This was a sample I got through last year’s Lupicia group buy. It came in one of those silky pyramid shaped tea bags. I don’t like the idea of plastics in hot water so I cut open the teabag and dumped half of the 4g of leaves in a brew basket. The leaves had a wonderful floral-woodsy aroma.
Steeped it for 2 minutes in an 8oz teacup using water on the cooler side, 187 F, for the 1st infusion. The brewed tea had a gentle woodsy, roasted aroma. Pleasantly smooth flavor reminiscent of butternut squash with a light maltiness. Upped the temperature to 195 F for the next infusion and doubled the brewing time. The tea had a very nice fruitiness this time and an almost grape-like flavor.
Lupia describes this tea as green, fresh, and spring breeze like. To me that sounds like a green tea or light oolong, something I’d never mistake it for. Darjeelings are often described as floral but I’ve honestly never tasted any such qualities in any darjeeling tea I’ve had. To me, it tasted like a lighter, slightly fruity black tea with woody tones. More autumnal than spring to me.
Flavors: Butternut Squash, Grapes, Wood
