Lupicia

Sipdown!

So at this point, this one is just a sakura black tea now, without the berry part. It’s still perfectly pleasant however, as I really enjoy sakura-flavored teas. The base tea is somewhat musty and haylike, and a tad bit brisk.

I will say, I think I prefer sakura green teas to black ones. Nevertheless, it’s a tasty tea, even though it’s clearly degraded a bit with age.

Home – 7:30 PM

I may or may not be in the middle of re-watching the Harry Potter films (again…). Because Halloweeny! Or at least, that’s my excuse. ;)

Anyway, the tea! I thought I had bought more than one of Lupicia’s sakura teas when they were available, but I guess I must have finished any other(s) already.

I happen to love sakura-scented teas. Sakura is such an interesting combination of sweet and salty, a bit floral, a bit herbal. This tea contains salted sakura leaves only, with no blossoms. The sakura flavor is definitely here though!

The base tea is a bit brisk – it’s a combination of full-leaf and CTC black teas that Lupicia often employs in their blends. I did shorten my usual steep time a bit because the leaf looked quite broken up. Even with the shorter time, there’s a little bit of bitterness and astringency. It’s a bit malty with some bready notes, a nice base for the other flavors. I taste plenty of salted sakura along with perhaps just a little bit of strawberry jam? I believe I’ve had this one quite a while so it’s possible the berry flavor has faded a bit.

Still delicious though! ❤

I was reminded by the ongoing group order that I have this is my cupboard. Poor Lupicia tins, doomed to be forgotten about at the back of the cupboard… This one is an interesting tin because it doesn’t appear to be specifically for this tea. It has pretty red, pink, and green plum blossoms and butterflies on it, and says よろこび (yorokobi), which apparently means “joy”. Very lovely.

It’s interesting to me that there’s apparently matcha in this blend, because I can’t see it at all. Unfortunately this tea is a bit meh for me. The flavoring is quite light, with candylike strawberry and a little hint of vanilla-esque creaminess. The base is fairly unimpressive, mellow with a soft grassy flavor. I do taste a little matcha (I think) at the end of the sip, with a sweeter and more intense grassiness and perhaps a hint of spinach.

So this one is a bit ho-hum. I definitely prefer Lupicia’s Tochiotome Green for a strawberry green tea, although I’m not sure if they offer that one seasonally on the US website anymore… Luckily I think I still have a tin of it kicking around in the back-of-cupboard abyss. ;)

Work – 3:30 PM

Somehow I’ve never tried this one from Lupicia. It’s in a limited tin, I think maybe it was a special tin release for New Year’s or something? Possibly… But this is a tea that they offer year-round.

I didn’t really see any matcha in the dry leaf, but I can definitely smell and taste it in the steeped tea. It adds a nice grassy freshness to the more bancha-like green tea, which tastes closer to dried leaves than grass. The strawberry flavor is quite light and somewhat tart, almost candylike. The vanilla is a bit stronger, with a nice creaminess that almost makes me think of matcha latte. There’s a hint of rose here as well, maybe just from the numerous petals in the blend.

It’s tasty, but not a repurchase for me. I don’t often love sweet-flavored green tea quite as much as black, white, or oolong, however. I also really don’t like rose so that doesn’t help, either. ;)

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So I picked up the autumn sampler pack of these Matcha au Lait mixes at the Lupicia store in Honolulu, because pretty packaging and yay autumn things! It came with plain, caramel, and chestnut flavors. It seems like this plain one is just matcha with some sugar added.

They give instructions for preparing it in the microwave, but I’m not really a hot latte fan these days, so I prepared it iced. I added just enough warm water to dissolve the sugar (which seemed like it was superfine, and dissolved very quickly) and then topped it up with cold oat milk for 150ml of liquid total, and poured over ice.

I’m honestly very surprised at how not-that-sweet it is, especially at this concentration. Every other sweetened matcha I’ve had has been too sweet for me, but this one is actually nice. It’s similar to the amount of sweetener I would add to an iced latte myself.

