32 Tasting Notes
Yawning all over this tasting note and that’s a good sign.
One of my favorite lines in literature/film is from Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: “Those of us who’d been up all night were in no mood for coffee and donuts. We wanted strong drink.” Why did this come to mind, you ask? Because frankly, regular ol’ chamomile sleepy time tea is BS. Those of who’ve been up all night are in no mood for bears in pajama hats, we want valerian root!
Also, this tea is really good. I don’t much care for chamomile, it tastes cloying to me, so I appreciate the lemongrass-hibiscus tang in this. The peppermint soothes the throat and it smells really pleasantly herby. Brewing is beautiful to watch, since the pink will slowly spread out in a delicate blush. It also tasted really good with a splash of vanilla syrup, which complements the mintyness in a really interesting way.
Hello, new best friend for sleepless nights. This high-strung girl gives it two sleepy thumbs up.
This is quite good. Leave lots of extra room in the steeper.
Nice light oolong with creamy aromatic vanilla. It throws a sweetness that lingers, which I love. Smells much sweeter than it tastes. Second steep is more oolong with hints of vanilla. I also iced some first steep with a splash of milk and agave syrup and it was wonderful.
Brought a tin of this back from London. When I lived there a few years ago, twinings sold another amazing tea blend. Hearty black with a delicate rosiness about it. Rose Garden is not unpleasant, but the black tea is too weak and the rose too reminiscent of cosmetics. Nice over ice but I’m still sad.
Anyone else remember Twinings Rose Pouchong/found anything close? I last saw it circa 2008.
This tea is really disappointing. Such high hopes.
1. There’s hardly any maté in it.
2. It tastes like apple cider. I don’t know how. But if I wanted a spiced apple cider, I’d order something that had “apple” in the title.
3. Did I mention there’s hardly any maté in it? Nary a buzz to be found one hour later.
Perfect chocolate maté, I’m sure you’re out there somewhere. This tastes good, but calling it cocoa is an insult to the hot chocolate traditions of both Spain and Mexico. I’ll save my churros for something that actually tastes like chocolate.
Sunday afternoon backlog.
Hello, my favorite fruit and favorite flower. I’ve been looking for a caffeine-free, loose leaf sub for a passionfruit-black tea in sachets from the Portuguese market, so I jumped on this tea when it came out in the summer collection.
Aaaaand I have to come back to this one, I drank it, iced, over a distraction. The passionfruit flavor is dead on, which is a plus, and the pieces weren’t so big I felt I needed to take a rolling pin to the sachet, another plus. However, I remember thinking that it tastes a little lackluster and needs a bit of hibiscus of something to give it a backbone. I used 1 heaping tbsp + lucky bit in my 14 oz steeper then let it cool so I could ice it undiluted. I’ll rate it when I’ve tried it again.
Preparation
sample bag from last visit to Lupicia. Evening cuppa a few nights ago
I forgot how good this is. Unlike other fruit flavored green teas, this tea doesn’t insult your intelligence by claiming to taste of some specific fruit, then presenting some generic fruit aroma. If brewed properly (about 195-200deg, maybe two minutes max. I’ve noticed with this one the lower temp is really what matters), this is like having a fresh green apple burst open in your teacup. When brewed improperly, it’s like an alfalfa field. Also unlike other fruit-flavored green teas, it is just as good when hot as it is iced. Cold is when you can really taste that its good quality tea base, it gets the round, thicker mouthfeel of the best teas. One of lupicia’s best teas across the board.
