For the sipdown prompt, “a pumpkin tea.”
This is an interesting tea. It’s a combination of Japanese autumnal flavors: pumpkin, sweet potato, and chestnut. It has an interesting squashy pumpkin flavor, which is so unique to taste in the absense of spices. It reminds me a lot of the pumpkin-flavored houjicha by Ocharaka in flavor, though obviously much sweeter and less roasty due to the different base teas. I don’t really taste any sweet potato, and wonder if it’s just adding some overall sweet notes to the tea, as it does veer sweeter rather than really savory despite the squashy aspects. The chestnut, however, is quite distinct and tasty; it’s the same flavor from their Marron Chocolat tea, which is one of my Lupicia favorites.
I’ve had this now as a straight hot cuppa and also as a warm latte; both are nice, but I prefer the latte. Plain, more of the umami characteristics pop, as the rooibos tastes a bit more woody, but the creaminess and sweetness of the milk makes the rooibos base have a sort of sweet caramel note which mixes so nicely with the pumpkin and chestnut.
Flavors: Caramel, Chestnut, Nutty, Pumpkin, Squash, Sweet, Umami, Wood