Lupicia

I’m almost sure that I drank this a couple of times without logging it. This is the kind of tea that you’ll drink if it’s in your cupboard, but you won’t necessarily go out of your way to purchase. It went pretty fast, and it reminded me a lot of Twinnings Prince of Wales tea.

I’ve gotten a bit behind due to work and such, so I’m playing catch up with some reviewing today. This is a good standard tea. It reminds me some of the Prince Wales blend from Twinnings. It is a blend of several different kinds of teas, so the leaves are pretty non-homogeneous. The tea steeps up to a nice dark brown. To me, this tsates like a classic tea, and I enjoy it with a dash of soy creamer and sweetener.

This is the kind of tea I might order along with other teas to get free shipping. I like it, but if it wasn’t in the cabinet, I wouldn’t miss it. I’ll probably use it up pretty quickly, since it’s something you can reach for when you’re not in the mood for flavored teas, and I seem a little bit overwhelmed by the flavored black teas I have in the cabinet right now. I like them, but not everyday.

Standard CTC black tea good for tea latte, but nothing special.

I had no idea it was going to be peach, and I LOVE it. Nice and light a great peach tea. It doesn’t taste chemically at all, which is always a bonus.

I am a fan of Japanese greens. I scored this as a sample with a purchase of TKY from Lupicia. Im always a bit iffy with Gyokuro, because they are very picky about the brew, and I become lazy to brew it with the right amount of patience.

I brewed this in a 12 ounce kyusu, with obi-ami mesh. Went extra careful with the water, and brewed it at one minute ascending brews, stopping my pour half way through, swirling the tea around quickly around the mesh and finishing the pour. Over all it drew up a bit more than four cups, if you want bolder flavour go with two minute ascending or tinker with the seconds. I try to just pass one brew with Gyokuro, most of the time the pickiness can’t handle another draw, and I rather not play by the clock with a Gyokuro.

Like any Japanese green it has a vegetable profile, but I agree that it is a soft, more “friendly” Gyokuro, not the menacing green giant in a cup ready to smack your mouth with its’ almost overwhelming beta-carotene rich flavor! The cup drew light green, granted a enjoyable fresh glasslike scent and delivered a flavour that glides through your mouth with a oceanic finish, leaving you wanting to tilt the cup again, I consider it refreshing.

Starting on a Gyokuro? This wouldn’t be a bad choice for a starter in my opinion. After the sample I would try this again if i was in the mood. It’s a great tea.

Reminds me of Oreo cookies except a bit lighter and with a touch of butter. Made a tea latte with warm milk and a brown sugar cube, and it made a good cup to keep me away from snacks. One of the better flavored blacks for tea latte. Would buy this again.

Another tea from my Lupicia Tea Latte set. Made myself a tea latte to drink with scones, clotted cream and jam. I usually make my unflavored tea lattes with assam, but ceylon feels a bit lighter, and personally I feel it’s more fitting for afternoon cream tea.

This is one of those teas that I like and drink frequently, but never get around to talking about. It’s like drinking this relaxes me to the point that I just don’t want to be bothered with forming sentences and figuring out how to write about it.

Momo Oolong Super Grade is a very fresh-off-the-tree sort of peach, light and refreshing. The oolong gives this a slightly floral flavor. It’s just the sort of thing to drink on a dull afternoon; it tastes good whether hot or iced.

Doesn’t work so hot for multiple steeps. The second brew is noticeably weaker than the first, and the third is basically colored water.

Another sachet tea bag from Lupicia’s Tea Latte set. I was not eager to try this, because as a general rule I’m not a fan of rooibos. The distinct scent always feels too “sweet” for me. But it was late at night and I wanted a warm tea latte, so I gave it a try.

I don’t know if I will like this straight, because the smell was almost overwhelming when I first took the bag out. You can smell all three: caramel, rum, and rooibos. When you add milk and sugar, the rum and rooibos stand out and caramel, not so much. But I like it that way because it doesn’t taste exactly like other caramel flavored teas. I would buy this again for a nighttime tea latte.

Pretty fragrance, weak flavor.

It smells very fresh and clean. Green grass and pineapple…that’s what the scent makes me think about.
But when I drink the tea…I don’t really taste anything. Maybe a vague sort of citrus note.

The real selling point for this blend, besides the smell, is the colorful flower petals that make the tea leaves colorful. But the effect of all that gets completely lost when you use a teabag, as I did.

Well, at least this smelled nice!

I’m still trying to find a good steep time for this. The recommended 2 minutes & 30 seconds doesn’t have enough flavor for me but 3 minutes seems too bitter. Even so, it tastes pretty good and the smell is amazing.

Smells like… well, strawberry and vanilla. Has a bit of matcha on top of the green tea base. This was a part of my tea latte set that came with eight different tea bags, so I tried it with warm milk and a cube of sugar to make a flavored matcha latte and liked it. I’d buy this again.

Tis a quiet little tea. Thank you Ricky for sending this one my way.
Truth is that I have heard the fragrance note ‘osmanthus’ and was curious as to what exactly it smelled like. What exactly it tastes like, I am in search of that as well… work probably isn’t the best place to acquaint myself with either feature.

What I do get from this tea is patience. It has a dusty veg-ital scent that I can’t place but don’t find off-putting. Floral hay, maybe? The liquid turns a kind shade of chartreuse that is very pleasing without sugar and even after hours of steeping neglect. This aspect of the tea is a huge plus in my busy schedule.

