Lupicia

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83

When I was in Japan, the packaging of this tea caught my attention, so I bought it.

I never knew how strawberry and vanilla would taste while blended in tea, and my goodness this was so it.

I have an ultra sweet tooth so drinking this is just so good.

Every sip is strawberry goodness, and I love how there’s a sort of cream flavor that comes from the vanilla.

I have this greek honey that I use, and it goes so well with it!

I would say it’s a good substitute whenever you’re just wanting a quick fix of sugar.

Flavors: Acidic, Butter, Earthy, Herbal, Strawberry

Preparation
Boiling 8 min or more 1 tsp 14 OZ / 414 ML

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69
drank Yume by Lupicia
83 tasting notes

Thoroughly enjoying my Book of Tea from Lupicia, today’s tea was Yume. It’s advertised as a “black tea with rose petals, sweet aromas of vanilla and fruit.”

The fruit flavour I get is mostly strawberry-like, with a heavy dose of a gourmand vanilla-type finish. It’s mid-level between natural and artificial tasting but has a strange, bitter aftertaste that I am not enjoying.

The tea itself seems like the standard black Lupicia uses in their fruity black blends, a middle of the road, slightly astringent Darjeeling blend (if I had to guess.)

Lupicia suggests adding milk to this. I’m a straight black tea drinker, but I can see this would probably be improved with milk and sugar.

Not sure if it was just a bad batch with the odd aftertaste, but even without, there are better strawberry/gourmand blends, so this one is a pass for me.

Flavors: Bitter, Cookie, Fruity, Strawberry, Vanilla

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 2 min, 45 sec 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML

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85
drank Joyeux Noël by Lupicia
83 tasting notes

This black tea is all about chestnuts. I’d say it’s a single note black tea, but the chestnut changes from nutty and mellow to a sharp (but not unpleasant) astringent aftertaste. If you do not like rich nutty flavours in your cuppa, this would be a hard pass. However, if you’re a chestnut fan, you have hit the jackpot. I cannot recall another tea with such a strong and distinct chestnut note. Make of that what you will.

Though it’s perfectly satisfactory and certainly as advertised, I’d have preferred another note to counterbalance the tea- perhaps a cacao or rum. This one is rather one-dimensional but the quality of the tea and flavouring make it a pleasant sip.

Interesting note: most Americans are not familiar with the taste of chestnut, as a deadly fungus from foreign timber started killing US chestnut trees in 1904 and eliminated virtually every native chestnut tree by 1950. As a result, is not at all common to see chestnuts in the US, though you can buy roasted ones in NYC as a sort of nostalgic treat.

Flavors: Chestnut, Nutty

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 3 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML
ashmanra

I had roasted chestnuts for the first time a few years ago! They are not very well known in most places here. We roasted them ourselves in the oven. I don’t think I ever saw them when I was growing up, but we are not near a big city.

blueeyedsurprise

I am impressed, I wouldn’t have the first idea how to roast them! I have tried them roasted in NYC but I think they were not very fresh. In Asia, they are steamed until quite soft and made into a paste almost like marzipan.

Cameron B.

This also makes a wonderful milk tea!

ashmanra

Our roasted ones were pretty soft!

blueeyedsurprise

Ashmanra- how did you do it? On the stove, or in a fire? You have convinced me to try!

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81

A festive offering of black tea with a creamy, nutty overlay. Lupicia calls it “black tea inspired by baked holiday sweets made with white chocolate and nuts.” I think the white chocolate note is more vanilla-ish. Both the creamy and nutty notes are natural tasting and not at all cloying like some artificial flavourings can be.

If you do not like the cinnamon/cloves prevalent in many winter holiday blends, this might be worth seeking out.

It’s a perfectly pleasant blend, but neither the flavours or base tea are particularly outstanding. I just don’t see myself reaching for it again, though it’s festive and would probably be lovely with a baked treat or two. That being said, don’t oversteep it (check at 2 min).

Flavors: Creamy, Nutty, Vanilla

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 2 min, 0 sec 2 tsp 9 OZ / 266 ML

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80

Going through my Lupicia bounty, here’s Golden Osmanthus. It’s a lightly roasted oolong with a prominent floral note. Given the name, I’d have assumed this was actual osmanthus, but Lupicia has an interesting disclaimer, saying the tea has a “natural elegant aroma similar to osmanthus flowers.” Is it really inherent to the leaves, or is there some undercover floral enhancement going on here? Why imply osmanthus? Most Western tea drinkers will not be familiar with it anyway. A mystery. Perhaps it’s the tea version of those painted pink “crab sticks” which are made of some sort of white fish and have nothing to do with crustaceans.

