Kotobuki from Lupicia

Tea Information:

Leaf Type:  Oolong

Where to Buy:  Lupicia

Tea Description:

A Taiwanese Oolong tea, lightly flavoured by French Mirabelle plums and garlanded with rose, marigold, and mallow petals. Sweet and fruity taste. Kotobuki is Japanese for celebrations.

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

Lupicia is one of my favorite tea companies, and one of the reasons why is because every month they send out a newsletter to their customers featuring a sample of their tea of the month.  Kotobuki was the tea of the month for January, and it is one that I’ve been wanting to try for some time now.

What I’m liking best about this particular blend is that while it is a flavored Oolong, the Oolong tea is the dominant flavor of the cup.  It tastes sweet and creamy, with a light touch of butter and a vegetal note.  It has a floral background that highlights the rose in this blend, and the natural fruit-like flavors of the Oolong accent the plum flavoring nicely.

The plum is sweet and has a juicy taste to it.  Toward the tail of the sip, I notice the faintest note of tartness … much like that twang of tartness that hits the palate when just after I’ve bitten into a fresh, ripe plum.  The tartness disappears almost as quickly as it appears, but, it seems to lend a sense of authentic flavor to the cup.

This one gets two thumbs up from me.  I like it!