The matcha flavor is nice and strong due to the relatively small amount of liquid, and it’s grassy with a touch of bitterness at the end of the sip. Nothing amazing for sure, but it makes for a pleasant morning beverage. Excited to try the flavored ones!

Home – 9:00 AM

I used one packet (about a tablespoon?) for my glass. I whisked the powder with a small amount (< 1 ounce) of hot water until smooth and then added soy milk to reach a total volume of 8 ounces.

This is yummy! I can still taste the matcha clearly – it’s grassy and sweet with alfalfa notes and very little bitterness. I feel like there must be very little sugar in these mixes, since it doesn’t taste any sweeter to me than the soy milk does alone. Which is a huge plus! The soy milk adds creaminess and subdues the matcha flavor just a bit.

I could definitely see myself drinking this daily. Can’t wait to sip through my Bird & Blend matcha advent this way! :D

This has a light melon/vegetal taste. It’s actually better with less sugar than I usually put in. It’s so hard to assign a number value to this one since I only had a sample (kindly provided by Cameron B). This is definitely one to try. Different from other melon teas I’ve had. Probably more accurate to actual melons than to what melon flavored candies etc usually taste like.

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Found that there wasn’t much left in this tin when I was packing up a small sample to send to a tea friend. So onto the countertop it went, to be sipped down, and here we are!

I must’ve shared this with a lot of people, because I bought it earlier this year and I don’t recall drinking it much… But that’s good, because I love this one! It has a lovely strawberry flavor that’s somewhere between candy and fruit, with a bit of that fresh strawberry tartness but also the syrupy sweetness of those strawberry candies with the strawberry-printed wrapper. The CTC base reminds me of Grape Nuts which makes me smile. Flavorwise, it’s nothing special, but makes a solid foundation for the strawberry, and adds maybe a hint of biscuity flavor.

Anyway, will definitely repurchase when this is available again, in the spring or summer I think.

Sipdown! I realized I neglected to look through my Lupicia tins the other day when looking for sipdown candidates. Because of their unusual flat shape, I keep them stacked on the back shelf in the cupboard, so they often get overlooked. But I found a few more sipdowns-to-be, like this one!

I have to say, I quite like this one. The strawberry is a mix of sweet candy, like those little hard candies in the strawberry-printed wrapper that have liquid in the center, and the tarter freeze-dried variety. The two together do a nice job of covering all of the bases. The base tea isn’t terribly remarkable, but it does add a nice body to the blend, along with a tad bit of astringency. There are also strawberry leaves in this tea, not sure if they contribute anything or not.

I don’t know whether this will be offered on the US website. I believe it was a summer seasonal tea, so I guess I’ll have to wait and see! Luckily, I still have some of the green version.

There’s also a new tea called “Fraisier” that claims to taste of strawberry and cake… Clearly this requires further investigation! :D

Home – 9:00 PM

This always happens when I package up a swap – I find teas I’d half forgotten about and suddenly I have a pile of teas that I just have to try this very second. So this is one of those teas… ;)

The dry leaf reminds me of Grape Nuts – it’s entirely CTC leaves and they’re a bit lighter in color than I usually see. There are also pieces of freeze-dried strawberry mixed in. I shortened the steep time a bit because of the CTC leaves and because I’m at the bottom of the tin, so the leaves are a little crushed as well.

It still came out a little bit bitter, but I’m okay with that. This is a very tasty strawberry black tea. The strawberry is both sweet and tart, which is a nice departure from most strawberry teas. It does remind me of those strawberry candies with the strawberry-printed wrapper and the liquid center. The base is brisk and a touch astringent.

I’ll probably pick up another packet of this tea the next time it’s available. I believe it’s a spring or summer seasonal tea?