I finish my sample tomorrow and perhaps will find more suitable words to describe its flavor. Until then, its charming and accommodating little tea.
Thank you again!

Recommended brewing time is pretty short, 2-3 minutes. Smokier than other Keemun teas I’ve tried, like a lighter version of Lapsang Souchong, and also more astringent compared to smooth Keemun like H&S English Breakfast, with a slight citrus note. Not my favorite tea, but this would be nice with an Asian light meal or snack.

Tea bag. Dry, it smells peachy and juicy with a little extra something that is coming from the oolong. Yeah, I know Lupicia says to use boiling water, but I can’t. So I didn’t. Brewed up, the peachy and the floral of the oolong seem more evenly balance with perhaps the floral being a little weightier. Taste-wise, this strikes me more as yellow peach than white. A little bolder in peachy taste. Very yummy peach. Matches well with the floral taste of the oolong to make something that tastes like it came right off the tree in the middle of summer. Mmm.
2.2g/6oz

Was in the mood for something Japanese tonight, and this was sitting there still unopened, so… I got out my kyusu and got to it.

This is really a pretty good sencha. The first steeping is delicate, and the colour is closer to eau de nil than I usually expect even with a Japanese green. The packet’s claim that it tastes like sweet potato is… hmmn, fanciful is probably the kindest way of putting it. But it is sweet, and, of course vegetal/grassy.

I left the second steeping a fraction longer, for just over a minute, and allowed a little astringency to creep in, just to add a little more depth to the flavour.

Yeah, really not bad. I’ll be having this one again.

My first impression upon opening the package was, “bubble gum?” Berry, yes, but very sweet and somewhat artificial. But when steeped for a minute, the artificial sweet scent is mellowed out and drinkable, and you taste a bit of the green tea as well. This indeed feels summery, and I wonder how it would taste iced. I wouldn’t mind this, but it’s not on my shopping list either.

I associate muscat flavoring with gummi candy. Don’t know why. Wait – yes I do. I used to eat tons of Japanese candy as a kid, and their grape flavor isn’t that weird syrup nastiness found in American candy, but the muscat flavor. That must be the source of the association.

So this is very sweet. Almost cloyingly so. But the black tea tempers it well and prevents the brew from being overwhelming. Like other people have commented, sometimes it can make you think of bubblegum. Definitely has an artificial ring to it.

Disclaimer: this is my first time trying any sort of genmaicha.

I was watching a hockey game and Michigan was on a power play, so I ended up steeping this a little too long, for three whole minutes. I suggest about half of that time, but for being oversteeped, it wasn’t too bitter. Because Lupicia listed this as one of the tea latte possibilities, I was expecting something somewhat sweet esp. with matcha, but it was more like a comforting food type of drink. Reminds me of asian snacks and sesame oil. Not my favorite, but would be a good mealtime tea. So, I wonder how it stands up to milk and sugar?

Added: Now I see that Lupicia suggests mere thirty seconds. No wonder I’m tasting some bitterness. Since I have a whole 2oz bag, I will try it properly next time. Keeping the rating rather neutral for now…

I got some of this from Auggy, so I made some last night as I was trying to trudge through some reading for school. I was eager to get a concentrated muscat [muscadine?] flavor to see if I was correctly identifying it in darjeeling, and it seems that I was.

Here’s what I’ve learned.

Muscat is a flavor that can go bitter on me easily. I don’t know if it’s the flavor, or the combination of muscat with tannins or other black tea compounds, or what, but the tipping point seems to be very delicate when it comes to muscat for me. Therefore, erring on the side of too-short for the steep time does me favors.

I have not had muscat gummies, but I have had grape fruit snacks, and this reminds me of that a bit. Someday, I’d like to get my hands on some muscadine grapes to see what the natural flavor tastes like because right now this particular species of grape is associated with very artificial flavors to me. In fact, I’m not only associating it with fruit snacks, but popsicles, those icee things that come in plastic sleeves, and children’s tylenol. In fact, that is what the flavor reminds me of most – children’s tylenol. And also, flavored vitamins.

Muscat is something that I can see myself liking, but I need to establish a foundation for it outside of that distinctly chalky-powdery not quite sweet grape-like bitter-ish finish taste of tylenol and vitamins. Perhaps ordering those gummies sooner rather than later will do the trick.

For now, this is okay. I’m very glad that I got to try it because it helped set a baseline for that flavor for me, and actually, the flavor isn’t consistently present [it kind of fades in and out for me], so I don’t think I’ll have any trouble finishing it off – even before I start building good muscat thoughts.

This smells amazing. I give extra points for being caffeine free, because I was looking for a night time tea that is not rooibos or chamomile. I used to drink plain chilled orzo like water when I was young (though it was slightly different being an Asian variety), but I came to like flavored versions. It reminds me of light to medium coffee, but not in a way that’s offensive to those who don’t like coffee. People have suggested that it goes well with milk too, so even better. It’s a very comforting cup.

I love black tea flavored with rose, but this is not it. This is hot rose water with the barest hint of tea color and flavor. This tea is more than 3/4 rose petals, and I couldn’t find enough of the black to to look at and figure out what kind of black tea it is. It tastes ok, but it is really dissapointing. This is my first Lupicia experience. :(

I brewed with double the amount I normally use, and still couldn’t get much tea from it. They would be much better off using less actual petals and instead using oil. I’ll go back and try them again at some point, but it will be a while.