Carol

Hi friends! Hope you are all well.

I’m fine, but haven’t been drinking any tea for the past few months. But for some reason I got a hankering for a pot a couple of days ago, so here I am! I figured since I’d been away I’d do a preemptive check on any teas with coconut in them, which is surprisingly few. This package was actually still unopened from my purchase last winter. Historically this hasn’t been a tea that I’ve ordered much, but I think it was ashmanra who decided this was her favorite strawberry tea from Lupicia, so I figured it was time to give it another try.

Happily, the coconut is still perfectly fine (though a weird and extraneous addition to this tea that doesn’t seem to add any flavor). The dry scent was extremely heavy on the candy strawberry, so I find myself surprised by how mellow the flavoring is in the steeped cup. The strawberry is there, but it’s a bit overpowered by the earthy black base, and so comes off more subtle than I would expect. Vanilla is also quite light, adding a suggestion of sweet creaminess that, combined with the candy strawberry, reminds me a bit of those swirled Creamsavers candies that I used to buy. The base is earthy, mineral, woody, and extremely smooth.

Not a favorite for me, I remember liking their Tochiotome strawberry teas best (I actually even ordered some when they were available earlier in the year, even though I wasn’t drinking tea at the time). I’ll have to taste them and Fraisier again to jog my memory!

Anyway, a pleasant tea from Lupicia but not one I’ll reorder. More importantly, happy to be here among my fellow tea nerds once more! ❤

Such a pleasant tea. Mellow strawberry and subtle vanilla cream flavors – fun yet refined. Although as a Westerner, these flavors evoke more of a springtime mood, I understand that for the Japanese, these flavors are associated with special occasions and holidays so it makes sense as a seasonal tea. I’d enjoy this tea any time of year.

Thanks for the sample Cameron B!

This is pleasing to me today. I learned I enjoy Lupicia black teas brewed at 200 degrees instead of boiling. Tastes like strawberry candy in a good way :)

The fruity flavors seem to come out more in the first few minutes of steeping. Once you’ve past the 2 minute threshold the black tea starts taking over. I think ive got a good blend at 2:15. It has a slight woodsy taste, the black tea that it. I’m not tasting much vanilla though so the tea bag is going back in.

Ah 30 seconds in and I’m tasting it a bit more but still not as much as I’d like. It’s also starting to lose it’s fruityness and becoming more woodsy. So out it comes again. Fir good this time.

I’ll be honest though…. I bought it for the tin… so cute.

My hubby bought me the Lupicia holiday sampler as a super early birth-mas present and this was the first tea I went straight for (after playing with the music box of course) since I have an all day work meeting and I need a tasty pick me up to keep me both awake and engaged . Although I can taste the vanilla I’m really not getting much strawberry… But maybe I should blame my coffee cup instead of the tea… Ok, I can’t rate this tea based upon potential coffee contaminants… Guess I’m going to have to wait til I get home for a real fix.

Huh, strawberry! I thought I was smelling cherry. The first few sips seemed a little bitter. I can smell the similarity with their other strawberry teas and it has that particular base flavor like their Cookies and Sweet Potato. I think I get a little rose in the aftertaste. When I add sugar, the strawberry really comes out. The creaminess is really nice on the end with the strawberry. I like this, but not enough to run out and buy when I have so much else.

I do appreciate the sample in the Lupicia newsletter!

I got this as a free sample with the magazine, which seems like a common occurrence. Unlike some of the samples I’ve gotten this way, this tea sounded right up my ally so I made it immediately.

Carol doesn’t taste like Christmas to me beyond that I think it would make a good crowd pleaser at a party. The strawberry and cream notes are mellow and inoffensive, but definitely present in the background; nothing about it blows me away, but nothing stands out as particularly bad either. I like it just fine.

Well, It’s a good thing I didn’t have high hopes for this tea, because this totally reminds me of Momoko. They can do Strawberry flavors…but vanilla…I don’t know, it just tastes incredibly fake to me. xD I’m really not a fan of this one. ><
It smells so sweet and like candy…and it would be a lot better if it was only a Strawberry tea.
Glad this was just a sample-haha!

Got this as a sample with the latest newsletter and figured I should try it before I make my Lupicia run for the holiday teas. ;) I dont really get why this is a holiday tea as strawberry and vanilla don’t scream Christmas to me, but it turns out this is quite cozy. The vanilla makes it very creamy. The strawberry is very mild. I liked it! So, I guess I better add it to the ever growing list! I think I’ll get the decaf version, as I’m enjoying having tea in the evenings since the weather has gotten colder.

Free sample that came in the Lupicia newsletter. I probably don’t need any more caffeine today, especially as I am already freaking out about the stuff I need to do today: apply for a job, design a poster as a favor to the Sierra Club and attend a networking event tonight. Also my brother is in town…

Anyhoo, I had the Decaf Carol last year but I drank it all. This is the caffeinated version and it strikes me as mostly the same, it’s a nice black tea with strawberry and vanilla flavors. Drinking with a bit of soymilk and stevia. I like the strawberry teas from Lupicia but I think the strawberry and rhubarb is still my favorite. This is tasty but not something I feel the need to run out & buy (which is good — since I have enough tea as it is!)