Strawberry & Vanilla

I received this pyramid sachet as a free sample with my order from Lupicia.

The Lupicia website indicates that this tea has some Matcha in it, and there is a noticeable green dust that emits from the bag upon opening the pouch. After trying Den’s Sencha last evening, I will say that this does not have as much Matcha as that Sencha pyramid sachet, as you can hardly see it (the matcha) in the brewed liquor of this tea. But that’s OK. It sort of reminds me of my own La Vert Pear blend that I used to carry, I would coat the dried pear chunks that I added to the blend in Matcha… it resulted in a “hardly noticeable” matcha dust in the leaf and a “hardly noticeable” change to the liquor, but, added just the right touch to the flavor, which is what I wanted to achieve….

Anyways… I digress!

This is a very good blend. The flavor is very fresh, the strawberry flavor reminds me a bit of sweet-tarts – it kind of leaves that tarty tang on the tongue like sweet-tarts do. Although, it doesn’t taste like candy… it does have the same effect.

This is one that I would definitely consider buying again (so it was a good move on Lupicia’s part to send me this as a sample!)

I’ve had this before, brewed at boiling, and wasn’t a huge fan. This time I did it at a lower temp. It smells like less like strawberry Quik and more like actual strawberries but with a Quik hint. It actually tastes a bit like fresh strawberries over a creamy (but mild flavored) green tea ice cream. I still don’t love it but I like it much better this time. Bumped the rating a bit.

This was my iced tea of choice a few days ago. Cold brewed it up nice and strong and threw in a few freeze-dried strawberries to make it a little more fruity. Turned out very nice with some sweetener added.

Steep Information:
Amount: 1 teabag
Water: ~150°F hot spigot water 12 oz
Steep Time: a little over 1 minute (http://steep.it)
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: strawberry, vanilla, hints of vegetation
Steeped Tea Smell: vegetal, matcha, slight hints of berry
Flavor: mild vegetal, slightly floral, smooth
Body: Light
Aftertaste: vegetal
Liquor: translucent light green

Not a bad tea at all, but too floral for me. I also am not a huge green tea fan.

I am not getting the berry or vanilla in the taste, only the smell.

This was a free item included in my order.

pictures: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/12/lupicia-teabag-green-tea-strawberry.html

I had this hot last night without any milk, but did add about 1/2tsp of german rock sugar (as I do to most of my teas). Now, the smell of this tea smells soooo good, just like a glass of Promise Land strawberry milk! When I went to search the bag/tin for how to steep it, it said “boiling water for 2-5 minutes”! Now, I was afraid with it being a green tea that boiling water wouldn’t be a good idea, but I did as they said and steeped for 2.5mins. The smell off the strawberry milk is still very much there with a bit of the sencha smell. I tasted it and it tastes like strawberry milk…umm in tea form! LOL which is a little watery since it is tea, but my brain and nose kept telling me, “this is strawberry milk! It will be thick and creamy!” sooo since it wasn’t “thick and creamy” my brain was 10 different kinds of confused by this! Still a good tea, but I imagine this is one that definitley needs to be iced and/or have milk added first before drinking =)~ I will be trying this one very soon with some milk!

Here’s what happened: —

I had the first issue of Black Widow in my hand. I flipped through the pages, settled down in my bed, then thought, “I need a good tea to drink,” and like. My hands? They must have a mind of their own, because suddenly I am holding a Strawberry & Vanilla tea bag, and I guess my feet saw no problem with that since I am walking over towards the kitchen to boil a cup of water. So, of course, I wasn’t gonna argue with that; I clearly had the right idea.

This time, however, I did prepare this with two ounces of whole milk, and it made the tea so much more creamier. Sort of reminded me of frozen custard while I was drinking and flipping through my comic. I just love this tea so much. I foresee a terrible, horrible, wonderful problem.

Busy weekend with setting up the in law’s tree. I still need to set up my tree, once I find space for it. I’m still knitting more ornaments, sigh. Never ending! They take 1 to 2 hours each, but I have so many to do!

DRY LEAF: Smells like sweet sweet strawberries and candy!

STEEPED: Green tea smell, little bitter smell.

TASTE: Good strawberry flavor and creamy vanilla. Grassy base from the sencha and hint of matcha. A little bitter, but I think that’s my fault.
I actually made this tea yesterday as a latte (not really following the recipe card it came with) and it was very berry, vanillay and not grassy at all. It tasted just like strawberry bubble tea!

COMMENTS: Next time I make this tea I’m not following their suggested boil + 2 min steep and doing a lower temperature like I did last time.

Also, sneaking in some RLT’s Strawberry matcha would be a good fit for this tea!

Drinking this tea again this afternoon. Note to self: next time you want tea order from Lupicia and get a decent supply of this.

Yummy yummy.

Lupicia’s Strawberry & Vanilla has a strong perfume scent coming from the dry leaf. It makes me think of Bath and Body Works’ fruity sprays. Kinda artificial, but not at all unpleasant.

This tastes like those prepackaged strawberry milk drinks. It’s very sweet and creamy. There’s barely any flavor from the green tea; it’s completely buried under the strong strawberry note, which does not taste like the strawberries found in nature. It’s more syrupy, I guess. Does that make sense?

I like this, but I don’t love it. It definitely works better as a cold beverage, but I’d drink it either way.

My kid had a bad day, so I made a strong pot of Strawberry Vanilla and whipped it with hot milk and sugar. I also put mini cocoa marshmallows on top (the little crunchy dehydrated kind. I love those things). I’m pleased to report he feels better now.

This is definitely best as a dessert tea. I don’t add too much sugar, though, because I don’t want to pay for everyone to get new fillings done every six months…just enough to make a slightly sweet and pleasant strawberry latte.