Jessica Barkley Send Message

It took a couple tries to get this right, but I finally did. Unfortunately, I’ve realized many teas can only be steeped twice maximum, this included. If you get enough of the blend (not just tea or added herb), it comes out really smooth. The green component is not astringent, quite mellow like dragon well. The creaminess comes through without overwhelming the green. It is pretty light, so you’ll probably have to use more tea, close to about 1/2 tbsp per 200ml, or more. I like to keep the steep time and temp low for the first cup, that way the leaves don’t unfurl too much. Second cup is at a higher temp for slightly longer. Too bad Butiki is going out of business; this was my first and likely last order. I drank this hot btw, or warmish… The spice really helps with the nog flavor.

I was so excited to try this. I really get psyched for eggnog during the winter holiday season. As soon as I saw it in the mail pile, I opened my sachet-sized bag and sniffed. Yep, that’s eggnog, and with nutmeg. Since I consume the real thing cold, my instinct was iced, bottled water, 1/2 tsp. I like this ratio; I could taste the eggnog and spice, as well as the matcha base. I think the creaminess works better here than it did with the bavarian cream. I tried it hot too (8oz), and it was pretty good. Also good with dream, but I think it loses a bit of spiciness.

I got too of these as samples with my two orders from red leaf. I am very glad I did, b/c this might just be the favorite that I’ve tried. I’m assuming the flavoring is delicate with a standard matcha base. It looks as though there may be some sugar incorporated, making it a little sweeter than others. This is good not only hot, but also iced. Again, I haven’t tried it as a latte, especially since I think it’s good enough on its own. I can definitely taste caramel here, but it’s subtle, and quite sweet, but not cloying.

Definitely picking up on the creamy lemon in this one. I picked it up, along with the cookies and cream while it was on sale. I doubled up on this one, since it got higher ratings, so it’s still the default, delicate flavoring with standard [green] matcha base. I wanted to really like this one, but not matter how much I tried, I get too much of an astringent, floral note that isn’t too pleasant too me, almost like soap. This matcha, however, is by no means undrinkable. I use it iced now, by mixing with a bottle of water., and take it to work. In my opinion, it is even better with a lemon or lime wedge inside, which makes the lemon overtones taste more like lemon to me. I’ve also tried it hot, with .5 tsp per 8oz hot water, slightly lower than boiling. I’ve tried various ratios of filtered to distilled water, as well as varying amounts of cream or milk, and even some sugar. I think cream or milk makes it taste a bit better, at least hot, by bringing out the richness and creaminess. Part of my problem may very well be that the matcha base has a bit of a floral astringency to me. Perhaps I should try this as a latte though, perhaps for breakfast or dessert. Usually I don’t have sweet drinks.

Based on previous ratings I’ve read, I steep this at a pretty low temp. The water is slightly warmer than lukewarm, maybe between 140-160 F. I also don’t steep for long, and I find this to be the most satisfying. With too high of a temperature, the tea tastes like traditional genmaicha, and the buttery marshmallow tones are lost. It smells a lot like popped rice treats too. I don’t care too add much sugar, and cream and milk seem to mellow the flavor too much. The first cup is best, though the second is often great too. It tastes very buttery, and subtly sweet. I like to use more tea per cup b/c there are so many different pieces of…stuff… in this blend. It’s my favorite blend from 52teas thus far (I’ve tried this, pancake breakfast, and strawberry pie honeybush).

I just ordered 4 of these (well, 2, and then another 2, plus I’ll be trying the new black tea version). I must say, this is one of my favorite flavored green teas, especially from Lupicia. I actually think the base green tea is very good quality, but I recommend steeping no more than 180 F or about 80 C, unless you’re trying for a third steep, in which case slightly higher temp, longer time. I really like Japanese green teas, particularly of the steamed variety. The flavor, as usual with flavored green from Lupicia, is quite mild, and I think I taste more of the green in the after taste. What really wows me about this tea though, is the strawberry. It doesn’t even smell like candy strawberry, but fresh, sweet strawberries… which is different from many of Lupicia’s other flavored tea blends. It tastes like really strawberry too. Despite the description of on the package, i’m not getting any tartness, only sweetness really. Usually the only time of year I’m lucky to find strawberries is during the summer, when they are picked locally, so that’s definitely a plus for me. The strawberry definitely has a bit of dominance over the green, but that is sort of to be expected, and might even be a good thing, since it’s a really nice strawberry flavor. I’m highly likely to repurchase next year, assuming I run low by the next season.

This is quite different from other black teas; I think it blends nicely with vanilla and chocolate flavored black teas, especially vanilla. The “malty” flavor really comes through, and makes the black tea much less bitter, so it doesn’t get unpleasant when I accidentally steep too long. The pearls also last up to four steeps, which is a record for me. Teavana says you can steep most of their high end teas more than twice, but for me, the flavor pretty much goes by the third steep. It smells like other black tea, maybe faintly floral, with sort of vanilla earthy notes. It’s good hot and iced.

I agree with the notion of cough syrup, much like Pediacare or Robitussin, thought the taste wasn’t quite the same, a little less strong. I had this hot, and I think it got better as it cooled little bit. I’m using this in tea bag form.

This is actually I really good flavored black tea. I wasn’t sure I would like it, but the cherry flavor, in my opinion, is strong enough to complement the tea. I like it iced especially, but it’s good hot too. It’s quite a tangy cherry, almost like candy, but not the same sweetness… a little spicy too. And it smells wonderful. Lupicia’s teas always smell wonderful though. I put 2 minutes, but I usually go 2-3 minutes, as I rarely get an exact time. I don’t get exact temperatures either, but I try to at least get the water to boil, then quickly add the tea. I bought this in bag form from Mitsuwa; it’s the easiest and cheapest way for me to get Lupicia’s tea, although the selection is nowhere near as expansive.