Back to the tea…it’s less green/astringent than some other oolongs, probably due to the lighter roasting. It did lend itself well to two steepings. It’s refreshing and pleasant, but I won’t be repurchasing. I prefer Lupicia’s Passionfruit, Amanatsu and Mango Oolongs to this. However, if you’re looking for a light-bodied oolong with less astringency and mysterious floral notes, this would be a fine choice.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 3 min, 0 sec 4 g 9 OZ / 266 ML

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80

WIth a name like La Belle Epoque, expectations were rather heightened. It’s a nice, standard Darjeeling blend. It is smooth and brisk with a slight hint of the promised muscatel. It’s sort of the black turtleneck of tea: a solid, reliable performer but nothing to get excited over. It’s a good quality tea with no bitterness or astringent notes, but nothing to distinguish it from any other of the hundreds of blends just like it. I am an inveterate straight tea drinker, so I am judging all my Darjeelings and other black blends without milk/sugar.

I did just get the Lupicia Book Of Tea, so I have 100 bags to work through. Quite a fun project for the upcoming bleak winter.

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 4 min, 15 sec 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML
Martin Bednář

May I ask you for a little favor? Open the bags carefully, as described here: https://colnect.com/en/collectors/wiki/title=How_to_open_a_tea_bag
and save them for me. I am collector of those outer wrappers and Lupicia is quite hard to get here. In return I can send you some tea…

blueeyedsurprise

Of course, I’m happy to send you the wrappers. You are referring to the foil pouch/envelope which contains the teabag, correct? I’ve been opening them rather haphazardly using the built in notch and threw the last couple out, but I shall endeavour to open them more attractively and send them your way. There are 100 rainbow bags like this: https://www.lupicia.com/shop/g/g22002017/
and I have some of the limited edition Christmas bags as well, which you are welcome to.

Martin Bednář

Yes, I mean the foil pouch/envelope where tea bag is in. Of course other ones are welcomed too.
I know, it’s quite uncommon request, it’s usually a waste for everyone.

blueeyedsurprise

That’s what I thought, just wanted to confirm. Sure, I’ll be happy to collect them and send your way- though it may take me quite some time to work through these 100 bags!

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85

What a beautiful balance of floral and fruity notes in this delicious pouchong blend. Lupicia definitely knows what it’s doing with that peach flavour. My only complaint is that it doesn’t offer up as many subsequent steeps as some flavoured oolong blends do. It did do well both steeped up hot or as a cold brew though, and that’s another point in its favour.

Will definitely reorder more at some point.

Flavors: Floral, Fruit Tree Flowers, Fruity, Peach, Rose, Smooth, Stonefruit, Sweet, Tangy

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86
drank Melon Oolong by Lupicia
1839 tasting notes

The TTB has arrived! So big, so many teas… no chance to try them all!
Tea #39

Whoa, I have tried/sampled almost 40 teas from the TTB?

Well, another tea that is hardly available for me and I had mood for fruity tea, if possible without much ingredients and such, because starting headache.
This tea smells dry as well prepared as yellow melons indeed and it was very noticeable as well as in the flavour of the drink. It was also nicely smooth, creamy and overall indeed enjoyable.

The flavouring is spot on.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 3 min, 0 sec 5 g 10 OZ / 300 ML

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76
drank Piccolo by Lupicia
2285 tasting notes

Fun to find some Lupicia in the last TTB! I don’t always love Lupicia’s rooibos, but I’m happy to say that this one was pretty good! The rooibos is smooth, and I can taste the pretty authentic apricot on top of that. It wasn’t juicy…maybe more like a dried apricot vibe? It was decent cold, but I accidentally left it on the counter all night, and I think this temperature is the most complementary to the flavors.

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60

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Flavors: Sweet Potatoes

Preparation
170 °F / 76 °C 0 min, 45 sec 4 g 5 OZ / 150 ML

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80
drank Golden Osmanthus by Lupicia
1839 tasting notes

The TTB has arrived! So big, so many teas… no chance to try them all!
Tea #32

I needed again something simple before drinking something a bit distinctive. I believe today will be a gongfu evening of some tea…

Oolong + osmanthus, what could go wrong. Moreover Lupicia.
Well, it is just a sachet, but I am looking forward nevertheless. It was very good, flavourful, green-side oolong iwth floral notes, smooth and creamy, slightly vegetal… maybe as I have used boiling water. I could not notice much of osmanthus itself when hot, but when it was cooling down there were some stonefruits notes (maybe from oolong as well); namely savory apricots. The last sips were quite indeed fruity and enjoyable.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 3 min, 0 sec 10 OZ / 300 ML
Cameron B.

