Lupicia

The fire smoke is finally hitting us here, turning the sky into something autumnal and eerie. It’s not as bad as other areas, but it’s an energy zapper and a mood killer.

I wanted a tea profile to contrast this internal lethargy so I reached for something extremely green, decadent, and bright – this candied melon tea! It’s so cheery and flavourful – although, this particular tin is saddled with the now bittersweet memory of briefly visiting Lahaina, Kona, and Honolulu back in March. Absolutely surreal and heartbreaking at the loss of lives and homes. We are really lucky here in the Lower Mainland that it’s just the smoke right now; it’s an understatement to say wildfires have particularly sucked this year across the board.

But here I was trying to distract myself. That almost never works, eh? Maybe I need to embrace the fall-ish notes and the catharsis that this upcoming season can offer. Hopefully, I have a puerh hiding away somewhere.

Steep Count: 3

Oh, hey! I can log into Steepster again! I missed you all.

I had quite the adventure in March. I took a short trip down to San Francisco, and then went on a birthday cruise (for my father and young nephew) to various Hawaiian ports. This was my first visit to the US since before the pandemic and it was.. nice, even if SF did a good YVR impression with the weather (rain. so much rain). Also, I definitely caught covid on the tail-end of the cruise, which was awful – the least terrible ramification being that it prevented me from enjoying my Lupicia souvenirs for a couple weeks.

Is this tea subtle? No. Does it taste like a Melona bar? Yes, it totally does – and that’s all I want at the moment. Sugary green melons on a floral bouquet. This is an excellent tea for flavoured tea fans and newbies (my mom thinks it tastes and smells mindbogglingly good). My sole complaint is the green oolong base is kind of boring and veers towards sour once the flavouring dissipates – but it’s such an easy tea to guzzle down, and takes a long while to get to the point of “meh”. This is one of the very few Lupicia offerings I’ve tried before and it’s lovely to get a chance to revisit it.

Steep Count: 5 and going strong

OMGsrsly’s Melon Oolong broke my tea hiatus, if not completely removing my tea blahs. It was a good effort though; Melona bars are one of the many ways to my heart. Now that I’m back in an environment where the water doesn’t always taste of metallic algae I can work through OMGsrsly’s gift bag and remove that apathy for good.. hopefully!

I’d contemplate picking this up again as a spring flavour and for the novelty of steeping an oolong at boiling temperature.. a good flavoured oolong to have when the temp. variant kettle runs off on vacation!

Apparently the Alphonso mango is one of the sweetest and most expensive mangos. One that came about via grafting. You think your just drinking tea but you end up learning things too.

This teabreally is tasty. I’d like to try one of these mangos now. Its sweet but not so sweet that it’s too much. The base is very light. But that could also be due to the mango. I’ve had it both hot and cold and both are great.

It’s such a light, delicate tasting green tea. It was able to stand up to my chocolate cookies, so I can’t say that this is one I’d buy again. Not a memorable taste…

My mom likes to pick a tea out of the book for me and she always seems to grab the ones I wouldn’t reach for myself. I guess that is good though because that way I am not taking what I like and leaving the non-exciting flavors for last.

Anyways, when I opened this, it smelled deliciously like a fresh, juicy tangerine. Unfortunately, I am not a lover of oolongs or citrus teas so despite the smell, my excitement levels were low. However, sipping on this now, it actually isn’t too bad. I am certainly getting tangerine. Bright, refreshing tangerine. I could see this being great iced for those who reach for citrus flavors. As for my preferences, I don’t think I’d stock this because I just wouldn’t reach for it often but I can appreciate that it is a rather nice cup of tea. 277.

Thank you Arby for the share. I had this before and hated it, even rating it a 49 but it would seem that this time around was much improved. I doubt I will ever have it again by my own choice but it was interesting to revisit and see how my tastes have changed.