I don’t want to get too excited here, but it is possible I am getting to close the point where I will have tasted all of the flavored oolongs in my stash and written about them. I’m finding them harder and harder to locate in the as yet untasted category in my Steepster cupboard.

When I get to that point, I am thinking I may move on to the relatively few flavored pu erhs I have.

But meanwhile, I’m trying this one today. Pineapple and coconut, tropical staples, and a green oolong. The dry mix smells about 1 part pineapple to 2 parts coconut. But both flavors smell like good representatives. Not fakey fakey, in any case. Which is exactly what I’d expect from Lupicia because they give good flavor.

Rinse, short steeps, etc. for this first getting to know you session. Light butter yellow liquor.

A pleasant surprise after steep 1 (15 sec): the floral aspect of the tea base comes through nicely. It’s about equally prevalent with the pineapple and coconut, which are now at about 1/3 each after steeping. And that’s pretty much how they taste, as well.

Steep 2, 20 sec. The leaves have unfurled and are now filling the gaiwan. The three components I noticed in steep 1 are still there in equal parts. The coconut may be slightly less, but that’s ok. Coconut is a pretty strong flavor and can tend to take over. Not here. There is something really wonderful about this. I’ve had a lot of teas with these flavors, and none of them have struck me as so nicely balanced. I particularly love that I can taste the oolong in and among the flavors, in all its buttery and floral glory. When the tea is gone, the cup smells like sweet cream.

Steep 3, 25 seconds. This may be the exception to the rule that flavored oolongs don’t need to go through multiple short steeps. Because this one somehow manages to keep the tea base front and center. The pineapple, coconut, and oolong flavors are still present in equal parts, and aren’t really losing much flavor. The buttery, creamy quality is developing nicely.

Steep 4, 30 sec. The non-tea flavors start to wane, but the tea is still tasty. The wet leaf smells like a damp forest, with an interesting evergreen note. Fir-like.

Remaining steeps — 35, 40, 45. The tea flavor starts to wane but is lovely till the end. The leaves, when completely unfurled, overflowed the gaiwan.

I’ve had a run of great luck with teas I’ve tried lately and this didn’t blow the streak.

Sipdown no. 12 of April 2019 (no. 61 of 2019 total, no. 549 grand total). A sample teabag.

This is the sample teabag that killed my Zojirushi! It will no longer pump the water up into the cup. Arghhh!

But I still love the tea. I ordered quite a bit of it before Lupicia went goodbye, and it still deserves its high rating in my book.

I’ve been looking forward to trying this for ever! It has such love here on Steepster.

I am making myself put this through short steeps in the gaiwan, even though I suspect that as a flavored oolong it’s not necessary to go through the trouble. I know not everyone views going through short steeps as trouble, too, so don’t hate on me for that, k?

The smell out of the packet is of amazingly juicy peaches. It’s a pretty tea, too (see picture at top).

The first steep (15 seconds, 195F) is a butter yellow color and clear and it smells like — white peaches! It’s pretty amazing how they were able to get the flavor to be so specific. Not just a generic peach approximation, but a definite variety. Wow. I have to say that pouchong is an especially effective flavor delivery vehicle. I’ve generally been impressed with flavored pouchongs. The tea has a soft mouthfeel and a lightness that isn’t weakness but is more a general uplift. It doesn’t weigh you down. The smell in the cup after the tea is gone is amazingly confectionery. Like some sort of very light pastry, a meringue maybe.

Second steep, 20 sec. Smoother than the first go around, with the peach flavor very much in the fore. Very mild and easy on the stomach.

Third steep, 25 sec. Not really. I got distracted (no. 1 called) and it steeped for longer than 25 seconds. I don’t know how long, exactly. It could have been as much as a minute.

But in any case, it’s more peachy goodness. And something that is slightly like coconut!

As peach flavored teas go, this is a star. As flavored oolongs go, this is also a star. Rating accordingly.

