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__Morgana__ drank Grapefruit Green by Lupicia

2036 tasting notes

(Looks around for Anna.)

I’ve been wanting to try this for a while but every time I think about it I realize it will be a first note and that means more systematic paying attention, and then I realize I don’t have time to really give it that sort of attention. I really don’t have that time today either as I’ve been on calls all morning for work and now have to drive down to the office, but I am REALLY in the mood for a flavored green tea and this one was calling to me.

The leaves appear to be sencha, delicate and flat and on the light green side of the green spectrum rather than the tubular, curly and darker green like typical Chinese green leaves. I suppose this shouldn’t be surprising as I believe Lupicia is a Japanese company? I don’t like to think about what will happen when my Japanese stash is depleted. I’m not convinced I want to buy any tea from Japan post-reactor meltdown.

There’s a wonderful tart-sweet grapefruit smell to the leaves in the packet. Now that I look at the packet again, I realize I may have screwed up the steeping. It says to use boiling (!) water, and I steeped as I usually do with greens, 175 for 1:30. The liquor is a light greenish yellow and has a buttery green tea smell. Really not a lot of grapefruit in the aroma.

But the same isn’t true of the flavor. This is incredibly refreshing, like a splash of cold water over your head, except that it’s hot and in my mouth. I know, sometimes the world doesn’t make sense. I expected tartness, but I don’t really get it, though I get a really interesting aromatic finish and aftersip that’s cooling in the mouth. I taste grapefruit though it isn’t as strong as I would have expected given some other Lupicia flavored teas I’ve had, but perhaps that’s what makes it pleasant. It tastes very much like a green tea with a bit of grapefruit essence. Sort of like those flavored waters with just a hint of fruit flavor in them, only instead of water it’s green tea. There’s a tad of bitterness that floats in and out but not enough to make it unpleasant.

It isn’t as wonderful as the white melon, but it’s quite nice. I’ll try it according to package directions next time and see what that does.

Preparation

175 °F / 79 °C 1 min, 30 sec

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I got obsessed with tea in 2010 for a while, then other things intruded, then I cycled back to it. I seem to be continuing that in for a while, out for a while cycle. I have a short attention span, but no shortage of tea.

I’m a mom, writer, gamer, lawyer, reader, runner, traveler, and enjoyer of life, literature, art, music, thought and kindness, in no particular order. I write fantasy and science fiction under the name J. J. Roth.

Personal biases: I drink tea without additives. If a tea needs milk or sugar to improve its flavor, its unlikely I’ll rate it high. The exception is chai, which I drink with milk/sugar or substitute. Rooibos and honeybush were my gateway drugs, but as my tastes developed they became less appealing — I still enjoy nicely done blends. I do not mix well with tulsi or yerba mate, and savory teas are more often a miss than a hit with me. I used to hate hibiscus, but I’ve turned that corner. Licorice, not so much.

Since I find others’ rating legends helpful, I added my own. But I don’t really find myself hating most things I try.

I try to rate teas in relation to others of the same type, for example, Earl Greys against other Earl Greys. But if a tea rates very high with me, it’s a stand out against all other teas I’ve tried.

95-100 A once in a lifetime experience; the best there is

90-94 Excellent; first rate; top notch; really terrific; will definitely buy more

80-89 Very good; will likely buy more

70-79 Good; would enjoy again, might buy again

60-69 Okay; wouldn’t pass up if offered, but likely won’t buy again

Below 60 Meh, so-so, iffy, or ick. The lower the number, the closer to ick.

I don’t swap. It’s nothing personal, it’s just that I have way more tea than any one person needs and am not lacking for new things to try. Also, I have way too much going on already in daily life and the additional commitment to get packages to people adds to my already high stress level. (Maybe it shouldn’t, but it does.)

That said, I enjoy reading folks’ notes, talking about what I drink, and getting to “know” people virtually here on Steepster so I can get ideas of other things I might want to try if I can ever again justify buying more tea. I also like keeping track of what I drink and what I thought about it.

My current process for tea note generation is described in my note on this tea: https://steepster.com/teas/mariage-freres/6990-the-des-impressionnistes