Takibi

I shared this with my club today because it’s currently my “freshest” tea (i.e. it was my most recent purchase). Everyone seemed to really like it =)

I didn’t have time to finish drinking my cup of this hot yesterday night, so I stuck it in the fridge. Now I think this is way better as an iced tea. The fruity flavors stand out a lot more when it’s not hot, though there is still an odd sort of taste I haven’t figured out. It might be the type of oolong used? Unsure.

I forget who here on Steepster told me the trick to a good cup of Lupicia oolong ages ago… use boiling water and a short steep. I’m still appreciative of that tip! Totally changed Lupicia oolongs for me. Instead of getting flat cardboard fruit murkiness, I’m getting a nice tropical fruit flavored cup. Mango is the most dominant with passionfruit right behind. I think this is the second Lupicia passionfruit tea I’ve had now. There is something roasty scented when I go to sip and it’s reminding me of Ette’s Mango Sticky Rice Genmaicha, which I love. So far this is an enjoyable cup and I’m on my 2nd steeping. I bet it would be fantastic cold brewed.

Lupicia calls it a “Toasty and pleasantly astringent Chinese oolong scented with mango and passion fruit.” That’s pretty accurate- it’s very highly scented, but the aroma and flavour are quite natural and the astringency works well with the base tea. This is a very common type of tea (black/oolong with a tropical note) for Lupicia, but this is one of the best in the class. If you like a well-balanced, fruity oolong, look no further.

2021 sipdown no. 118

Thanks to Cameron for sharing this one!

This one has a tart passionfruit scent with that mineral-esque roasted oolong scent when steeped. The passionfruit flavour is very realistic and right at the forefront. I barely even notice the oolong, and I don’t mind.

I would order this in a heartbeat! If I recall correctly, Cameron said this only comes around at certain times of year, so I’ll have to keep an eye out.

You guessed it, another great gift from Cameron B. hehe I’m really enjoying all these different flavored teas. I can’t wait to try the B&B ones, S&V, A&D, Dammann Frères and more. All these stores I’ve always wanted to try after reading all the reviews. Thank you again <3.

I really loved their mango oolong, and this is very similar. It has the addition of passion fruit and the citrusy notes, grapefruit. I like this better than the mango one because of the added citrus notes. Also, I like the oolong base a bit more, baked/oxidized more. Their site says this one uses Chinese oolong and the Mango oolong uses Taiwanese oolong (pouchong specifically). Both are great though.

Still heartbroken about the thought of them closing their Hayward store since I just started adding flavored teas to my rotation. On Twitter, I wrote on one of Lupicia’s tweets “California mise o tojinaide kudasai. ^^” which means “Please don’t close your California store.” lol To my surprise, they “liked” it. Wishful thinking that they won’t? I guess haha.

This is another one I pulled out to try because it’s a seasonal tea that’s now available again, and I wanted to see how it’s faring.

Happily, this one is still delicious. It’s like the fall version of their Ripe Mango Oolong, which I also adore. This one has a yummy toasty oxidized oolong base, which is lovely and cozy, perfect for this season. I get passionfruit as the strongest flavor, although there is mango as well, and the two are very close in flavor. Overall, it’s lovely and sweet from both the base tea and the added fruity flavors. This is sort of like the improved version of a Stash peach oolong that I had the other day!

So I went to shop for some new Christmas decorations today, and was happy to find a set of 4 stackable mugs that are adorable. I would add a link, but they don’t seem to be available online. Anyway, they’re in red, green, and cream colors with cute white speckles, and they have holiday sayings like “Comfort & Joy” and “Merry & Bright” embossed on them. They’re cute and they make me smile. So this is the first tea I’m sipping out of one of my new mugs! :)