I was in the mood for a cup of green tea with my lunch, and I picked up a single teabag of this from Ost’s cupboard sale, so thank you Ost! This is exactly the sort of thing I want to sample first, because I actually really don’t like jasmine; typically it is always scented way too strongly for my migraine-sensitive head to handle, giving the tea a “perfumey” feel that I just can’t handle. Unless the tea has a very delicate touch of jasmine, or is blended with other flavors and scents just right, I just can’t take it, so I always avoid it in blends unless I can get a tiny sample first. Thus far I’ve only ever found one blend that hit my sweet spot just right, Bird & Blend’s Jasmine Poached Pears, but they don’t make it anymore… and the last time they blended that one, they were still Bluebird Tea Co.

I was wondering if the mandarin in this would be enough to balance out the jasmine, but sniffing the brewed cup… yaaaaaa, I’m smelling way too much jasmine. I don’t think this is going to be a tea for me, I’m afraid. The flavor is fairly pleasant (it’s never been the taste I’ve had a problem with, just the overwhelming feel that I’m inhaling grandma perfume because my head is so sensitive to strong aromas), with the strong floral flavor having a slight orange citrus tanginess toward the end of the sip. An added plus is the mandarin isn’t coming off with that extremely artificial taste like most mandarin teas I’ve tried, perhaps because the dominant flavor is the strong, sweet jasmine flavor. The base has a nice warm hay note and there is a green bean/vegetal aftertaste on the tongue, after some of the floral sweetness has died down a bit. There is no bitterness or astringency.

It’s a nice tea, and easier for me to drink than several jasmine teas I’ve tried in the past; if another sampler teabag showed up my way, I’d be able to drink it. But it’s still a little too aromatic that I don’t think I’d ever add it to my collection.

Home – 11:00 AM

Matcha au Lait – Take 2!

Okay, so this time I put the mix in a glass measuring cup and added a bit of hot water, then stirred well to form a smooth paste and eliminate any lumps. Then I slow diluted it with soymilk, stirring frequently, until the total volume was 8 ounces. I frothed it a little at the end for a final mix and to create a bit of foam on top.

This seemed to work quite well! Huzzah!

This mix is super delicious. It actually reminds me a bit of genmaicha, with a nice toasted grain flavor that I love. I assume the soybean powder they’re emulating is the same as the kinako that traditional Japanese sweets are sometimes coated in. It definitely tastes similar.

I love love love this one! It is a tiny bit grainy, but that could be because it’s intended to be consumed as a hot beverage and I’m having it cold. Will definitely buy a pouch the next time I order from Lupicia!

Home – 8:00 PM

This one is similar to some of Lupicia’s other wine or grape-based teas (like Jingle Bells, Yamabudo, et cetera).

It tastes of white grape with a strong muscatel flavor and a very floral finish. The black tea is very light and doesn’t contribute much in the way of flavor, but it does add some body.

There is some added citrus here as well, perhaps orange and grapefruit? It’s difficult to pin down a specific fruit since the flavor melds so readily with the floral notes.

It’s a good tea, but is very similar to some of Lupicia’s other teas that I’ve already tried. It’s also a touch too floral for my tastes.

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Finishing this off, as it’s in my “5 oldest teas” box. It was from November of 2021, so not too terribly old…

This is such a cozy tea. There’s nothing amazing or exceptional about it, just a nice combination of mellow cooked apple with soft cinnamon and cardamom, all on a smooth and mild black base. It’s sort of a low-key apple pie tea, and perfect for both autumn and the holidays.

We’ll see if it makes it into my cart if I end up making an order from Lupicia this winter. Definitely worth a try!

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I quite liked this one. It has a lovely balance of sweet cooked apple with just the right touch of spice to make it holiday-esque. The cardamom is the strongest, with the cinnamon coming behind with a nice cozy warmth to it. I think I taste a hint of tart cranberry as well.