Check out the full review here: http://sororiteasisters.com/2017/10/06/decaf-momo-from-lupicia/

Why do so many fuzzy peach teas fail to actually taste like fuzzy peaches? This one, for example, had such a strong smell that just did not translate to the taste. Instead it was slightly peachy black tea with that hint of weirdness that seems to turn up in decaffeinated cups. Disappointing indeed but at least that is one more tea off my “to try” list and another quick and easy sipdown. Final count for the night: 279.

This is the first straight tea I have tried from Lupicia and so far I am not impressed. It’s not bad but it’s really nothing special either. It is a touch astringent which is okay but other than that, there isn’t a really distinctive flavor to this. It is maybe a little bit like stonefruit and a touch citrus but really it just tastes like any other run of the mill straight black tea you would find bagged at the grocery store. Drinkable but not something I would want again. 281.

QueenofTarts was kind enough to send along a bonus sample of this in a recent stash sale package. From the description, I was expecting to love this one and I wasn’t disappointed! While it was steeping my kitchen smelled like candied pineapple…this is one of the strongest scented teas I’ve had recently! The flavor was smooth and sweet and very tropical: pineapple, mango and papaya seemed like the main notes to me. The base seems very mild; I didn’t notice any of the vegetal or grassy flavor I might expect from a green tea. No bitterness or astringency either, even though I accidentally overheated my water. No two ways about it, I’m going to be placing a Lupicia order very soon!

So after adding the book and Christina’s swap, my final count (not including this one) is now: 283. Definitely not the direction I wanted to go but still very exciting.

Anyways, as for the tea, all the reviews are so incredibly horrible that I was petrified when brewing up this tea. I asked my mom to just grab me a random teabag and this is what she brought me and basically my thoughts were “let’s get this over with”. I let it cool completely and braced myself for the first sip of tarty awfulness. However, this was weirdly much sweeter than I anticipated. It’s mostly just juice that is almost a little bit rose and a little bit… vegetable? Someone described this as “tomato” juice and perhaps it is the power of suggestion but I get it. So weird and not something I would want again but also not as bad as I anticipated so I guess that’s a win.

This tea is awesome. I love pineapple and coconut mixed together. The aroma when you open the bag is just heavenly. Pineapple tidbits waft to your nose accompanied with a gentle oolong. And the taste… yea. Perfect amount of pineapple and coconut so as not to over power the oolong. I’m loving the oolong base they used. Grassy with a vegetal hint.

Though I may not have been having the best few days, my morning was certainly brightened by the arrival of my shared Lupicia order with a group of steepsterites. It was a giant box filled with awesomeness and the most exciting part? My new book of tea! Look at it!!! It’s beautiful: http://instagram.com/p/wuiF7ZvJdG/?modal=true. 100 different Lupicia teas to try :)

I reached in and grabbed a tea at random and this just happened to be the first one I picked up. I had never seen this one before but it sounded amazing and smelled of sweet juicy pear. As I brewed it up, I realized why I never saw this before – it was a flavoured green which I tend not to look at as I am not a lover of green teas. This one is actually quite nice though. Personally I think hojicha is a weird choice for a tea that has such light and fruity flavors and it comes through a bit fractured in the cup. Some sips have strong, roasted grass notes while others are ripe pear drizzled in honey. Its like two different teas were dumped into one cup and made to coexist, which they are achieving, though not particularly well. Perhaps a less aggressive base would have helped the flavors shine a bit more instead of fighting for my attention.

With that said, I find that as the tea cools, the hojicha becomes more muted which makes it slightly more enjoyable. Perhaps tats why this is recommended as an iced tea? Anyways, it is one I would drink again but as long as its on a hojicha base, it is not something I would want in any sort of quantity.

Generally genmaicha is my favorite tea. I’m wondering if I over steeped this cup though. The marine like flavor is over bering. Every time I take a sip I imagine myself on a dock with lots of fishing boats. Seldovia, AK. There is still that good ole grassy flavor that keeps drawing me back for more sips.

