Muscat Oolong

From my Lupicia order.

I picked up 4 oz of this tea – which is a lot for a tea I’d not tried before, but I have a lot of faith in Lupicia’s ability to deliver a really strong fruit flavour with their oolong blends, and I had heard very good things about this blend.

Sure enough, when I opened up one of the two vacuum sealed bags to transfer it into something resealable it was incredible smelling – I was practically drooling. Floral orchid notes from the oolong base and a bit of a greener undertone, but mostly bright, sweet and juicy muscatel grapes notes – exactly as promised!!

I told everyone working in the lab that I would make a pot, to share, of whatever tea they were collectively most interested in trying – and while I was surprised they didn’t choose one of the melon teas, this was what they ended up selecting. It was beloved by everyone. Smooth, delicate but flavourful – clear and well defined muscatel grape notes! It was perfect and accurate and delicious – but also importantly it showcased the beautiful base oolong as well! Plenty of floral notes to compliment the excellent muscatel grape flavouring: aromatic orchid notes, hints of lilac, and a buttery greener finish. So well crafted!

Man – I am fucking PSYCHED to have some amazing Lupicia teas back in my cupboard!

After reading one of the previous reviews I had to try a grape after steeping the tea. Oh my word guys… its so good. I can never look at another grape the same. And the way it flavors this tea is so nice. It’s a very gentle flavoring unlike Queens Muscat. You won’t be hit with a bunch of muscat flavor but I like that because then you can fully enjoy the other elements like the slightly roasty flavors of this more oxidized oolong. Speaking of which the leaves are gorgeous. Look at those leaves!

this did not get any time to cool down…it was sipped off way before that happened. it has a really nice grape flavor hmmmm just how i would like my wine to taste – and without the alcohol to boot!

This came in the Lupicia grab bag I got over New Year’s. I’ve been avoiding trying this one because frankly I am not the biggest fan of muscat or grape flavored things in general.

Upon opening the bag I see what looks like a perfectly good Bao zhong oolong drenched in an overwhelmingly fake sweet grape aroma. The flavor is much the same. The muscat really overpowers the oolong and is sickeningly sweet, artificial and cloying.

Normally I’m a Lupicia fan but nope, this one is not for me. I will struggle to finish the cup I think. It is up for grabs/trade if any muscat fans are interested in it.

Tasting note number 450! Huzzah! Had this tea while waiting for my soup to be done. It smells nicely like muscat grapes. The scent made me miss the Japanese grocery in San Jose. There is a sweet, grape flavour as well. My little bit of Summer now that it gets colder.

I don’t know how I haven’t posted a tasting note on this one, because I drink it all the time! It’s to the point I have two bags on backup right now.

If you’ve ever had japanese gummy candies, THIS is that muscat flavor blended seamlessly on top of a medium grade oolong. Muscat is grapey, but it’s not heavy like grape juice can get. It’s a flavor somewhere between a red grape and a green grape, but I believe it’s a different varietal. It’s not as sweet as champagne grapes either. Either way though, it’s yummy!

I would recommend this to anyone that likes fruity oolongs. I usually serve this one up to guests if they want an oolong, but aren’t wanting something roasty or straight.

The fifth Lupicia tea I tried from my order.

This is just to say “wow”. So grapey. Amazing. Natural tasting, incredibly fruity.
Like REAL grape juice, but with the sweetness tempered by the oolong base.

I didn’t even know that “Muscat” was a grape related word up until recently. I kept seeing people use it to describe Darjeeling tea and I was all like “wtf is this?!”.

Anyway. I can’t see myself ever tasting grapes in a Darjeeling but never say never.

I’m so off topic.

This tea.
It’s really refreshing and natural tasting. I bet it would be delicious cold brewed.

Lupicia, you’re awesome.

I open up the pouch and am instantly transported to a farmer’s market with little paper baskets of deep purple, almost black, concord grapes, all lined up, scenting the air with their fragrance. Whenever I see them, I have to buy a little basket. I have yet to make a grape pie, or jam, or any other kitchen masterpiece like that; these are purely for the messy enjoyment of squirting the insides into one’s mouth and sucking on the skins (while spitting the seeds out in a hopefully not TOO ungraceful manner…). The tart bite gets you first, but then it’s all floral sweetness from there.

This tea is that.

Because that scent is in my ‘Top List of Transportive Aromas’, this tea is already a favourite, and I haven’t even tasted it yet!
The fact that it’s from one of my absolute favourite people in the world only heightens my emotional attachment to this leaf. Ifjuly sent this my way, in a box full of tea awesomeness…. She’s left me speechless for days (I think my husband is starting to get weirded out by my repeated gazing and ruffling through the contents of her package…lol).
Tea friends :)

Onto the actual tea… the honey coloured liquor is gorgeous, visually adding to the already intoxicating experience of smelling this tea.
Oooh. This is good!
The grape is SO naturally grape! What I was smelling before comes through beautifully in the taste; it’s elegant, with light floral notes and earthy grape. I can almost feel the texture of the skins in my mouth as I sip…. it’s unreal.
This is fantastic…..and I’m drinking it in my Japanese cherry blossom lustreware tea cup, which is perfect today. :)

What a tea!

Thanks to ifjuly, I have an entire package of this to indulge in! Seriously, you were far more generous with me than I deserve!

I love grape flavoured things. Pop, candies, grape juice—I love it all. And so when David’s tea was coming out with a grape-flavoured green, I was over the moon. Picked up my spring sampler kit, and had a rather traumatic experience thereafter. The base was bitter, ugly, and nearly killed me with hatred for my mouth. But it smelled amazing in the bag.

This also smelled amazing in the bag. But there was absolutely some trepidation as I brewed it up. I actually followed the steeping instructions and steeped this for two minutes. As usual, I chickened out at the last minute and foisted the cup upon Mr. keychange to have the first sip. I mainly didn’t want it to taste bitter.
“I don’t know what you’ll think of it,” he said, “but it’s definitely not at all bitter.”
This gave me cause for hope, and I took my first sip. There is definitely a light grape flavour, although it certainly isn’t of the candied or grape juice variety. It isn’t tart, either (thanks to the sugar I added, although I think in future cups I’ll add a touch less, even), and there’s a slight…not earthiness, necessarily, but it’s as if I’m right there in the garden, and along with the smell of grapes, can also smell the earth and greenery and stem, but all in a wonderful way.

I liked this tea, and am excited to experiment with it further. And thanks to ifjuly, I’ve got tons to play with!

Prior to entering the Lupicia shop in Kyoto I had never heard of muscat. Heck, even after buying the minimum 50g I still didn’t know what muscat was. The smell however, I knew that I loved it. Rich, fruity, thick and heavy. If their was a way to smother myself in muscat I would, which is why I’m paying a guy from craigslist to buy a bunch of muscat grapes and fill a bathtub with their jelly goodness for me to bathe in.

A cold brew was all I thought of, 10g in a large glass container left over night for 8+ hours. Gives me enough to drink over the course of a day.

I’ve yet to try a hot brew, but given the over powering flavour and scent of the oolong, I’m not to keen it would do justice.