Mountain Grape (Yamabudo) Oolong

This was the sample that came in the September newsletter from Lupicia.

This is really good. Surprisingly good, because I’m typically not fond of grape flavored things. But here, the grape plays second to the flavor of the Oolong, and I like the way the grape notes highlight the flavors of the Oolong. The Oolong has a sweet, creamy taste to it (not buttery creaminess, exactly, but more of a sweet cream kind of taste). The vegetative qualities are there and compliment the grape tones well.

The grape tastes authentic, like a wine grape (rather the sweet grapes you’d find in the produce section of the supermarket or like the horrid grape candy confections that I try to avoid). The astringency to the Oolong give this a very wine-like quality as well. It finishes dry with a pleasant tart (but not sour) note that lingers.

I’m glad that I got to try this, I probably would not have had the opportunity if it were not for the free sample, as I don’t think I would have ordered a grape flavored Oolong.

Lupicia has lots of fruit-flavoured blends, and a fair proportion of them re flavoured with grapes, muscat and the like. I think they are enjoyable, but sometimes they do remind me of Fanta Grape… This tea is yet another flavoured tea in the “grape spectrum”. When dried the leaves smelled intensely of Fanta Grape (hmm it should be mountain grapes, they said). I was expecting another cup that tasted like grape candy, but I was wrong this time! The grape flavour was so subtle that the sweetness and floral fragrance of the Taiwanese oolong tea base was able to stand out. To me this was a better balance between flavouring and tea base. :)

As much as I don’t like grape flavored anything, this tea is actually fairly good. It tastes exactly like grape soda!

The dry leaves smell exactly like grape fruit snacks. I can’t stop sniffing the bag! The aroma of the brewed tea is heavenly! I can still detect the grape smell, but it’s underneath a lovely grassiness from the oolong. I can’t wait to try this!

Oh, wow! I think this is going to be a new favorite. I can’t believe how good this is! (Thus, the overuse of exclamation marks)!!!!

This is Lupicia’s tea of the month, and therefore a free sample. Grapes seem to be the theme. The newsletter lists all of their grape teas and talks about how grapes have been added to tea for years.

I’ve tried Lupicia’s Muscat tea, a grape-flavored black tea, in the past and found it undesirable. The grape was too overpowering and candy-like.

But this is delicately flavored! I can still taste the grassy oolong underneath (which actually makes it taste more like a flavored green tea than an oolong). The grape is much more subtle in the taste than in the aroma. The aroma is like gummy snacks, but the taste is more like the grape taste in wine. In fact, it could do with a little more grape!

I’m not so sure about that “clean, crisp finish” though. The finish is a little bitter to me, thus the lower rating of an otherwise wonderful tea. Perhaps a shorter steeping time would remedy that?

Nonetheless, adding this to my list of teas to buy…Thank you, Lupicia!

The dry leaves are super aromatic and the smell of grape is wonderful but in the liquor itself, it’s very mild. The Oolong base is a high-quality Taiwanese Oolong. Although you can clearly taste the grape, the oolong’s flavor is the strongest of the two. Some tart (not sour), sweet grape notes with a slight astringency. A little vegetal, not buttery. Crisp. The grape flavor is more of (for lack of a better term) an adult flavor (muscatel), wine-like vs candy. It’s not the grape flavor of fresh grapes either. I’m guessing it’s kind of like other Lupicia teas, that it’s geared towards an alcoholic-like beverage. Hard to describe. It is good though, and I love grapes but I prefer the fresh fruit grape flavor. ^^ I’m still glad I bought it and got to try it.

Steep #1 // 1 1/2 teaspoons for a full mug // 18 minutes after boiling // 1 1/2 minute steep
Steep #2 // 10 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #3 // just boiled // 2-3 min

Usually Lupicia’s grape flavor stands out but with the exception of the aftertaste of this tea, the grape is completely drowned out by the oolong base. 273.

Thanks for the sample CameronB it looks like it originally came from Dexter so thanks to you too!

I am finding the sweet floral oolong pleasing with the candylike grape flavors today. Normally I wouldn’t go for candy-ish flavored teas! Not sure what my deal is today but I am enjoying this, so yay :)

Another tea from Dexter (she was kind enough to send me several Lupicia offerings). This is one of those oolongs that is a deep green in color and the leaves are long, thick, and twisty. I dunno whether this counts as a Pouchong, but that’s the word that comes to mind. Dry scent is sweet grape, somewhere between candy and sparkling red grape juice. The directions called for a 1.5-2 minute steep, which seemed short to me so I did 3 minutes.

Once steeped, the tea smells somewhat candylike but there’s also a strong floral element. I added a touch of sugar to mine. This is so delicious! I am very happy to say that although there is a floral presence, it’s a sweet floral such as jasmine. The grape flavor is sweet and juicy and definitely reminds me of a very sweet wine, like a Moscato. Yummy!

Pleasant surprise. It’s a great one to try when you want something a little different. Similar tea—Republic of Tea Celebration Tea