Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Lupicia
Product Description:
Japanese green tea is scented with the fresh and juicy aroma of “TOCHIOTOME”, the representative strawberry cultivar of Japan.
Taster’s Review:
I love strawberries, they are one of my favorite fruits. And perhaps even better than a fresh, sun-ripened strawberry is a cup of strawberry tea. (What can I say, I love tea even more than I love strawberries!) And when it comes to strawberry flavored teas, the best place to go is Lupicia!
Why? Quite simply, Lupicia has the largest selection of strawberry flavored teas that I have ever seen with something that is sure to please just about any strawberry enthusiast. They manage to capture this delicious fruit in all its splendor. Tochiotome is the most recent strawberry tea from Lupicia that I’ve been lucky enough to sample, and it is a very special tea, indeed.
Now, I have not tried the Tochiotome strawberry, and since it is cultivated in Japan, I probably never will. So, I have only this tea from Lupicia to go on. The flavor is unlike a typical strawberry I would find locally. It has a wine-like characteristic. It is a distinct strawberry taste – sweet and juicy with tangy notes at the finish – but, there is more to it than just the typical strawberry notes. This Tochiotome strawberry almost seems to taste like a cross between a strawberry and an elderberry! It’s rather enchanting!
The green tea base is light-bodied with a delicate, fresh taste. There are hints of grassy notes in the background but nothing too strong to distract the palate from the enticing berry flavor. It has a very clean taste and seems quite content to let the Tochiotome strawberry play the lead role in this cup.
If you are a fan of strawberries and are looking for something a little different and interesting, I recommend giving this a try. It is a delightfully contemplative cup!
Rum Raisin from Lupicia
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Lupicia
Product Description:
Black tea with rum-soaked raisins. Sweet rum flavor perfectly goes well with milk.
Taster’s Review:
OK, so you’re probably wondering about the featured photo, right? Well, Lupicia only had a tiny thumbnail of this photo available on their website, so I chose to improvise a little bit … and since the name of this tea made me think of Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow (“Why is the rum gone?”) I decided that I should post a photo of him in character. I suppose I could have taken a photo of the tea itself, but, personally, I’d rather look at Captain Jack Sparrow (I mean, really, is there a better pirate?)
This is a remarkably smooth and well-balanced black tea. The base is robust and bright flavored without being overly assertive. The flavors of rum and raisin lend a pleasing sweet flavor to the cup without being overwhelming.
I like how this tea plays upon the palate. It is full-bodied and has a delightful flavor. It reminds me a lot of bread pudding – sans the custard and cake-y bread flavor. To heighten the flavors, I suggest adding a small amount of sweetener. It brings out some of the sweeter qualities of both the rum and the raisin, as well as highlight some of the caramel-y undertones of the black tea.
A splash of milk or cream will give this tea a creaminess that is similar to the custard-creamy taste of bread pudding. Pair the tea latte with a shortbread cookie, and you’ll have a yummy, deconstructed bread pudding!
Peach Melba from Lupicia
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Roobios
Where to Buy: Lupicia
Product Description:
The delicious aroma of peaches and cream brings out the sweetness of the rooibos tea.
Taster’s Review:
I have never tasted the dessert before, but if it tastes anything like this tisane, I will definitely have to seek it out!
This is really quite good. The overall flavor is sweet and fruity, but it isn’t cloying or too fruity. The fact that the rooibos flavor is rather indistinct in this blend is a plus. I am getting mere whispers of nutty notes from the rooibos, but what I am mostly tasting is a juicy peach and creamy vanilla!
The peach tastes sweet, but it isn’t a sugary sweet flavor that I imagined it would be given that a Peach Melba is vanilla ice cream topped with peaches and raspberries that have been reduced into a sauce. (Or at least, that is what I think a Peach Melba is supposed to be… if it’s something different, please feel free to comment and set me straight!) The vanilla is smooth and creamy. The only thing that seems to be missing is the raspberry.
Yum! This tisane makes for a delightful treat any time of the day and is especially nice in the evening since it’s caffeine free.
Champagne Rose from Lupicia
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Lupicia
Product Description:
Black tea flavored with sweet strawberries and champagne. Perfect as a festive gift.
Taster’s Review:
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
I am very pleasantly surprised by this tea. Until now, most of the champagne flavored teas I’ve tasted has been with a white tea base and because white tea is so light and delicate in flavor, I thought it was a perfect match with the sparklingly light taste of champagne. I was skeptical about how well the champagne flavor would translate in a black tea.
But, I am very impressed! Not only does the champagne flavor sparkle through but it is so nicely infused with the strawberry flavor. This is so delicious – like a New Year’s celebration in a teacup!
The black tea base is robust and bright. There is a slight (very slight) bitterness at the tail end of the sip, but I find that it is a very intriguing contrast to the sweetness of the strawberry and champagne flavor and lends a certain savory element to this otherwise sweet tea.
The strawberry tastes sweet and offers a hint of tartness, while the champagne tastes like … well, champagne! This is tea and not a sparkling wine, so it doesn’t have the bubbly aspect of champagne, but it does have a certain grape-like taste to it with a clean, almost tannic quality that is very representative of my limited experience with tasting champagne. (err… that is to say, I don’t drink champagne very often!) It is not strongly astringent, but there is a hint of that wine-like characteristic that expresses itself as champagne-like. This is also really good iced!
This is one of the best teas that I’ve tasted from Lupicia – and I’ve tasted quite a few. I wouldn’t go so far as to say this one is my favorite from Lupicia, but it is probably in the top 5. VERY GOOD!
White Christmas from Lupicia
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Lupicia
Product Description:
A black tea blend with the sweet aroma of white chocolate and apricot.
Taster’s Review:
Yesterday, I reviewed a tea called White Christmas from Harney & Sons. Today, I am reviewing a tea by the same name – and yet, the two are very different teas, indeed!
This tea offers a robust black tea base that is quite invigorating. It would serve well as a morning tea, or if one is in need of a little afternoon pick-me-up, this tea would fit that bill as well. There is a bit of astringency to this cup, but it doesn’t overwhelm. I will say that I steeped this tea for 4 minutes and notes of bitterness were starting to emerge, so I recommend steeping for 3 to 3 1/2 minutes maximum to avoid the bitter notes. Fortunately, these notes of bitterness were not detracting from the overall deliciousness of the tea.
When I had previously read about this tea, I knew that it was a white chocolate and apricot tea. But what I smelled when I first opened the pouch, and what I tasted with my first sip was a nutty essence! At first, I thought my memory must be playing tricks on me and that White Christmas was in fact a nutty flavored tea, and 0ne of the other teas in the holiday sampler was a white chocolate apricot.
But no, as you can read by the company’s product description (above) – this is definitely an apricot and white chocolate blend. That being said, there is a definite nutty quality to this tea. That isn’t a bad thing – because I find that it rather compliments the apricot and white tea flavors, and it gives the overall flavor a toasty, baked kind of essence, like fresh baked tea cakes!
The apricot flavor intensifies as I continue to sip on this tea. It starts out mild, and by about mid-cup, the flavor is much stronger. The white chocolate is very nice here and provides a very pleasant creamy taste and texture to the cup, with faint notes of sweet chocolate that also intensify as I get closer to the bottom of the cup.
I really like this tea! I don’t know if this is a tea that Lupicia keeps around all year or not, but, if they do, I highly recommend getting some as soon as you can! Yum!