really have a champagne taste though? The swirly silver bits are fun too…

Both the champagne and the rosé descriptions are right on! The label says to steep for 1-2 times, but I’ve steeped mine three times and it still tastes wonderful! A really great tasting tea.