Lupicia

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.

Sipdown

This is a public service announcement. Lupicia has posted their line up of Mother’s Day teas, floral special edition tea tins, and cherry blossom/cherry flavored teas!

I was hoarding the last bit of this and planned to have it with Ashman for afternoon tea today. There was less in my tin than I thought so we had Decaf Muscat instead and I made this to go with ice cream tonight.

The aroma is pure Luden’s cherry cough drops. I love it. But I will admit that it did not go as well with ice cream as I thought it would. I usually have lapsang, hojicha, or a plain black tea with ice cream and this one got a little lost because it comes off sweet and the ice cream was sweet, of course. Not enough contrast.

I will admit here that I have already ordered two new bags of this. I am a little ashamed to admit I also ordered two new-to-me teas to try but one of them is for Ashman really so maybe that makes it a little better.

November Sipdown Prompt – National Stress Awareness Day

Yesterday and today have both been extremely stressful. I need more than one minute of being aware of my breath to get through this.

I think I will finish this and go to bed and hope tomorrow is better.

As for the tea – this is sweet cherry rather than tart, like Luden’s cough drops or a very particular lollipop I used to buy near Valentine’s Day but could never remember the brand and often ended up with a more lackluster type.

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.

Sipdown! (1 | 198)

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.

Sipdown

A lightly flavored darjeeling with clove and orange.

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!!!

December Sipdown Challenge – tea with a red ingredient

I was craving something special tonight and this was just the thing. The first time I had it, I had no idea what was in it but I knew I recognized the savory element. I was surprised to find rosemary in a tea with cherry. It was delicious and I was pretty happy when I saw that it came in a decaf version as well.

The pink peppercorns are bright and red. They lend a little warmth but are not hot. They look really pretty in the mix.

This pouch is almost all gone, but this is going on my re-order list. I wilk hiod off until the cupboard is a little lower! I have three teas teetering near the edge of sipdown and will make lots of tea tomorrow when the family comes, hopefully bringing me closer to the 2023 goal. (Even though I don’t expect to meet the goal!)

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.

I don’t usually gravitate towards lemon tea, but the scent of this one in the store blew me away a little and I grabbed a bag. Since opening the bag a few days ago I have reached for this tea several times. It has such a rich lemon scent that translates into a strong lemon flavor. It lacks the sour that fresh lemon has and is more of a lemon peel taste and that makes me think more along the lines of candy than fresh lemon. The lemon provides the high notes and the tea comes out as deeper base notes making for a well rounded sip that lingers long into the finish. I bet this tea would be great iced as well, but for now I’m enjoying it hot!