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Because my bestie is the best bestie ever in the whole world, she gave me her free sample of Lupicia tea that came in her newsletter, even though she had already given me my birthday gifts of matcha and Lupicia Chocolate and Strawberry Puerh early!

I sniffed this one and knew it was reminding me of something very specific, not just generic apples. Youngest loves apples and eats them whole….seeds, stem, and core. LOL! At first I thought this was reminding me of Honeycrisp apples, and indeed it is close. It also reminds me of the smell of super sweet apple turnovers, the kind with the crispy outer pastry dusted with sugar and cinnamon. My son says it smells like hot apple juice, and finally I settled on some kind of green apple gum that I have a very vague memory of from my childhood.

The tea really tastes excellent to me. It tastes like fresh green apple without the puckers. My son thought this would be great iced and I agree. I may have to order just for that purpose.

The green base is very smooth, not sour or astringent. It also is not hidden under the apple flavor. Noticing that the newsletter said you could use hotter water to enjoy the astringency and boldness of green tea or use cooler water for a more smooth experience, I assumed that their steeping recommendation was on the hot side. I set my Krups to 194F but then let the water sit and cool for a few minutes before steeping. I don’t ever recall seeing a teabag, especially a nice sized one like this, say to use a five ounce cup, but that is what I did. It did not make the tea too strong.

Excellent and calming.

Edited to add: second steep is lighter on the apple but really delicious. The green base gets to show off a little more now and it is really good. Probably ordering this one.