This one is a bit misleading because it’s not actually scented, it just has a natural flavor “similar to osmanthus”.

Martin Bednář

But it seems it is quite true to real osmanthus. Or at least I was thinking that.

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75

first houjicha i try, and it taste real good ! Scent is awesome too, very strong !
This was a gift a friend gave me back from his trip to japan. Very much enjoy it at work

Flavors: Bark, Chocolate, Nori, Wet Wood

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 0 min, 45 sec 4 g 5 OZ / 150 ML

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75

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Flavors: Chocolate, Cut Grass, Iodine, Wet wood

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 0 min, 45 sec 4 g 5 OZ / 150 ML

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92
drank Lychee Barley Tea by Lupicia
1146 tasting notes

Not technically a sipdown because I have a new bag in the drawer, but this cup is the last of this bag. I am a big fan of Lupicia’s fruity barley teas. Unfortunately, the way I show my appreciation is by squireling them away and only drinking them on rare occasion in order to really stretch it out. Which is bad! I need to stop doing this with teas I love! Why do I still have any Butikis left, which are probably still tasty but surely past their prime!

So, yes, drinking my favorites is a work in progress. But I really enjoy this one. The barley is great: soothing hot and refreshing iced. And the lychee is subtle but definitely present, slightly sweet, and a wonderful complement to the barley. Really glad I still have another bag of sachets, and will try to make myself actually drink them!

Courtney

I am the same with the squirrelling haha! I know it’s not logical, yet I continue.

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Super toasty and nutty.There was plenty of matcha powder in this tea. But ultimately the flavor of the soybeans were kind of offputting and I couldn’t finish my cup.

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85

I don’t love chocolate teas, but this was a free sample, so not going to turn that down. If you ARE a fan of chocolate-strawberry flavored things, I think you will adore this, because it’s beautifully handled, very smooth and with both the chocolate and strawberry notes present and well-balanced. I could not tell this was puer at all though, and if it hadn’t been labeled as such I would have assumed it had a black tea base.

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90
drank Grapefruit Green by Lupicia
1839 tasting notes

The TTB has arrived! So big, so many teas… no chance to try them all!
Tea #15

I think I have found great grapefruit tea…
but hard to get, indeed. It’s nice that it is available in the US Lupicia site, but still hard to get this to Europe. Oh wait, it’s on French site. I shouldn’t see that.

This is strong in grapefruit aroma, but sometimes aroma is all what tea is about. Luckily not this tea! It has got lovely citrusy flavours, especially the grapefruit. But I can see lemon mentioned by some. Green tea base is not so strong, but lovely too, a little grassy IMO.

Welp, I need more of this.

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 3 min, 0 sec 10 OZ / 300 ML

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75
drank Hifumi by Lupicia
1839 tasting notes

The TTB has arrived! So big, so many teas… no chance to try them all!
Tea #14

Okay, take houjicha and genmai… and you got Hifumi.

I won’t lie, I took this tea rather for it’s outer wrapping, but this profile souned good in early autumn afternoon. It was sunny, no cloud in sight, but it is getting colder and dark fast!

The flavour, for this unknown old, tea bag, is a bit vague. The houjicha is indeed giving roasted note, but in my opinion quite weakly and not much of toasted rice is present as well.

Sadly, all the flavours were a bit weak. That is the biggest dismal about this tea, but maybe I just needed to steep it long, though I have steeped it for recommended 2 minutes only.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 2 min, 0 sec 10 OZ / 300 ML

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84
drank Cerisier by Lupicia
4170 tasting notes

Back note from before I left town, but also… I see Steepster has been down for three days. sigh.

From Cameron B!  Thanks again!  Sometimes I like the idea of tasting a black tea at night, and that is when decaf is helpful.  But really I think it is just the light base here for showcasing a super strong cherry flavor.  This cherry is not particularly medicinal OR the candy type… so I like it.  It’s almost like if black cherries were treated like maraschino cherries.   It’s Lupicia cherry, I guess!  As their flavors are usually on point.  So when I’m craving cherry, I will go for this one.  I’m glad I like it!   … Didn’t notice I should have been tasting peach until I read the description… this is full cherry to me.
Steep #1 // 1 1/2 teaspoons for a mug // 20 minutes after boiling // 1 – 1 1/2 minute steep
Steep #2 //  just boiled // 3-4 min

Cameron B.

Yay, so happy to see teas finding loving homes! I just don’t tend to like cherry teas unless they’re on the tart side.

ashmanra

I love this one! I can’t wait for it to be available again. I would definitely buy more next time around.