I’m not sure whether the US site will offer this one this holiday season, but I’ll have to keep an eye out for it when I restock a couple of the usual suspects. :)

Home – 6:00 PM

This tea is way better than I expected. I assumed it would be stronger on the spices since it’s a Christmas tea. Plus I saw a lot of whole cardamom pods in the dry leaf.

But happily, the strongest flavor here is the apple. It’s a soft cooked apple flavor, like filling in a pie. There’s a touch of cinnamon that really makes it taste pie-ish. There’s a nice, slightly tart dried cranberry flavor as well, and some lovely honey notes coming through from the black tea.

Yummy. This is a lovely tea for autumn, too. ❤

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Another one from the sampler. Prepared in the same way, cold with 150ml of liquid, mostly oat milk.

It’s perfectly pleasant but it doesn’t taste like caramel at all to me? I do taste the milk powder, which adds some extra creaminess. I’m also finding it slightly more bitter than the plain version somehow, but could be a difference in how I prepared it…

Anyway, it makes a nice enough iced matcha latte but it’s not caramel IMO.

Home – 10:00 AM

This is from the autumn Matcha au Lait sampler – which came with plain, caramel, soybean powder, and chestnut mixes.

A couple of lessons learned:

1. The milk frother that I bought works way too well for this application. I ended up with about 300ml of creamy foam (and 0ml of liquid) from my original 150ml of soy milk! XD So props to the manufacturer, and next time I’ll have to stir it by hand and then froth a bit at the end to whisk the lumps…

2. The instructions on my packet are entirely in Japanese, except for the “150ml milk” and a number “1” with a kanji next to a picture of the packet. I, of course, I assumed this meant 150ml for the entire packet. It certainly does not. I think perhaps they meant 1 teaspoon of powder for 150ml of milk, because on their website it recommends 2 heaping teaspoons for 8 ounces of milk…

Anyway! After my epic adventure of making this beverage, I ended up with about 10 ounces of soy milk for the packet of about 1 tablespoon (11g) of mix. And the finished volume is huge, because it’s still half foam. At least it’s well-mixed! XD

It’s tasty, if I do say so myself. And it definitely doesn’t as much sugar as the David’s Tea matchas. Even with my sweetened soy milk, it’s not too sweet. The matcha is smooth with grassy and vegetal notes, and no bitterness. I’m not sure how much I can taste caramel, maybe a little bit, but it’s certainly not strong.

And don’t forget to join us next time on “Misadventures in Matcha” with your host, Cameron B.!

Home – 9:30 PM

I have several pouches of these fruit-flavored barley teas from Lupicia. They’re a bit older now, but at the very least they’ll still be tasty plain barley teas.

I forgot how much I enjoy these teas, both hot and cold-brewed. This has a roasty flavor, but it’s not overpowering. There’s also a nice lingering sweet aftertaste. I can still taste a bit of apricot, and if I remember correctly, this one wasn’t very strong on the flavoring in the first place.

Yummy. I’ll have to try each of these cold-brewed as well to compare.

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Another oldest tea finished off! This was from August of 2018.

I really like this one, thought perhaps not quite as much as its sister tea, Kumquat. Both are winter exclusive teas from Lupicia. It has a high quality sencha base that’s well-balanced, a nice mix of rich, buttery, vegetal, and umami flavors. There’s actually a hint of mineral smokiness in this last cup, which is unusual.

Yuzu is actually sort of a hit-or-miss flavor for me. I don’t tend to love it in sweet applications, just because it has that sort of piney note that, to me, makes it skew a bit savory, and I find it a bit weird with sweets. But it’s very popular in Japanese confections, so clearly mine is an unpopular opinion. I do love it in savory things though, my favorite ramen that I tried in Japan was actually a yuzu shio variety and it was delicious. And since this is a sencha base, with some nice savory qualities, I really like the yuzu paired with it as well. It adds a nice bright citrusy pop, along with hints of evergreen.

Happily I bought a new tin of this a couple of months ago, so I’m good to go! :)