Kumquat

Its not often I like flavored tea, but this is actually really good! A delicious slightly bitter taste makes this tea fairly accurately named.

I actually bought the tea for the aroma, and I am happy with the result. This is better than any ordinary “orange” flavored tea.

Before today I did not know what a Kumquat was, so I didn’t know what to expect. I got a little baggie of this blend from Cameron a while back but now that I’m at the end of my sip down I’m getting back to my swapped blends. Since this is supposed to be a citrus blend I was a little disappointed, I love citrus but I just got a faintly sweet black tea when I steeped it. I would drink it again though, I just don’t think I’m going to add it to my collection.

Thank you, Cameron, for sharing this with me.

And it’s a belatedly posted sipdown!

#long time ago internet hiatus sipdown

I’ve never had a kumquat, so I don’t know how accurate the flavour of this tea is, but in taste it’s much milder than in scent, which is deliciously citrus fragranced. The citrus, tangerine-like note is present in the flavour of the liquor, alongside a prominent sourness which could be coming from the Nilgiri base rather than the delicate flavouring, though overall it gives an impression of a cross somewhere between an orange and a lemon. The delicate flavouring is something which Lupicia do really well, but I find myself just wishing it were stronger in this particular blend, especially as I overleafed my cup and the citrus note is still so delicate. Nice, but not one which I will miss.

Thank you Marzipan for sharing this with me. Sipdown 207/399.

So I made an order with Lupicia and was really saddened that the Kumquat was sold out. I mentioned it to Cameron and she told me that it was still available in tins. (Yay. Thank you so much.) I got a tin of it and was really looking forward to it because I grew up eating bags of Kumquats… Until my stomach hurt. lol I travel a lot so I don’t see it often anymore if at all. I grew up in Southern California where they are more available, and my dad when he was alive, grew them and cooked with them too. I miss the Kumquats (and Loquats too) and especially miss my dad. Lucky girl to have had him. :)

I think of all the Lupicia teas I’ve tried so far, this one ranks number one for me. It tastes as Kumquat does. Tangy citrus, kind of like a tangerine but sourer, and unlike all the other citrus fruits, Kumquat peel isn’t bitter, so you eat the whole thing. This tea captured that perfectly. Orange, lemons, tangerines, grapefruits, although similar, all tastes a little/a lot different and this one tastes like Kumquats.

I’m so glad Cameron let me know that it’s seasonal, can miss out on them and that it was still available in the tins. I was just focused on the “out of stock” label on the loose leaf. I will drink it again and will probably revisit the review section for other thoughts and experiences about this tea.

Cracking open my tin of this one today, as I saw it’s now available on the Lupicia US website and wanted to see how mine is faring. It’s quite old, mind you, likely from 2018 or so. And this is one that Lupicia recommends consuming within six months due to the particular flavor fading quickly or something.

Yeah, it’s definitely almost completely unflavored at this point. I do get a little bit of the once-zingy tangerine-esque citrus flavor, but it’s very light now. Still a fairly pleasant cup, but mostly it tastes like a mild Indian black tea with a hint of citrus.

I would love to restock this one, but I also want to get some of Lupicia’s holiday teas when they’re out, and there’s no way I’m paying $13+ in shipping twice. So I guess I’ll just wait and hope the holiday teas are added soon, and that this is still in stock when they are… :(

I love kumquats. There is a kumquat tree in the back yard of the house I grew up with and I have fond memories of eating these. I have a small tree in a pot at my house now. The fruit is the size of a large olive and the skin is sweet while the flesh is sour. You eat the whole thing like a grape and it’s a wonderful mixture of sweet and sour.

The scent of this tea is dead on and strong. It mellows out a bit once steeped. Adding a little sugar brings out the sweetness that this fruit has. Even once it is sweetened it still has a little tang to it like the flesh of the fruit. It is a really accurate interpretation of the fruit and the tea is well done, but I’m not crazy about it on first cup. I wonder what spices go well with kumquat and if I can blend a couple teas together to make a super kumquat tea.

The first thing I noticed when I opened this is that the sticker on the tin said, “Best by 3/2015”…seriously, less than six months? That seems super short for a black tea. I emailed them to see if something about this one makes it fade fast or if I got an old tin.

The dry leaf smelled really great, like fresh oranges. Brewed it was the same. The kumquat flavor is very bright and I really enjoyed the cup. I guess it’s a good thing if I have to drink it down by March!

More Lupicia because I gave in and visited the store again. This was one of their seasonal teas that I really kicked myself for not getting last time, so of course I came home with it this time.

The blend is black tea with kumquat peel. Kumquat is one of my favorite hard-to-find fruits, and this tea captures that tart, sweet, citrus fragrance perfectly. The tea brews up to an orange amber color, and the tea base is clean and crisp-tasting. In a hot brew, the kumquat zing is delicious and quite sweet, in a way that reminds me of Korean citron tea, which has honey as well as citrus peels in it. Cold brew is less sweet and very refreshing.

I think I’ve been giving out a lot of high ratings lately, but I don’t feel that I’m being indiscriminate, maybe it just means I’ve gotten better at finding what I like!

Thanks to SFTGFOP for sending me a sample of this tea! I really do love citrus teas.
This tea has a wonderful citrus aroma that is pervasive throughout, yet never overwhelms the scent or flavor of the tea. The tea is light and mellow with little to no astringency. It really does have a distinct kumquat flavor which comes from the note of rind. There is no artificial or bitter lingering quality to this cup. It’s yum.