Lupicia

The TTB has arrived! So big, so many teas… no chance to try them all!
Tea #15

I think I have found great grapefruit tea…
but hard to get, indeed. It’s nice that it is available in the US Lupicia site, but still hard to get this to Europe. Oh wait, it’s on French site. I shouldn’t see that.

This is strong in grapefruit aroma, but sometimes aroma is all what tea is about. Luckily not this tea! It has got lovely citrusy flavours, especially the grapefruit. But I can see lemon mentioned by some. Green tea base is not so strong, but lovely too, a little grassy IMO.

Welp, I need more of this.

The TTB has arrived! So big, so many teas… no chance to try them all!
Tea #14

Okay, take houjicha and genmai… and you got Hifumi.

I won’t lie, I took this tea rather for it’s outer wrapping, but this profile souned good in early autumn afternoon. It was sunny, no cloud in sight, but it is getting colder and dark fast!

The flavour, for this unknown old, tea bag, is a bit vague. The houjicha is indeed giving roasted note, but in my opinion quite weakly and not much of toasted rice is present as well.

Sadly, all the flavours were a bit weak. That is the biggest dismal about this tea, but maybe I just needed to steep it long, though I have steeped it for recommended 2 minutes only.

Back note from before I left town, but also… I see Steepster has been down for three days. sigh.

From Cameron B!  Thanks again!  Sometimes I like the idea of tasting a black tea at night, and that is when decaf is helpful.  But really I think it is just the light base here for showcasing a super strong cherry flavor.  This cherry is not particularly medicinal OR the candy type… so I like it.  It’s almost like if black cherries were treated like maraschino cherries.   It’s Lupicia cherry, I guess!  As their flavors are usually on point.  So when I’m craving cherry, I will go for this one.  I’m glad I like it!   … Didn’t notice I should have been tasting peach until I read the description… this is full cherry to me.
Steep #1 // 1 1/2 teaspoons for a mug // 20 minutes after boiling // 1 – 1 1/2 minute steep
Steep #2 //  just boiled // 3-4 min

The TTB has arrived! So big, so many teas… no chance to try them all!
Tea #4

There was a single individually wrapped sachet of this tea, I checked it on Steepster what it is supposed to be like… and decided to brew it.

Well, it is a delicious tea, with lovely peach flavour and everything. The base is creamy and smooth. But, something was lacking. Maybe the juicy bit of peaches? Like the experience of biting actual fruit, which I have sometimes when drinking fruit/flavoured teas? I don’t know, but nevertheless, it is highly above the average. Just something I miss… and I just don’t know what it is. But anyway it was a great experience — because Lupicia is almost impossible to get for me.

First thing I noticed the the very prominent fruit scent. It smells more “tropical” than just passionfruit, but is very pleasant- not a chemical type smell.

The leaves are tightly furled with some flower petals added, very nice quality. This one took a long time to unfurl, about 9 minutes. I kept tasting every minute or so after 5:00, but it was too weak. It seems too long, but 8-10 minutes was my sweet spot.

The taste is of an astringent tropical fruit over a mellow, slightly grassy oolong base. The astringent fruit flavour and oolong work well here to make a lovely, refreshing cup. I get in moods where I crave oolong, and this and their Peach version are both great. Not fussy to brew but very high-quality. They didn’t cut corners on this one- all the elements are top notch.

Lupicia recommends this as iced tea, but I feel the oolong quality would not shine through cold brewed. Personally, I find chilling a hot cup too much trouble, so I’ll keep drinking it hot.

Ashmanra’s sipdown challenge – August 2023 Tea #6 -August 25 – National Secondhand Wardrobe Day

Let’s be honest — MOST of my teas arrive by secondhand.  This one teabag sample is from Cameron B very recently!   Thanks so much!  Always willing to try ALL the Lupicia lovelies.  This is a flavored black.  Right away I taste strawberry and their champagne flavor.  But I’m wrong!  The description doesn’t mention strawberry or champagne.  More like guava and other fruits: mango, papaya, and even rose is on the list.  What the heck.  This one blindsided me here.  Though I hear guava is like strawberry. At least there is no noticeable  hibiscus.   The base is a little bland this time around though. The second steep seems even more like a strawberry jello type flavor, maybe due to the fruit flavors blending.  Possibly more rose. Maybe lychee or starfruit, but those flavors aren’t supposed to be there.  I’m guessing all the wrong tropical fruit!  I’m happy I was able to try it, but I don’t think it’s a Lupicia favorite.  By chance, I’m also wearing secondhand clothes, as I do most days, mainly because I’m much more a fan of the older style jeans than the newer jeans, so I buy a lot of them on ebay.  I would like to take a poll and guess us Oregon Trail gen kids like bootcut jeans?  Maybe it’s just me. :D
Steep #1 // 18 minutes after boiling // 1 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 3 minute steep
2023 sipdowns: 79

Geek Steep S3E14 – Everything Everywhere All At Once

Look, sometimes the tea we drink while recording doesn’t have deeper meaning. Sometimes it’s just an excuse to make a cup of tea from that one tin on your shelf that you’ve felt has been staring at you for days and days – and that’s what happened here…

It’s not that deep even though it was very delicious.

