Anna Send Message

303 tasting notes

This tea just kills me.

The first time I made it, I was on holiday in Maui and got distracted by something (so many tall, tanned distractions in Maui) leaving the poor oolong to steep for 25 minutes. It was SO bitter… and it was still so good I couldn’t help drinking it.

Then I tried it iced, and it was pure perfection.

And now I try to avoid drinking it altogether, because I have no idea when I’ll be in the vicinity of a Lupicia again.

See? This tea will be the death of me.

The scent of the dry tea is something I often find myself hallucinating. I know it so well, and love it so much, it sometimes just assaults me out of nowhere and makes me crave a cup. It has the lushest, ripest mangoed scent, but there’s also a bright, leafy oolong note. These strands of scent intertwine beautifully and lose no potency in the brewed tea.

The flavour is equally gorgeous. In terms of mango oolong, nothing can beat this. It’s full-bodied, soothing, half-elegant, half-wild and just… perfect. It’s perfect.

Beautiful re-steep(s).

[Purchased at Lupicia in Honolulu, December 2012.]

Preparation

200 °F / 93 °C 1 min, 30 sec

I Like This

11 likes

3 comments

Fjellrev
Delete

Wow, you’ve sure travelled the world!

Anna
Delete

Tea is one of the main things I shop for when I travel, that’s why the tasting notes end up reading like travelogues on occasion!

greenteafairy
Delete

This is one of my favorites – I almost like the mango flavoring here better than I like actual mango, even!

People who liked this

Comments

Fjellrev
Delete

Wow, you’ve sure travelled the world!

Anna
Delete

Tea is one of the main things I shop for when I travel, that’s why the tasting notes end up reading like travelogues on occasion!

greenteafairy
Delete

This is one of my favorites – I almost like the mango flavoring here better than I like actual mango, even!

Profile

Bio

I’m going to try all the teas.

Then I will choose a lucky few perfect specimens, and we will live happily together in my tea cupboard.

Forever.

* *

2015

This will be a year of in-betweenness and logistics. Where to put the teas. How to arrange the teas. Which teas to replenish – which ones to say goodbye to.

Still doing Project Green.
Still doing Project Jasmine.
Still doing Project Peach.

Dr. Tea is the name, I’m ahead of my game
still, steeping my leafs, still f*ck with the temps
still not loving Assam (uh-huh)
still rock my Bosch kettle with its high-pitched shriek
still got love for the greens, repping Lupicia
still the cup steams, still doing my thang
since I left, ain’t too much changed, still

(With apologies to Mr. Young.)

2014

This year, all bets are off. I am going to drink both peppermint and chamomile and possibly suffer a little. But it’s okay – it’s for science.

I’m doing Project Jasmine, Project Peach and Project Unflavoured Green.

In terms of flavoured teas, Lupicia and Mariage Frères have become my massive favourites, and I have learned that Dammann Frères/Fauchon/Hédiard and Butiki aren’t really for me.

The O Dor, Adagio and Comptoir des thés et des épices are all on this year’s I’d like to get to know you better list.

2013

Getting back into tea drinking last fall, I was all about rooibos. This past spring has been all green tea, all the time, with some white additions over the summer. Currently attempting a slow, autumnal graduation to black teas. Oolongs are always appropriate.

The constant for me, flavour wise, is the strong presence of fruity and floral notes. Vanilla is lush, as long as it’s not artificial. Peach, berries, mango. Cornflower, rose, lavender.

No peppermint.

No chamomile.

No cinnamon.

Ever.

* *

My ratings don’t reflect the ‘What does this tea do for me?’ standard, but rather my own ‘What would I do for this tea?’ scale.

100-90
My absolute favourites. Teas I would travel for – or, in any case, pay exuberant postage for, because they simply have to be in my cupboard. Generally multi-faceted teas with complex scents and flavours. Teas with personality. Tricky teas.

89-80
Teas I wouldn’t hesitate to buy again if and when I came across them. Tea purchases I would surreptitiously weave into a travel itinerary (Oh! A Lupicia store! Here?! My word!).

79-70
Teas I enjoyed, but don’t necessarily need to make any kind of effort to buy again.

69-0
Varying degrees of disinterest and contempt.