85
drank Hoku by Lupicia
15575 tasting notes

Sipdown (510)!

Many thanks to Kittenna for sending some of this my way! I was very excited to try it; Lupicia teas are certainly not the most convenient thing to get a hold of in Canada which is so sad because they’re generally SO GOOD. This one in particular really seemed like something I’d enjoy though; an oolong with pineapple and guava!

Honestly, the most interesting thing about this tea for me may actually have been the super unique looking sugar sprinkles/crystals in the blend. I’m usually pretty neutral about sprinkles in my tea, but these things were damn stunning! I did take a photo for my Instagram and I think you can kind of see them in the photo? But very unique, for sure.

Photo: https://www.instagram.com/p/Beq_ogoF7vC/?taken-by=ros_strange

Flavour wise… This was pretty good!

I wasn’t actually sure if I liked it at first because it does come off initially as very highly floral, and those notes can be a little overwhelming right off the bat. However, once I had kind of acclimated to that wave of floral top notes I was really able to get into the rest of the profile and deeply appreciate the tropical fruit notes. This one is certainly pineapple flavoured – that much would be very obvious even if I didn’t know what was in the blend prior to steeping it up. It is weird though because it was a very sweet, and almost candied tasting pineapple but at the same time had a lot of the freshness and natural taste of pineapple juice. So, sort of like having a foot on either side of that line.

As for the guava, I do think it was present in the profile but certainly not as heavily as the pineapple and not in a way that I think would be clear if you weren’t already familiar with the ingredients. It was certainly more of an undertone, and I think if it did anything at all it was just add a little contrast to the floral aspects and depth to the overall tropical profile. Still pleasant, but not the star and those guava notes, in my opinion, shouldn’t be the reason you get this tea because I think if you’re hoping for those element then you will be disappointed.

Overall? A very nice tea though! I greatly enjoyed the cup and it’s something I’d really happily drink again if it was more available to me from here in Canada.

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Bio

Hello! My name is Kelly, though many people in the tea community call me Ros or Roswell.

I am a mid-twenties tea addict, blogger, and all around nerd. I grew up in the Prairies, but a few years ago I relocated to Quebec to pursue a career with DAVIDsTEA in the tea industry! I’m still working on getting my French language skills down…

My first introduction to tea, in any form outside of instant and bottled iced tea, was about seven years ago when I happened to stumble upon DAVIDsTEA while looking for a birthday present for a friend! I tried their Birthday Cake rooibos blend, and I’ve been hooked on tea ever since! In those seven years; I was introduced to the online tea community, expanded my interest in flavoured teas to include a deep love and appreciation for straight teas and traditional brewing methods, got a tea themed tattoo, started reviewing teas, amassed a sizable tea and teaware collection, became a TAC certified Tea Sommelier, & even came full circle by beginning a career in the tea industry with DAVIDsTEA!

I consider myself a Jack of all Teas, and strive to have a knowledge and appreciation of all tea types, formats, and styles of drinking. I don’t like to feel boxed in to just being a “flavoured tea” or “straight tea” drinker – my expectations may vary depending on the type of tea or how it’s been processed/prepared but if it’s good tea, it’s good tea no matter how it’s been made!

You name it, I probably drink it- and I’ll absolutely try anything at least once.

My default method of preparation is hot, Western style, and straight – but I’m not opposed to additions if I’m in the right mood. If I ever add something to a tea or use a different method of preparation I will ALWAYS call it out in the tasting note though.

I like to listen to music when drinking tea, especially when I’m brewing a large pot at a time or steeping Gongfu. Often I curate very intentional tea and music pairings, and sometimes I share them here in my tasting reviews. Music is something that I find can deeply affect the experience of having tea.

I’m also one half of the “tea and fandom” podcast GeekSteep where, weekly, we discuss newly explored fandoms over tea as well as try to figure out the perfect tea to pair with each fandom. You can find us on Spotify and Apple & Google podcasts.

Favourite flavour notes/ingredients: Pear, lychee, cranberry, cream, melon, pineapple, malt, roasty, petrichor, sweet potato, heady florals like rose, hazelnut or walnut, sesame, honey (in moderation), and very woody shou.

Least favourite flavour notes/ingredients:
Lemongrass, ginger, strongly spiced profiles (and most Chai in general), mushrooms, seaweed, chamomile, stevia, saltiness or anything that reminds me too much of meat that isn’t supposed to taste like meat…

Currently exploring/obsessed with: Sheng from Yiwu, Yancha (Qilan in particular), anything with a strong sweet potato note. Also, I need to try ALL the root beer teas! Searching for a really good caramel flavoured blend, ideally with a black tea base.

Please contact me at the instagram account listed below if you would like me to review your teas.

Currently I’m employed in the tea department of the DAVIDsTEA head office. While I’m still sharing my own personal thoughts on new & existing DAVIDsTEA blends, I am no longer numerically rating them due to the obvious conflict of interest. Any comments expressed are a reflection of my own thoughts and opinions, and do not reflect the thoughts and opinions of the company. Any DAVIDsTEA blends you currently see with a numeric score were reviewed prior to my being hired there and have not been adjusted since becoming a DAVIDsTEA employee.

Location

Montreal, QC, CA

Website

https://www.instagram.com/ros...

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