Lupicia

Very sweet as an iced tea. Didn’t taste much of the vanilla. Will have to try this brewed hot.

Had both carbonated and hot, but I think it’s better iced.

This is, I don’t know, the fruit punch of green teas. If you like tropical flavors in your tea, this is the way forward!

Heaven! Oolong and peach are a perfect match.

I have my darjeeling with milk, and this darjeeling maintains its character even with milk added.

I always have this in a teaball with a little sugar and milk. It smells AMAZING and it’s a very delicate flavor for a black tea.

This tea is wonderful! When you smell it, it totally kicks you in the face with lime flavor, but the actual liquor is soft and gentle with subtle lime flavor. Oddly enough, for being a black tea, the leaves unfurl into a pretty green color.

I was kind of craving this today (which doesn’t happen often), so it tasted especially good. I really appreciate the strong banana note with the much more subtle chocolate in the background (I’m not a huge chocolate fan, especially in teas). I think the two flavours work really well together though. Perfect for a not-quite-spring-but-still-could-be-around-the-corner kind of day.

I brewed this for almost 5 minutes but it tastes very watered down. I’m only getting the slightest hint of chocolate and not much flavour overall. My mistake, but quite a disappointment!

I am not a huge chocolate fan, and was a tad worried about trying this blend. The chocolate is definitely there, but thankfully it’s not overwhelming. I like the way it blends with the banana, and the marigold petals are really nice. This is kind of a special occasion tea—very different!

Last of this tea, which makes me feel really accomplished. Not so much because this tea is gone but because I’m getting rid of the little drips and drabs I’ve had around for so long because I don’t want to use them up. Well, time to purge.

This one is very peachy, but not Jolly Rancher peachy. More Japanese fruit gummy peachy. I like it. Probably won’t get more of it right now because peach-flavored things aren’t huge in my book (this one was purchased for the husband – he’s a huge peach fan), but I WILL be getting more Lupicia flavored blacks in the future. I love how they flavor things. They have the rare flavored black teas that I can actually drink with no milk or sugar. Good stuff.

Very old, now gone. Buttery and pungent, this makes me think of gyokuro but with an edge. Which makes sense since the tea’s notes say it is ‘natural gyokuro’. I’d say that’s pretty accurate. This is one I’d get again.

4.3g/6oz

This stuff has been in my pantry forever. Still pretty good though. Sweet. A bit generic sencha-y but that’s kinda why I like it.

Bergamot Oil and Passion Fruit – nice blend! Smells great!!!! I like it!

Resteep – NICE

Smells wonderful like a nutty-chocolaty snack mix. Steeps quickly. The scent actually intensifies while steeping which is rare in bagged teas. I received this in a tea swap. I’m very excited to try it and I am just finishing the steep while I am typing this. Color is a rich brown. You can certainly taste the nutty flavor with the black tea and a hint of chocolate! FAB! Delightful Cup!

Last of this one (still attempting to finish of drips and drabs – go me!)

Super lazy – used a steeping ball in my tea pot so I could make two cups of this without having to worry about a slow pour making it bitter. Go steeping ball. Yeah, I feel a bit like a loser when I use it but hey, it worked well so I’m going with it.

For being so freakin’ old, this tea’s still pretty decent. Good mouth feel, nice full(ish) flavor. Still don’t get sweet potato out of it.

9.5g/18oz

Good, very grassy, sweet. Not as buttery/creamy as the Imari nor with the same mouth-feel but still good. Still has a great fresh taste which is surprising since it’s best by date was in July. (Oops). Don’t think I get any sweet potato taste out of it though. If pushed I might say the taste I get when I hold it in my mouth is raw sweet potato but I don’t think anyone would ever drink this and good “mmm, sweet potato”. Though they might go “mmm, grass clippings”. But you know, good grass clippings.

A little bit disappointed by the lack of mint taste. It’s normal, since it’s a black tea and not an herbal infusion so overall, good taste.

I don’t really know the differences between the types of sencha. I know of them and I’ve had ones from the different types. But I can’t look at a tea and go “Oh, because of the leaf shape and color and size in addition to the color and clarity of the liquid, I can tell this sencha is…” Yeah. Can’t do that. Pretty much all I know is that deeper steamed senchas have smaller pieces and thus clog my filter more easily and that I typically like those senchas because they are sweeter.

I do know that this is my least favorite of the three Lupicia teas I have in my pantry. However this is the one that I’ve managed to go through first. How did that happen?

There’s a tarter taste on the front end of this and the body isn’t as thick, sweet and fuzzy as I tend to like in senchas. Also, there is a tiny bit of astringency towards the end of this but not so much that it feels bitter or drying. But it’s there. And I’m kind of a wuss when it comes to things like that.

But it still smells so rich and buttery when I toss the leaves into a preheated pot and that makes me very happy. So very happy. Seriously worth it just for that.

I think I’m going to have to do some exploring of the different types of senchas this upcoming year, learn more about ID’ing sencha types. Can I make that a new year’s resolution?

A Taiwanese Winter oolong from Mingjian. pretty good quality.
The name is very well-suited – When brewed right, has a very light oolong flavor, and a creamy taste, almost as if you actually added milk to the tea. That might sound a bit off-putting, as Oolong isn’t really a tea that one would put milk in, but it’s a very well-balanced nuance to the taste. Great for mellow moments, and I’m sure an interesting experience to treat a guest to.