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Today I had my third session with this tea, and again I steeped twice, first for 90 sec, and then 2 min on the re-steep. No milk or sweetener today! Really tasty, and I’ve decided I like it a bit more than Lupicia’s Cookie blend, which seems the same as this, but without the white chocolate. So I’m pushing the rating up to 93. Yum! I’ll order more when it comes available on their site. Thanks for the intro, ashmanra!

This loose-leaf sample aliquot of Lupicia’s White Christmas came to me via the generosity of ashmanra. I steeped it up according to the usual directions for Lupicia’s blends: 2.5 g tea in 8 oz boiling alpine spring water in my stainless micropore basket for 2 min, with a re-steep again for 2 min. The aroma was wonderful, and of nutty, buttery pastries, and I spent some time simply enjoying the wafting deliciousness arising from the cups! This is a black tea, and yet while drinking, it was quite smooth, almost sweet, without bitterness or astringency. I enjoyed the strong flavors of vanilla, almond, and white chocolate, along with notes of butter and the sensation of a velvety pastry on my tongue. The resteep was gentler, but revealed more of the black base that seemed to be like a ceylon, but without any wintergreen notes. Again I noted a roasted, almost caramel note. After finishing, I read some of the many tasting notes here on Steepster, and was surprised to see so many mentions of an apricot flavour, which was absent in my infusions. Thankfully, I also saw more recent notes by others with the same observation, so I conclude Lupicia has indeed modified their recipe over the past 10 years. But I still found the tea to be absolutely worthwhile as it is today. It was similar to Lupicia’s COOKIE blend, but with a stronger white chocolate note. That was Saturday. Today, I steeped up another couple cups of White Christmas, this time shortening the first steep to 90 sec, allowing more flavor to ride over to the resteep. And today I added a yellow sweetener packet and a splash of half & half. Again the tea was delightful, this time like a toasty cream-filled white chocolate croissant with almonds. Oooh so good! Both steepings! I have enough leaf left for a final session tomorrow, which I greatly anticipate! Thank you again, ashmanra. I recommend this without hesitation, and rate it 90.

Today’s brew had a definite bitter zing to it, with notes of hops. In fact, I got the distinct impression of a mouthful of hoppy ale! What an unwelcome surprise. Dropping my rating by another 5 points, to 65.

Bought a fresh 2oz pouch at their store yesterday, with hesitation upon seeing the proportion of broken leaf crumbles. But the dark color of the leaf encouraged me. Alas, the flavor in this batch was only subtly of the dragonwell character. And with a bitter bite in a re-steep. Color me unimpressed this time. Reducing my rating considerably, to 70. Still recommended if one is desperate.

Almond Oolong. Adagio.
Lot no.: 85421. F.B.: n/a.
Single-serving portions packet, steeped as directed with one re-steep. Adagio seems to spend much of their description extolling the nutritional and health virtues of almonds— which this tea does not contain, being made with mere natural almond flavor. It kind of feels like test-driving a Nissan in the presence of a talkative Cadillac salesman. On the dry leaf, aroma was reminiscent of Amaretto Liqueur, giving me hope; but I am already prejudiced against Adagio’s base oolong used in blending. The flavor was potently of macaroon, but without any sugar, reminding me of when mom served us a children’s punch in which she neglected to add any sugar: unsweet and rather bitter. So I sugared-up the infusion and tried to enjoy the almond-flavored drink, in which the rather woody notes of a poor oolong kept announcing themselves. Sometimes I just have to accept something as “it is what it is” and move on. The re-steep was a more subtle unsweet macaroon in which the oolong now tasted less woody and more like cardboard. Yes, no, I did not enjoy the re-steep at all. I’ll rate the initial steep as a 45, and not recommend the tea, instead suggesting you either drink some amaretto or nibble on a real macaroon.

