Grapefruit Green

I’ve been swamped with exams so I’ve just logging “blank notes”. In any case, this is one of my favorite teas from my roommate’s stash, which is weird because this tea is grapefruity but I don’t like real grapefruits. That says something about the awesomeness of this tea. <3

I got this in a swap with Will Work For Tea, who sent me a very generous amount! I have been looking for that “just right” grapefruit tea: I really liked Upton’s St. Isaac’s blend, but I still felt like there was something better and this was recommend to me by several people so I had to try it!

Since I dislike hot grapefruit usually, I made this iced. At first sip it’s just a nice, mild and lightly sweet green tea. Refreshing, but where’s the grapefruit? Then BAM it hits you! It’s actually softer than I was expecting, and only a bit tart, but the grapefruit taste is so fresh and juicy. Not the strongest I’ve tried, but definitely the most natural. I mean, it really tastes like I just squeezed a little grapefruit juice into some green tea. Most definitely will be picking this one up!

Tea of the afternoon…..

And tea #4 from my 2012 $30 Lupicia Happy Bag.

I am very pleased with this one. While the grapefruit is kind of strong, and adds a slight edge to the green tea (just like a real grapefruit would!), I really like this barely sweetened to take the edge off. Very refreshing. Going on my Lupicia list!

I do love the Lupicia newsletter, sending me samples of things that I would never order. I suppose thats the point of the samples.
This is fresh and almost juicy. Readers of my reviews might notice a theme- green tea is not my thing. I try, but its just not what grabs me out there in tea-land.
That said, this is pretty good!

Loose
Appearance: large leaf green, noticeable fruit
Aroma when Dry: citrus, hints of green
After water is first poured: ruby red(sish) grapefruit pops out
Tea liquor:
At end of first steep: clear
Staple? Seasonal perhaps
Time of day preferred: unsure, first tasting
Taste:
At first: sweetish grapefruit faint green notes
As it cools?Grapefuit notes mellow out, green notes surface
Additives used (milk, honey, sugar etc)? No
Lingers? Yes, grapefruit notes with a bit of powdery-ness at close

Second steep (5 min 30 seconds)
Tea liquor: clear
Aroma: light grapefruit
Taste: balanced grapefruit and green
As it cools:a “zesty” as in fruit zest note starts to surface

third steep, slightly lighter then second, same notes

Might try chilled

Based on some major detective work, LiberTEAS and I discovered that this tea is also served as “Desert Grapefruit Green” at the Tohono Chul Park Tearoom in Tucson.

The fragrance of this tea is incredible. The green tea base is strong with a clean, grassy, nutty, and sweet foundation. On top is a strong grapefruit that is very natural. Living in Arizona, I’m surrounded by citrus and this is just like driving past an orchard in the Spring.

The tea brews to an opaque, turbid, fluorescent green. The flavor of the green tea is rich and sweet and the grapefruit adds a perfect balance of bittersweet tartness.

The steeping instructions took me by surprise as they said to use boiling water instead of the 175 degrees I usually use for green teas. I followed Lupicia’s instructions and it turned out fine. I put this over ice and it was perfect!

Very much ruby red grapefruit — slightly sweet at the front with tartness and just a smidge of bitterness at the tail.The grapefruit flavor is natural and quite good and compliments the slightly sweet, buttery green well. There’s no astringency in the base, so I’d suspect that those who wanted more grapefruit could bump up to 2 tsp. The overall flavor is more zest (as in fruit zest) than juicy, but it’s fantastic with a little honey added in.

I kept wanting the fun grapefruit tingle that Butiki’s Grapefruit Dragon offers, which I prefer.

Thanks momo!

Don’t recall what I wrote last time, but the grapefruit flavour really is fairly accurate in this one. Quite identifiably grapefruit, not miscellaneous citrus or anything else. I still maintain that Butiki’s is better, but to be fair, there’s also a much better base tea with her version, and I think that really complements the grapefruit flavour, whereas this tea has a basic sencha, and I don’t think seaweedy notes work so well. Regardless, I had a couple yummy travel mugs of this (one resteep).

Ah – read my old note – I originally tried a sample from someone else, whereas this time, it was from my half of a 50g packet from a Jan 2013 Happy Bag. So, much more flavour, in spite of the terrible storage (I hate Lupicia’s non-resealable packaging. At least make it have a metal twist-tie closure or something!! Not airtight but better than lying open!)

If you like grapefruits, you will like this tea. If you don’t like grapefruits, you still might like this tea. I’m not personally a huge fan of grapefruits. I can’t stand them actually – I kind of like the way they smell but I won’t eat them. This tea has a nice citrus-y flavor that seems like a hybrid between grapefruit and generic citrus-y goodness. Bonus points for grapefruit peel pieces.

Here’s Hoping Traveling Tea Box

I’ve never actually bought anything from Lupicia, but I’ve had the pleasure of sampling quite a few in Steepster swaps. I am really impressed with their fruity teas! I am drinking this hot, but it would be hella good iced in the summertime :) YUM!