Third sipdown of the day! This is chilling in the fridge but the pouch is empty and tossed, so it counts.

I have to admit that I didn’t love this hot, but as a sweet iced tea it is really, really good. I would be happy to repurchase it next summer. The melon flavor is strong, so if you like subtly flavored tea keep that in mind.

I could use this for the prompt “tea while listening to a summer song” if we count cicadas screaming so loud that we sometimes have to raise our voices to be heard. But I won’t.

July Sipdown Prompt – National Cherry Day! Drink a tea with cherry flavor!

I thought I had written another prompt that I couldn’t fulfill but remembered that I actually have two cherry teas right now, both from Lupicia. Cerisier and Decaf Sakurambo are both on shelf and both are fairly recent purchases and not in dire need of a sipdown. I chose this one because when Cameron B. reviewed it recently I was surprised to see that I had not done so, but I remembered it as a favorable experience.

I made buttermilk pie this morning and decided to save the tea as an evening treat since this is supposed to be low caffeine. I wonder what made them decide to go with low instead of no? Hopefully I will eventually sleep tonight but no biggie if I don’t as I am not working tomorrow.

The first sip of the tea made me think of Luden’s Cherry Cough Drops from childhood. I think they still make them but I haven’t had one on years. I love this, and I bet it is absolutely amazing iced so definitely trying that this week.

I can see why Cameron was not in love with it since she prefers tart cherry, but I really love sweet cherry and will definitely try to restock this one, perhaps even making it a shelf staple.

It is slightly brisk which is great for sweets, so the tea doesn’t get lost, but not so brisk as to tempt me to add milk. Lovely tea!

Picked this one up in the spring and just now getting around to trying it. I wasn’t planning on ordering any sakura teas, since I still have some Sakura & Berry and Sakura Houji from the previous year. But I hadn’t tried this one in ages (and apparently never wrote a note when I did), so I thought I would refresh my memory.

Anyway, to the point. This is a decaffeinated black tea with cherry and peach flavors. Unfortunately, I am not a fan… The cherry is quite medicinal, and tastes just like a cheap cherry lollipop. There’s perhaps a hint of peach, but the cherry definitely dominates the flavor.

Oh well, glad to have tried it again! Now to put it in my “send to someone else” box ha ha. :D

Grabbed a single bag from the TTB, and it was just what I needed this morning. Smooth and very, very vanilla-y, straddling the line between artificial vanilla and something a little purer.

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This seems to be a nice sakura sencha, with dark shiny leaves and sakura blossoms and leaves mixed in. However, in my tin at least, the leaves were super broken, which made it easily become bitter. I found I had to shorten the steep quite a bit, and even then there’s a bit more bitterless than was probably instead.

However, otherwise it’s quite tasty. Very savory with a noticeable salinity from the salted blossoms, a thick texture and intense vegetal-umami flavor profile. Very spinachy, but with a touch of sweetness. As always, love the savory-floral flavor of the sakura.

A nice enough tea, but I don’t think I would buy it again. It’s quite expensive and I feel like some of my other options for sakura sencha are superior.

I tried this hot and found the added flavors to be quite mild.

I tried it as a sweet iced tea and after a day in the fridge I can safely say that if I didn’t know this has added flavors I wouldn’t know this has added flavors. It tastes like an okay, slightly weak and slightly brisk (because it is Darjeeling) tea.

Since it doesn’t have any really special flavor hot, I will make big pitchers of iced sweet tea to use the rest. It will go down fast and easy.

LEGO ALERT Check out set 10315 that will be released in August! It is in the Japanese Garden line and includes a teahouse with tiny matcha ceremony accessories!

https://www.lego.com/en-us/product/tranquil-garden-10315

June Sipdown Prompt – a lingering holiday/advent tea

I have a number of these to choose from but went with this one today. I have only had it once before and didn’t remember how I felt about it. I do not generally like clove, especially if it is strong. I like orange but I am a little bit tired of the orange/cinnamon/clove holiday combo. It seems overdone. And darjeeling is not my favorite black tea. But I gave it a go!

I lowered the temp. They recommend boiling for a Darjeeling? I think I did 185F. This was really not bad with my lunch! The clove is so light. In fact, all the flavors seemed pretty light. The Darjeeling wasn’t sour and astringent like some I have had. I did ice and sweeten some to go with tomorrow’s lunch, and I think it will be pretty easy to finish this one off. Honestly, that one just tasted like plain sweet tea when I tested a sample of it tonight. Which is a relief since I don’t like a lot of clove.

Ashmanra sent me a little sample sachet of grapey goodness! Grape gummies seem to be the most frequent reference in other reviews and indeed, it’s got a sweet little personality. If you took a sweet red table grape and crossed it with a cotton candy grape, you’d have the beginnings of a vineyard full of what this tastes like. Being a decaf base, it’s a little milder than its counterpart (Jingle Bells, right?) but unless you tasted them side by side you wouldn’t know there’s a difference.

