4436 Tasting Notes
Sipdown! (4 | 126)
Finished off my tin from 2023, woohoo! I’ve been drinking this one almost daily, so I guess my seasonal tea basket is paying off. Enjoying it in my haunted castle Halloween Nordic mug today!
Still probably my favorite Lupicia tea, though that’s a tough race. Will definitely order this year’s tin when it’s available, to continue my collection. But for now, will work on my 2024 tin next! :)
Flavors: Apple, Apricot, Earthy, Grapes, Plum, Red Wine, Rich, Stonefruit, Woody
Preparation
This is delightful. It’s the same as their traditional chai, but with the addition of star anise. The description says “subtle licorice notes”, but to me the anise flavor is the strongest one here. I like licorice in general (though not licorice root), so I think it’s delicious iced with oat milk and maple syrup! Will definitely need to pick up a tin of this one. :)
Flavors: Anise, Cardamom, Cinnamon, Clove, Ginger, Licorice, Spices, Star Anise, Sweet
Preparation
Cold steeped overnight.
Even with the shorter steep, still getting that perfume/flowery flavor… Honestly I’m so sad, the muscat grape flavor is so good, and the flavor I was most looking forward to.
Sigh. I guess I’ll put this in the rehoming box for now, though I can’t imagine anyone enjoying it. I can’t bring myself to throw it out though. T.T
Flavors: Artificial, Floral, Grapes, Juicy, Muscatel, Perfume, Soap, Sweet, White Grapes
Preparation
Cold steep, and the last fruit infusion from my sampler box!
This is nice, even though I’m not a rose lover. The rose is quite prominent, but it’s not overly heady if that makes sense, plus the citrus and hibiscus tang help to balance it a bit. It’s not a favorite for me personally, because rose, but still drinkable and very refreshing. I’ll definitely put the other bags aside to send to a friend who does enjoy rose!
Flavors: Citrus, Floral, Hibiscus, Lemon, Rose, Sweet, Tangy, Tart
Preparation
I’ve been craving iced chai lately, and really enjoying this instant version. It has no added sweetener or milk – just dehydrated brewed black tea powder and spices. I use 2-3 times the amount they recommend per cup, and I’ve been sipping it with oat milk and maple syrup. The only “negative” I would say is because there’s quite a bit of powdered spice here, it does tend to settle to the bottom. But I just stir mine up with the straw before each sip to distribute the spices, and it’s lovely!
I ordered the sampler yesterday to try some of their other flavors! Particularly looking forward to the anise version.
Flavors: Black Pepper, Cardamom, Cinnamon, Clove, Ginger, Spices
Preparation
This one doesn’t have a lot of flavor. I mostly taste the very grassy and dry Chinese sencha base, with just a hint of peach. I’m not sure what white hibiscus even tastes like, floral I assume? Not getting that at all. Mostly I just taste dried-out glass clippings ha ha. Meh.
Flavors: Astringent, Dry Grass, Earthy, Grass, Hay, Mineral, Musty, Peach
Preparation
Cold steeped overnight.
This… was so incredibly strong on the licorice root flavor, and I don’t understand why. Weirdly I didn’t get a ton of the accompanying coating sweetness, just the taste of licorice root. Basically it was hibiscus and licorice root, I didn’t really taste cherry specifically. Although I did only take a couple of small sips, because BLECH.
Flavors: Hibiscus, Licorice, Licorice Root, Sour, Sweet, Tart
Preparation
Cold steeped for two days.
When I opened the jar, that delicious sweet muscat grape aroma had me salivating. I buy Japanese jellies quite often, and the muscat/green grape is always my favorite. This smells exactly the same.
Unfortunately, it also has a very noticeable soap/perfume taste to it, which I sometimes find in some Asian fruit flavorings. I guess I would describe it as very flowery in an unpleasant way. A shame, because otherwise the muscat flavor is so delicious. Will have to see if a less extensive steep helps any…
Flavors: Artificial, Candy, Floral, Grapes, Juicy, Perfume, Soap, Sweet, White Grapes
Preparation
From the Tea Thoughts summer countdown box.
This is a lovely green oolong. It has a nice balance of fresh green and floral notes with hints of dried stonefruit and a creamy/buttery quality. I would have certainly guessed that it was a Taiwanese oolong, so it’s interesting to know that it’s Vietnamese! I honestly don’t gravitate toward plain oolongs in general, and when I do it’s generally the more oxidized varieties. But this one is so approachable and has a nice balance of different flavor notes without being too floral for me. It’s also shockingly inexpensive?
Flavors: Creamy, Floral, Green, Milk, Mineral, Nectar, Silky, Smooth, Soft, Spring Water, Stonefruit, Sweet, Toasty
Preparation
Cold steep! Two bags for 16 ounces of water, steeped overnight.
This came out a bit weaker than yesterday’s rhubarb. It’s also quite tart from the hibiscus, so I added a bit of sugar. The sweetener definitely helped to balance it, and even make it taste less weak somehow. Now I can taste juicy mandarin paired with subtle but noticeable ginger notes. Thankfully I don’t notice the alternative sweeteners here (blackberry leaf, licorice root), there’s no cloying aftertaste.
It’s nice, and quite refreshing. So far, would consider getting a sampler of these again, for cold steeping purposes.
Flavors: Citrus, Ginger, Hibiscus, Juicy, Mandarin, Orange, Sweet, Tangy, Tart
