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I figured I would try another of these Lupicia Japan teas since the last one didn’t really count ha ha…

This one is nice enough. It pretty much tastes the same as their Tochiotome Black to me, and has a similar CTC base as well. Nice sweet-tart strawberry flavor that reminds me of freeze-dried strawberries. The base is brisk but not overly tannic, and I think they probably intend for this to be prepared as a milk tea anyway. Ooh, that sounds good… Might have to make one later! XD

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Was excited to try this one (passion fruit, lime, grapefruit black tea) but I could tell from the smell of the dry leaf that something was off. They have some teas where they use essential oils or something for citrus flavors (their Grapefruit Green and Kumquat come to mind) and they tend to have a much shorter shelf life, and in less than a year they get this weird soapy flavor to them, I’m assuming because the oil degrades or goes rancid in some way.

Anyway, this has that soapy flavor so I’m assuming maybe the grapefruit here is the same one in Grapefruit Green. So sadly, tossing the rest of this… :(

This tastes surprisingly similar to a Fujian hongcha… It definitely has that dark wheat bread with caraway thing going on, and is much smoother than I would expect for an Indian black tea. Very chewy and satisfying, with a toasty grain note, and a touch of wood and hay. It’s a bit like a combination of something like a Bailin Gongfu with a late flush Darjeeling.

It’s a bit of a far cry from the notes it’s supposed to have ha ha, they describe it as chocolate orange and list a bunch of other sweet and fruity notes. I can see a touch of toasty, unsweetened cacao, but nothing about it tastes sweet to me at all. It’s more on the savory and malty side IMO. But I really enjoyed it, so I don’t suppose it matters ha ha!

Really enjoyed this one! The spices taste fresh and potent – mostly the cardamom is center stage, with ginger and a touch of cinnamon and clove supporting. And then the cocoa powder gives it a nice chocolaty flavor that isn’t artificial or over the top. It’s not a super dark chocolate note, I would put it somewhere in the middle. The CTC base is strong enough to stand up to the added ingredients, but not tannic, even though I’m currently sipping it cold.

I bet this would be wonderful prepared traditionally too! Might have to put a tin of this blend on my wishlist for later this year…

This one wasn’t my favorite. Chocolate teas and I don’t tend to get along, but also this type of hazelnut flavoring reminds me of hazelnut coffee creamer and for some reason that taste is just so cloying to me. Not sure why, it’s not like I had a bad experience with hazelnut coffee ha ha.

I actually didn’t get a ton of chocolate, but the hazelnut was quite strong. At least the glitter was restrained! ;)

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From the January subscription. I’m actually sending the rest of the pouch to a friend, but having a cup from my own tin to mark the sipdown (shipdown? sharedown?).

I will say, the age of this tea is definitely noticeable after tasting the fresh batch. The blueberry is much more muted, which could be a good or bad thing depending on your preference ha ha. Still a nice tea, but I feel like green teas in general suffer from age more quickly, so I’m not getting much flavor from the base. Still an enjoyable and mellow cup, but next time I think I’ll add more leaf.

Sipped this last night and don’t recall a whole lot other than I enjoyed it. The spices were well-balanced, potent but not overly strong, and I could mostly taste cardamom and ginger. I didn’t specifically taste lavender, but I feel like lavender and cardamom can be somewhat similar, so perhaps it was just melding in there. The base was smooth and inoffensive, maybe a tiny bit nutty. Overall it was a pleasant afternoon/evening cuppa sipped while knitting. I’m not sure I feel the need to have a green chai in my cupboard, but this would be a good choice if I did.

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From the January subscription. The name of this tea made me laugh because it’s so vague compared to what I’m used to. Going to assume it’s a TGY since that’s the most common, but who knows ha ha.

It’s good though! Definitely on the greener side of things, but still has some nice bake-y sort of notes to it. Silky smooth with a nice balance of fresh green and sweet grainy notes and a touch of floral in the finish. I wouldn’t seek it out again, just because I tend to prefer Taiwanese oolongs, and anyway I generally buy flavored and unflavored teas from separate sources. But enjoyed my 3-ish cups!

Another Tea Girl sample down!

This was a nice enough blueberry black tea. Not candylike or jammy, but not quite fully fresh blueberry either. Dried blueberry perhaps, like Blueberry Morning cereal? There is something that’s giving me a slightly hint of almond or grain as well, so maybe that’s why my mind goes there. The base is Ceylon, which is never my favorite, but I found cutting the steeping time short by about thirty seconds really helped to smooth things out.

An enjoyable morning cuppa, thanks Courtney!

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From the January subscription.

I had the pleasure of trying this in the advent calendar, so I already knew I liked it. It was nice to have a chance to try it a few more times, though! A very mellow and well-balanced blend, with a nice amount of smoke that isn’t overwhelming. The bergamot is subtle but adds a welcome brightness to the earthy base. I’m not sure I would order the full size, just because I have a somewhat similar blend in my cupboard already. But really enjoyed my three cups!