A good friend surprised me with a box containing a Lupicia green rooibos blend and two sample sachets. I couldn’t wait to try them all! This was first pick.
A quick peek at google to find out whether it was a black or green tea so I could set the kettle to the proper temp told me it was cherry scented and I did not look any further. But it was a conundrum. Go ahead and make a fruity tea even though I was having waffles and maple syrup for breakfast, or rummage through my stash to find a plain black? My experience with Lupicia was that their fruity teas are SUPER fruity and it might all be too sweet together, but I decided I really wanted to try these sooner rather than later!
Then rats rats rats! I tasted the waffle before sipping the tea! I like to try a new tea unadulterated to get the full flavor. Nevermind, a few sips would clear the palate to give me the true taste.
And that’s where it got confusing.
Nice black tea base…yes, a hint of cherry but not super fruity, rather…..smokey? What is that? What is happening? Not smokey….SAVORY. And then…..warmth from a little spice starts to glow. Is that pepper? I don’t like peppery chai and this wasn’t offending me so what was it? Was the syrup messing with the true taste of the tea too much?
Here is where I had to stop everything and look up the tea to find out what was going on. The savory was coming from rosemary! And the spice was pink peppercorns, which I couldn’t see in the sachet at all but when I tore it open it was there. If there is going to pepper in my tea, I highly prefer pink peppercorn to any other kind.
This tea was a great pairing with the sweet syrup and waffles. The rosemary gave deep herbal notes and enhanced the black base while the pink peppercorns gave warmth and spice and a nice, lingering aftertaste that cut the sweetness of the food without the raw heat of black peppercorns. The cherry wasn’t cough syrup cherry or candy cough drop cherry, but a nice, realistic Japanese cherry that was not too sour.
This gets a thumbs up from me! In future I would buy it loose leaf so I could see those adorable bright pink/red peppercorns looking like tiny cherries!
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Lupicia
Description
SAKURAMBO is A fresh, intriguing blend of black tea scented with juicy Japanese cherries, one of our best-selling flavored teas of all time. The tea is topped with crisp rosemary and pink peppercorns imitating the ripe fruit. Visually appealing, this tea will make a great gift. Try its delicious sister product, SAKURAMBO VERT, which is a green tea blend.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
(photo credit: Lupicia)
Sakura & Berry/Lupicia -Stephenia-
Each year Lupicia Tea, a Japanese tea company, comes out with a Sakura collection to celebrate cherry blossom season. The collection changes each year and for 2021 the theme is traditional Japanese culture that has been handed down through the generations, such as crafts and traditional Japanese patterns. The collection is well balanced and features a green tea, a decaf tea, black tea, rooibos, even a sakura matcha! The tins this year are beautiful and feature a lovely floral motive. I have wanted to try teas from Lupicia’s Sakura collection for some time so I decided this year that I would order a few.
The first one I am reviewing is Sakura & Berry. This has a black tea base with salted cherry leaf, rose petal and flavoring. The description says that this has a “sweet strawberry flavor.” The dry leaf smells amazing and actually made me think of when my mom would make me strawberries and cream oatmeal as a kid. I steeped the tea up at 212 degrees for 3 minutes.
I really love this one. The first taste is a nice fruity strawberry flavor, nothing too strong. It actually has the same strawberry flavor as strawberries and cream oatmeal but without the cream aspect. On the second taste I get a hit of the black tea base, it is smooth and mellow. I had hoped that I would get taste of the salted cherry leaf however that didn’t come through in the flavor.
Overall this is a tasty strawberry tea in a beautiful tin and certainly worth trying if you love strawberry-flavored teas. I really enjoy Lupicia tea, in fact their rooibos-based honeydew melon tea is in my top 5 favorite teas of all time! If you are interested in the Sakura collection I would not wait as fulfillment for the US comes from the online Hawaii Lupicia store and they get very limited amounts of inventory on these special edition collections.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Lupicia
Description
We are happy to announce the arrival of our seasonal SAKURA & BERRY tea: A blend of Darjeeling and Nilgiri black teas with salted cherry blossom leaves, mixed with sweet strawberry flavor and aroma. Popular as a hot or iced tea, try it with a bit of milk! A LUPICIA Hawaii staff favorite. (Only available in limited quantity)
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Matcha Black Soybean Rice Tea / Lupicia. . . . . .
Well this is unique.
Genmaicha with black beans.
I’ve seen some interesting versions of genmaicha but this is the first I really want to cook with. Too bad it’s only a tea bag.
The aroma as you open the bag is both ‘ricey’ and nutty. Be careful of the steeping times with this one. The suggested high-end is 1 minute.
Luckily if you do go over a minute, as I did, it won’t be ruined with bitterness and astringent absurdness. The liquid color is a cloudy yellowish-green and has a very mellow flavor.
The soybeans/ black beans help the tea develop some unique, almost nutty characteristics. The grassy flavors are mostly undertones but they work so well with the rice.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Lupicia
Description:
MATCHA BLACK SOYBEAN RICE TEAis a blend of genmaicha (rice tea) with Matcha and high-quality black beans. Enjoy the harmony of sweet roasted black beans and mellow matcha. “Mame” is Japanese for “beans” but it also means “healthy.” This tea was created with a wish for everyone’s health.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Thoughts on Masculin / Lupicia. . .
If tea were a man this would be him.
Mix him with Lapsang Souchong and you’d get a real outdoors gentleman.
For once the rooibos isn’t the star of the show. Generally, rooibos takes over whatever is put in the tea bag with it. Even the ginseng is somewhat undertoned by this woody flavor.
I’m assuming it must be the maca.
With a name like MASCULIN I’m sure no one knew quite what to expect with this one. To be honest I really thought it was going to be a Lapsang Souchong.
Either way I don’t think this one is my cup of tea nor is the later mentioned tea. But I’m going to drink it all because we could all use a bit more vitality in our lives.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: Lupicia
Description:
Four vital herbs (Maca, ginseng root, cinnamon, and ginger) blended with rooibos. Great for boosting your energy.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Darjeeling The First Flush from Lupicia. . . . .
The First Flush.
For those of you who are curious Darjeeling (and Assam) teas, when harvested, are done so in flushes. The first flush is considered to be the finest of the flushes. Usually this is done in March – April.
The one I am drinking currently is in a bag and so I am not tasting it at it’s optimal flavor (leaves that float uninhibited will present more flavor). Regardless, I am still impressed. It is a triangle tea bag and so there is a bit more room then your usual square tea bag.
The dry and wet leaf have a wonderful, sweet, earthy aroma. Maybe somewhat on the woodsy side. Darjeeling does not seem to be ther type of tea you can steep twice and get better or equal flavor from. The first time the mouth feel was of a gentle woodsy breeze; which is still present now but less pronounced.
If I close my eyes while I sip it I can imagine the misty tea gardens.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black/Darjeeling
Where to Buy: Lupicia
Description
DARJEELING THE FIRST FLUSH is an exclusive blend of spring-picked Darjeeling leaves. This tea has a green, fresh aroma and crisp astringency. The tea is so delicate in flavor and light in color, if you drink it thinking it’s just another cup of ordinary black tea, you’re in for a pleasant surprise. Enjoy its gentle mouthfeel like a spring breeze.