As I sip more the true flavors come out more. I’m on my second steep now and it’s much better. Grassy ricey goodness with a slight seaweed flavor.

Hohoho! It’s cold and time for tea! I got the book of tea from Lupicia and chose this one for my first pick. It’s yummy! Totally mango and would definitely be great iced if it’s this good hot. I like when teas have a good aftertaste too and this one does, like I ate actual mangoes.

Open the package and pow, lychee punch to your face. I love lychee and trying out new tea/‘teas’ was one of my objectives with this black Friday. Also was looking to see if it resembles a Hawaiian tea I once had that I thought had barley in it. In a way it kinda does.

The more you steep the tea the lighter the lychee flavor becomes. It’s quite good cold but I think I enjoyed it a bit warmer. In a way barley tea reminds me somewhat of a pu erh. Perhaps it’s because of the earthy undertones?

Yesterday was kind of rough, I had a job interview that didn’t go so well and then I decided I need a new outfit for this holiday party I am going to tonight. Went to the mall and wasn’t inspired by anything aside from the Lupicia store. ;)

This is a Lupicia tea I’ve never had before. It’s a black tea blend that’s slightly nutty. I’m definitely getting the chestnut flavor from it, but it seems kind of bitter unfortunately. It was nice with a tiny bit of coconut sugar and soymilk. It’s not my favorite from Lupicia however… if they could find a way to remove the bitterness I’d like this much better. I might try steeping this at a slightly lower temp next time.

Bought this tea from Mitsuwa Marketplace in San Diego and was disappointed in the quality, texture, and flavor of the tea. After drinking it I caught the flavors described in user reviews “salty, asparagus, and green bean” though that’s the problem! Initially blaming my taste buds and method of preparation, I tried steeping another batch only to be disappointed once more. This sencha is like vegetable ramen, not the alfalfa, grassy, sweet varieties I’m used to, the tea is so fine that it goes through the mesh strainer. I’m by no means a tea snob I drink about every kind I get my hands on and this was the first time I was disappointed, which prompted me to create a steepster account so I would not make the mistake of buying horrible tea again.

Since when do I wake up craving pineapple? Never, really.

Alas, today I did and this was so satisfying to drink. It’s a rather old pack of tea in my cupboard and the pineapple flavouring has since diminished a little since its opening.
But because the oolong base is pretty solid, and it’s very pineapple-y to begin with, it still made for a delicious cup. It also got rid of that strong buttery note that I wasn’t so fond of when I first tried this tea.

Reminds me of those sweet pineapple Chinese buns with the crusty sugar topping that you buy in Guangzhou for twenty-five cents. Ah, good times.

I really liked the mini tins from Lupicias holiday collection. Just enough tea in them to try the tea, and make up your mind, not enough to get bored with it.
The opinion on this is that its good, but I would not go out of my way for it. I find the blend of flavors to be a little puzzling, but its not undrinkable.
This is a sipdown! All te more nessisary, as I have some teas from Butiki coming in.

First cup of my morning was this. I can never quite decide what all the flavors are. Fruit? Baked goods? Some sort of apricot tart business? White chocolate? Not sure.
Still, enjoyed!

These tiny Lupicia tins are so cute, and so perfect. Its a good amount of tea to try, albeit in sachets instead of loose. Its good to have a bit to play around with, and test the opinion, but I don’t get overwhelmed with it all.
I’m really getting the hazelnut today. Its nutty, dark, and rich. Today I have not managed to coax out the fruitier flavors, but I’ve got a couple more sachets to experiment with, so we shall see.

I’m not quite sure what I think about this. The flavors are interesting, and taken one at a time I enjoy them. But I’m not quite convinced about the blend of all of them. Its a little mis matchy to me. Hmm.
I’m really satisfied with the amount I have of this. I have a few more sachets, but not enough to completely frustrate me, if I don’t really like it.
I’ve been saying that more experimentation is needed for a lot of teas, but its totally true. I need to play around a bit more.