Apricot Houji

A small backlog.

So I promised I’d give the last of this a fair sendoff. It’s the last bag. The last bag FOREVER, because it doesn’t seem like Lupicia make this anymore. Unfortunately, because this has really grown on me. Or rather, I’ve been the one doing the growing, and I can now appreciate the complexity of this tea. +10 points.

The base is a subtly roasted houjicha, and this is what made this a little hard for me to fully embrace earlier, as I hadn’t quite decided how I felt about roasted teas. I’m completely swayed now, though – and roastiness intermingling with one of Lupicia’s perfect fruit flavours? It’s so, so good, and beautifully balanced. It gives me apricot tonguefeel if I close my eyes.

If this had been available, it would have been an instant restock, but as it is, I’ll just add fruit-flavoured houjicha to the list of teas I absolutely need in my cupboard.

Either way, it’s a fair sendoff – I’m at the airport lounge and the bartender sings his usual showtunes. ‘Is it really the very last of the tea?’ he asks, shaking his head sadly. He seems to understand the gravity of the situation. I will leave the tiny bag corpse with him.

[Purchased at Lupicia in Honolulu, December 2012.]
[Polished off at Fiumicino, March 2014.]

I can’t believe that this tea hasn’t yet been entered into the database…

Oh well. So, now it is! Anyways… tonight I am enjoying this tea with a batch of scones that I just baked. I made these: http://cupboardofblessings.com/Tea-Foods-for-the-Tea-Table.html and they are seriously… the best scones I’ve ever tasted. Better than anything I’ve even made from scratch. Even better than the scones I’ve had from my favorite tea house (sorry Elizabeth!) and… together with their Lemon curd (same link as above), they are to die for!

Love these scones, and the Apricot Houji is pretty tasty too! YUM!

Thanks LiberTEAS!

Ahhhh! The roasty/toasty Houji paired with a juicy Apricot! Very nice combo! I would LOVE to taste the Apricot more. The Houji is certainly the prominent flavor here but the Apricot notes are really good too!

As it cools at room temperature a little bit the apricot comes out to play more and I really like that!

“like”…it’s a goodie!

At first I thought this tea was really amazing. I loved the roasted, slightly sweet houji tea base (for some reason it reminds me of Mont Blanc dessert!) as well as the gentle, sweet, apricot flavour. Everything went well until the tea started to cool. The apricot aroma began to smell artificial and grew stronger and stronger, up to the point that it became off-putting and pungent… weird. Now I don’t want to touch the cup… :(

Since it’s cold and rainy i figured since i’m at work maybe something roasty could help me relax and stay warm as though i was at home. I picked this tea out of the selection and was pleasantly happy that i did.
Once you open the package your senses are welcomed by the sweet aroma of apricot as well as the roasty scent of the tea. After brewing, the mellow apricot flavour and wonderful roastiness sent me back home in sitting in front of the fire place :D This is a great tea! The houji cha flavour is very pleasant. i think i may have to try this as iced tea some time :)

This was my first Lupicia tea and I think it is still a good tea. Apricot is one of my favorite fruits so I really enjoyed the tea.