Perfect for toasting the end of a summer school box operation that reminded me of an Amazon Hub on steroids. (Normally, I sit at a desk. I’m getting too old to be a pack mule ;)

Happy weekend to you all.

So delicate and beautiful. The flavors are so smooth and perfectly balanced that I initially just basked and didn’t want to start identifying. I didn’t get a lot of rose, but didn’t much mind.

This cup managed to remind me of how Perseus gave me so many of the same feels. Whatever is happening over there, I hope Theodor comes back. :(

Thank you for the sample, ashmanra!!!

One of my Mother’s Day teas from Ashman.

It was hot but the humidity was low enough to enjoy dessert and hot tea outside. Texas brownies made by my daughter who lives with us, homemade ice cream, and tea. I adore ice cream with hot tea.

I can hardly believe this is decaf. It tastes so much like regular Sakurambo which I had a sample of a while back. I absolutely love the savory rosemary in this. Maybe that extra flavor helps cover that this is decaf.

I don’t usually like black pepper in tea. I don’t enjoy it in my chai even. But I do enjoy the pink peppercorns in this. The warmth almost sneaks up on you, and just when you think you have it cornered, it ducks and giggles.

This is awesome. It might be a shelf staple because it has satisfied my black tea craving tonight and I can’t say that of tisanes or very many decaf teas.

TeaTiff Traveling Tea Box | No. 5

I didn’t remember until just now that I actually have the caffeinated version of Muscat in my tea cabinet. After trying the Decaf Muscat, I went to add the regular version to my wishlist and noticed that it’s already there. How exciting to find a tea I’d forgotten I already have! Back to the decaf version. This smells incredibly good right out of the package, like grape hard candies. The flavor isn’t as strong as I’d like, so I’m looking forward to comparing it to the regular version.

TeaTiff Traveling Tea Box | No. 3

I love Earl Grey. It’s the tea that brought me to tea in the first place. It’s a comfort. I was glad to see several EG options in the box, many from Lupicia. I’ve ordered from Lupicia a couple of times, but they always seem like such a treat anyway. This Breakfast Earl Grey steeps to a very deep, dark, and thick brew. It almost looks syrupy, but it isn’t. The taste is strong, maybe a touch bitter, but all evened out with the addition of milk. Not one I’d likely purchase, simply because it’s no different than a typical Earl Grey. It doesn’t stand out in any way or set itself apart from the rest. It’s very enjoyable though while I’m drinking it, so being just-as-expected here certainly isn’t a bad thing.

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Farewell, cozy tea. The soba is so toasty and nutty and comforting, with a lovely natural sweetness to it. And then the kukicha adds a touch of freshness and astringency to keep it from being too rich. Really a nice pairing.

I need to remember to order myself some sobacha at some point…

Random tea of the day!

Poor neglected tea, lol. I actually bought this one at a Lupicia store in Osaka, Japan in the fall of 2019. So, it’s a bit old, and yet this is my first time writing a note for it, and probably only my second time drinking it. Oops?

It’s essentially a spin on genmaicha that uses kukicha instead of bancha and sobacha instead of genmai. And it does taste quite similar to genmaicha, though the kukicha base is much milder and sweeter than the usual bancha. The roasted buckwheat has such a rich and deep toasty flavor to it, plus the little nuggets are totally adorable. It ends up tasting like an extra toasty genmaicha with a smoother green tea base.

Really lovely and comforting, and I’m sure this would be delicious iced as well. I’ll have to add this one to my sipdown station, so I remember to enjoy it in the evenings. :3

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This was gifted to me by Mastress Alita, thank you! :)

It’s a very interesting tea. I find it common in ume-flavored things for there to be a strong shiso taste, and the same applies here. It’s more shiso to me than ume. There is definitely a bit of savory plum in the background, but the basil-esque shiso is in the forefront. The combination is actually quite nice with the higher quality sencha they used, which gives it a full texture and adds to that savory quality.

I do wish there was more of the actual ume flavor, I think a stronger fruity-tart presence would really help to balance things. But I still really enjoyed sipping through the packet, and would consider ordering it again in the future.

Random tea!

I have had this one before, but had never written a note. This was actually gifted to me from Mastress Alita, so thank you!

To be honest, I feel like I’m getting more shiso than ume here. And often those flavors are combined, since it’s common to put shiso in umeboshi, for flavor and color. But I’m not really tasting much on the fruity/tart side of things, which is what I would expect. I do taste quite a bit of shiso, which I guess tastes a bit like basil or Thai basil combined with something else. I find it difficult to describe, to be honest. It’s also a touch bitter, but probably just needed a shorter steep. There are some vegetal and pine notes from the sencha base.

An interesting one, I’ll have to see how I feel about it after a few more cups. I’m honestly not a huge fan of shiso, I like it in moderation but it’s quite a strong flavor on its own.