I had two more sessions yesterday with Lupicia’s Momo Oolong Super Grade and find I must describe it as outstanding! For the past week I’ve been carefully watching a few large, heavy, unblemished peaches ripen up on the counter, and on Wednesday the first of them became soft to a gentle poke, and I ate it. Greedily—it was the finest peach I’ve had this century. Sweet and tangy in equal measure, juicy and aromatic, and just firm enough to be able to hold while eating without making too much of a mess. Thursday the next peach was ready, but I chose to give the Momo a steep first, before spoiling my buds with actual peach. Prepared as directed, Western, with one re-steep, and a tablespoon of sugar in each. OhMyGod, both were mouthwatering and virtually as good as the peach from the day before! I wanted to try pushing the leaf and see if I could get more oolong flavor, and was also puzzled that Lupicia described it as “white peach” (which I have only a memory of tasting once, a few years ago). So for a second session I used 180°F spring water for the first 60 sec. infusion and a 2 min re-steep, and then boiling water for a second re-steep of 3 min. I sweetened each of the three infusions with only 1/2 Tbsp sugar this time. They were all delicious, and as expected, much more subtle. The peachy aroma was very subdued in the first cup and nearly absent in the second and third, but there was still a peach flavor—but surprise! It was gentler, and more akin to the white peach of the old memory, and enhanced by, I think, notes of rose petal. Subtler still in the second and third steepings, but the oolong flavor was better revealed in those subsequent cups. So my experiment was a success! Still, the powerful peach and sweetness of the hotter initial session was more to my liking. I then slowly devoured the ripe actual peach and engaged in a bit of pleasant omphaloskepsis. Finally I decided to raise my rating substantially, to 94, because I liked this Lupicia blend so very much! Not just because I like sugar, but the sweetness surely did improve the sipping, just as it improves a real peach.

Lupicia’s Ripe Mango Oolong tea is, to my tastes, outstanding! Prepared as directed, Western style: 2.5g leaf in 8 oz boiling spring water for 2 min. Two serial infusions, combined to make a pint of heaven. Unsweetened, it tastes of real ripe mango with a floral nose, and a subtle green oolong background giving just enough bite and flavor to reassure you that it’s genuine tea—full-flavored yet light, and quite refreshing. If that wasn’t enough, the leaf unfurled to give medium sized intact green leaves with few noticeable stems. The finish is long lasting in both flavor and aroma, coating the tongue & throat, and filling the sinuses with fruity-floral happiness. But wait— there’s more! add a couple spoonfuls of sugar and the senses become supercharged with sweet fruit and a mouthwatering finish! Interestingly, I enjoyed this more while hot/warm than iced, but it works well as a sweet iced tea too. Yes, the mango flavor dominates, but this is named Ripe Mango and not fruit salad or mixed bouquet! The oolong and orange blossom give it a touch of complexity without muddling the profile, and that’s good enough for me to recommend this tea and rate it a 94.

Sakurambo, by Lupicia
Single, foil-wrapped sachet, gratis sample received with my order, today brewed as directed, Western style, boiling spring water, 2.5 min steep. Of the handful of Lupicia teas I’ve tried, this surprised me and is my least favorite. The aroma of the dry tea was intriguingly pleasant, though oddly peachy and grassy, and once steeped was unlike either the sweet cherries of summer, or the dried montmorency baking cherries in my pantry. Flavor-wise, I get a crushed vegetal taste in a slightly astringent base black tea. I detected neither the pink peppercorn (which I saw in the sachet), nor the reputed rosemary— and I like rosemary, so that was a disappointment. The dominant vegetal flavor was reminiscent of peach and other stonefruit pits, in an off-putting sort of way, and I kept getting the impression I was chewing on pine needles (which I have actually done in the past), but lacking the aroma or tang of pine sap. As I finished the cooling liquor, the tip of my tongue felt a little numb. Thank you, Lupicia, for sending me this sample so that I can avoid purchasing it in the future, and focus on your many other delicious teas! I would not recommend this to friends, and sadly will rate it as 24 (meaning the spring water tasted better before I steeped the tea.)

Gunpowder. Adagio.
Lot no. 85003. F. B.: n/a.
Brewed Western, as directed, the entire 3g from a Portions pouch, in 8 oz. 180°F spring water for 2.5 min.. I’ve never been a Gunpowder Green fan, and this tea neither impressed nor disappointed me. Smooth, sweet, vegetal, non-smokey, non-astringent, and rather boring to me. No serious defects though. The leaf pellets didn’t really fully expand until the end of the second steep, which I ran for 3 min. Both steepings tasted and smelled the same to me. I’ll neither recommend nor dissuade this tea, and rate it as a 70 for being an acceptable green that you might like more or less.

Now that I’ve had sencha from other suppliers, I find this product weaker and less impressive. Reducing my rating to 76. Not bad, but not great.