Like many other tea companies, Lupicia offers specialty teas for Christmas. This is one of those specialty teas and I was delighted when I came across this tea bag. For one thing, I have had this before and from what I remember I enjoyed it, so I was happy to revisit it once again. And, for another thing, Lupicia has some of the most adorably packaged tea bags out there (second only to Tea Trunk’s super cute elephant teabags perhaps). This particular tea bag depicts a chipmunk and a cat working together to make a strawberry shortcake so that’s pretty awesome.
Sipping on it now, it reminds me just how much I don’t love Lupicia’s black tea base. Lupicia makes delicious rooibos blends and they have some of the best flavored oolongs on the market but for some reason their black tea always tends to take over their softer and more subtle flavorings. It is somehow smooth yet astringent and creates a heaviness that is out of place next to the more delicate notes of strawberry and vanilla. Those flavor notes, however, are this tea’s saving grace. The vanilla is creamy while the strawberry is more like strawberry flavoring, the sweet and artificial candy-like flavor that is akin to strawberry milkshakes.
Ultimately, this has a good flavor to it but the base takes over and pulls out the more processed quality of this tea. I enjoyed the cup though I have had much better offerings from Lupicia in the past. In fact, I have had a strawberry/vanilla green tea from Lupicia that I recall liking a great deal. All in all, it makes for a nice cup of tea but I don’t think I will be seeking this out anytime soon.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black Tea
Where to Buy: Lupicia
Description
This tea is no longer available but click below for teas that are.
