Cynthia Lam Send Message

Ok a little surprised there’s not more tasting notes on this, or Angelina’s Paris in general. Yes Yes it’s golden crop is the dessert but it’s such the tourist shop- so many people have gifted this or used as a souvenir.

I know I have, it’s an iconic gift. Also a really easy gift to impress general tea drinkers or Paris romantics. The black tea lovers in your life would generally appreciate this tin. It’s inner compartment is plastic instead of metal all over but overall pretty well sealed. Brew it properly and you have mellowly fruit and buttery chestnut tea that’s perfect for autumn. Over brew and you get a strong black with a lingering sweetness and coppery feel on your tongue.

Does it taste like Angelina’s Mont Blanc? No that’s the stuff of the gods, don’t fool yourself- get the chestnut cream if you wanna bring some of that amazing pastry home. This is tea- elegant and strong with little bits of sweet roasted chestnut. Goes well on its own or with milk, feel free to sweeten with maple syrup instead to match it’s maple chestnut notes.

Uh I mean it’s a good strong matcha drink shot in a can.

For an Ito-En, generic but solid company, they can’t mess up. nothing remarkable but it’s a solid matcha with no odd or artificial aftertastes. For those unaccustomed to making matcha you definitely can use this in drink mixes, probably easier. I also enjoy it with sparkling water if I had the time/resources in my cabinet.

But the main reason I feel most people get this is the same reason they get canned coffee. Easy to drink, easy to transport and you need that caffeine. I got these at work all the time back when I worked near a Japanese supermarket. Also a steady flow of energy with no crash, unlike coffee.

Oh boy oh boy White Puer!

Full passing points in white tea blends done right in my book. I appreciate it so much because white tea is rather difficult to process, so not only was this one completed pu-er fermentation style, it was done with a well selected combination of flavors.

When hot you can enjoy a bold white that holds interests yet keeps its mellow elegance. In a cold brew or iced tea its a lightly refreshing guessing game of fruit varieties. (those cucumber notes really balances things well). It’s pretty loud and has personality for a white without compromising the nature of the tea- a perfect blend of east meets west.

It smells like makeup.

During my time at Lupicia I had many chances to try and retry this flavor and NOPE. I just can’t-. The company usually does a lot of research and care into their tea blends but this one just does not work. Not “oh it’s just not my cup of tea” or “in my opinion” just nope nope nope.

My family drinks plenty of various Taiwnese oolong. I’ve enjoyed many pots of “Oriental Beauty” Dongfang Meiren or white tip oolong. It’s a complex and fresh tea with great aroma-or it should be. This is not the oolong that Taiwanese drinkers know, I assure you. It’s something all together different!
Now the scent could be something they enhanced- but the final product still is overbearing and artificial tasting.

Please this company has great Japanese and fusion tea blends that you can’t t really find anywhere else. Please buy any other unique flavor. If you want “Oriental Beauty” there’s dozens of other legit companies that actually does this tea right.

Oh I like this one.

It’s not in my favorites of Lupicia but they have hundreds of tea flavors- what can I say. It hits the spot of strong, flavorful and refreshing without being overpowering and it’s far from their most sour teas. For a black it packs the right amount of punch with the Japanese cherry (which is rly subdued, not what many Western drinkers would think of with cherry) and complexity with the peppercorns and herbs.

To each their own, despite the popularity of the Sakurambo vert- I just much prefer this version. The cherry flavor works well in both but as an overall strong tea combo I personally just feel this one works better-at least for my tastes.

Oh it’s so convenient of a tea.

Yes yes we all know how many of us here prefer loose leaf. We enjoy the bloom, flavor distribution and quality of loose leaf teas. This is just a really good satchet!

A reasonably strong earl grey with a very noticeable lavender scent and taste. The bergamot is on the mild side but that’s perfectly reasonable if the main flavor note is Lavender. It’s still a perfectly acceptable floral earl grey and strong enough to be enjoyed alone or as a latte.
Is it as strong or tasty as many earl grey loose blends from independent or boutique shops? Nah- esp those European brands.
For the price point, easy packaging, availability and convenience? Then wow hot damn very worth. Very loved and often used in my cabinets (now if only my co-workers wouldn’t steal so much of it).

One of the crowd popular chais at Lupicia. Besides the cardamon it closer resembles a classic chai. While tasty and does the job with no odd or extra flavors it does fall flat if you’re looking for spice and something that will survive past a lot of milk.

I like it, I just like a lot of other chai teas more. I can at least respect that there’s no funny aftertaste or flavor experimenting going on here. Good chai for a more subtle (Japanese?) palette.

One of my favorites from Lupicia!

But I have a honeydew bias, i just really love this fruit and you don’t see this flavor often in the tea market. You don’t really get the sourness that usually comes with roobois in this golden variety so it keeps that mellow smooth honeydew flavor. You can’t really oversteep with this herbal since you don’t have to worry about the sourness so it’s perfect for long brewed or cold brew iced teas.

Yes there is sugar in this tea, little konpeito candies where most of the sweet honeydew flavor is concentrated but the overall scent is well infused in the tea. You can take them out to avoid the sugar if you like. A fun tea that really wows the crowd.

I wanted to like it I really did. Green tea and blueberries what’s not to like.

But I regret and now am trying to drink up, serve and just get rid of this tea. To be fair the blueberry flavor is fine, a little finishing tart. But the green tea has this musty stale flavor it it. I’m more used to all sorts of traditional Japanese and Chinese variety greens so it could be a freshness bias. But