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88

The TTB has arrived! So big, so many teas… no chance to try them all!
Tea #4

There was a single individually wrapped sachet of this tea, I checked it on Steepster what it is supposed to be like… and decided to brew it.

Well, it is a delicious tea, with lovely peach flavour and everything. The base is creamy and smooth. But, something was lacking. Maybe the juicy bit of peaches? Like the experience of biting actual fruit, which I have sometimes when drinking fruit/flavoured teas? I don’t know, but nevertheless, it is highly above the average. Just something I miss… and I just don’t know what it is. But anyway it was a great experience — because Lupicia is almost impossible to get for me.

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 1 min, 15 sec 10 OZ / 300 ML

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90

First thing I noticed the the very prominent fruit scent. It smells more “tropical” than just passionfruit, but is very pleasant- not a chemical type smell.

The leaves are tightly furled with some flower petals added, very nice quality. This one took a long time to unfurl, about 9 minutes. I kept tasting every minute or so after 5:00, but it was too weak. It seems too long, but 8-10 minutes was my sweet spot.

The taste is of an astringent tropical fruit over a mellow, slightly grassy oolong base. The astringent fruit flavour and oolong work well here to make a lovely, refreshing cup. I get in moods where I crave oolong, and this and their Peach version are both great. Not fussy to brew but very high-quality. They didn’t cut corners on this one- all the elements are top notch.

Lupicia recommends this as iced tea, but I feel the oolong quality would not shine through cold brewed. Personally, I find chilling a hot cup too much trouble, so I’ll keep drinking it hot.

Flavors: Grassy, Passion Fruit, Tropical Fruit

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 8 min or more 1 tsp 9 OZ / 266 ML
Cameron B.

Lupicia has the best fruity oolongs! I haven’t tried this one yet since it’s not sold on the US site. One of these days I’ll break down and order from Japan or Australia… :P

blueeyedsurprise

I always grab it when I go to Japan, not sure why they don’t offer it on the US site!

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76
drank Kuuipo by Lupicia
4170 tasting notes

Ashmanra’s sipdown challenge – August 2023 Tea #6 -August 25 – National Secondhand Wardrobe Day

Let’s be honest — MOST of my teas arrive by secondhand.  This one teabag sample is from Cameron B very recently!   Thanks so much!  Always willing to try ALL the Lupicia lovelies.  This is a flavored black.  Right away I taste strawberry and their champagne flavor.  But I’m wrong!  The description doesn’t mention strawberry or champagne.  More like guava and other fruits: mango, papaya, and even rose is on the list.  What the heck.  This one blindsided me here.  Though I hear guava is like strawberry. At least there is no noticeable  hibiscus.   The base is a little bland this time around though. The second steep seems even more like a strawberry jello type flavor, maybe due to the fruit flavors blending.  Possibly more rose. Maybe lychee or starfruit, but those flavors aren’t supposed to be there.  I’m guessing all the wrong tropical fruit!  I’m happy I was able to try it, but I don’t think it’s a Lupicia favorite.  By chance, I’m also wearing secondhand clothes, as I do most days, mainly because I’m much more a fan of the older style jeans than the newer jeans, so I buy a lot of them on ebay.  I would like to take a poll and guess us Oregon Trail gen kids like bootcut jeans?  Maybe it’s just me. :D
Steep #1 // 18 minutes after boiling // 1 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 3 minute steep
2023 sipdowns: 79

Cameron B.

Honestly I find their Hawai’i teas to be mostly disappointing… And it’s a shame, I love guava and passion fruit and all of those things. :(

tea-sipper

That’s fine.. Lupicia already has too many great teas! haha. I’m glad they aren’t ALL cupboard necessities. :D

Cameron B.

So true ha ha, I think if I had to pick one favorite flavored tea company, it would be Lupicia. <3

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drank Sakura by Lupicia
15575 tasting notes

Geek Steep S3E14 – Everything Everywhere All At Once

Look, sometimes the tea we drink while recording doesn’t have deeper meaning. Sometimes it’s just an excuse to make a cup of tea from that one tin on your shelf that you’ve felt has been staring at you for days and days – and that’s what happened here…

It’s not that deep even though it was very delicious.

Flavors: Floral, Sake, Sakura, Salt

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drank Melon White Tea by Lupicia
3226 tasting notes

Third sipdown of the day! This is chilling in the fridge but the pouch is empty and tossed, so it counts.

I have to admit that I didn’t love this hot, but as a sweet iced tea it is really, really good. I would be happy to repurchase it next summer. The melon flavor is strong, so if you like subtly flavored tea keep that in mind.

I could use this for the prompt “tea while listening to a summer song” if we count cicadas screaming so loud that we sometimes have to raise our voices to be heard. But I won’t.

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