Sakurambo

The last bit of this tea. *is sad * Damn you Lupicia for not shipping your teas to Canada! *shakes fist * I would totally buy this tea if I was given the opportunity – some of these American companies are really limiting themselves by refusing to accomodate international customers.

On an unrelated note, those things that I thought looked like peppercorn actually are red peppercorns (I went and ate one – ewww). And yet I’m not getting a peppery taste from this tea at all. Strange. ;)

Very much a fresh cherry smell, even has that hint of tartness to it that fresh cherries do. Usually cherry flavored things make me think of cough syrup so it’s nice to find a cherry flavored something that doesn’t even hint of that type of cherry.

The taste isn’t as tart as the smell, but it’s got a little tingle to it. Very fresh and fruity tasting. Not overpowering or fake though it is probably one of the stronger flavored Lupicia teas I’ve had. I’m not using any sugar or milk but honestly, it doesn’t need any and sugar might detract from the fresh sourness it has – again, not overly sour, just a little twinge that makes me think of fresh cherries. A very good tea from spring, I would think.

Also, we have about eight inches of snow on the ground. It’s sorta nuts. And I’m expected into work this afternoon. Not sure if that’s going to happen. Yikes.

I debated between this tea and the Sakurambo Vert for quite a while. I know the Vert is probably a better tea objectively, but I already have some cherry greens but no cherry blacks so I thought I’d take a swing at this one. Also, it looks so pretty with those cute little red balls! I’m not exactly sure what they are, but they look nice.

The weird thing about this blend is the little needles in the blend. They look like pine needles, but they can’t be, right? Well, I ate one (as I often do when there’s a mystery ingredient!), and… yup, pine needles. Or something that tastes exactly like a pine needle. I was a little worried at this point, but let it sit in the fridge for about 5 hours—I did a fast cold brew with this one, mostly because the smell was SO strong I wasn’t sure how it would fare after an overnight steep.

Well, as I feared, this tastes like pine needles. It has that tanginess I associate with them, and it’s kind of odd. It’s not overwhelmingly pine-y, but it’s still an undercurrent that ran throughout the whole cup. The cherry was there too, on the tarter side than most blends. It reminds me of the cherry tree down the street from me: my neighbor has a whole bunch of fruit trees, and as kids we’d get overly excited and start eating them before they were ripe. The cherries would be quite tart, with only a hint of sweetness. This is kind of like that, but while it brings back pleasant memories it’s not at all what I was expecting. I think I need to try this one hot, as cold it’s just a little strange.

Thank tea fairy Sil! :)

I tried to savour this, this morning seeing as it was a sample, but it was so good it went down a little quicker than I expected.

You know how some teas are perfect, & not a thing about them should be changed? Yes? well this is that tea for me…. mmmm the cherry flavour, but it’s not regular cherry it’s choke cherry, which I used to pick with my dad, grandma, uncles & cousins when we would go ATVing in the bush.
And the added hint of the pine takes this over the edge & reminds me of my childhood. So perfect!

Can’t believe I had not reviewed this one before! I also didn’t even have it in my cupboard! When did I get so lax on that? I have had this tea for a long time.
I love this tea.
It has the sweet / sour cherry flavor with the minty coolness behind it that is subtle yet present enough to give that cooling sensation in the mouth.
A great morning wake up tea!
The cherry flavor lingers nicely and leaves a delicate sweetness on the lips.
Its a romantic tea. What I mean by that is I could see this being a tea to serve at a valentine’s day tea party, or in a beautiful garden setting, a “ladies tea” if you will. Not to be sexist lol.
Its has a floral element to it as well.
I know this tea gets a lot of mixed reviews but I just adore it.
Its excellent as it cools too!
This is a stash keeper!

Thanks to Azzrian I was able to try a bit more of this as I type. It’s been around a year or two since I have had a cup of this.

The aroma is pleasant. The flavor is better than I remember…perhaps they reworked this blend! It’s a little cherry-esque but a little sweet-pine, too…or maybe rosemary?

I’m upping the rating on this…it’s quite nice this time around…hits the spot.

sipdown! yeah I’m finally done with this one and am not too sad to see it go. I would love to find a good cherry tea if there is one out there that is not tart and smelly like this one. Hit me up with your recommendations if you have any.

I was a little shy to try this tea, as I’ve only ever thought of green teas and cherries. But alas, Ricky sent a sample of this my way, so try it I did.

The tea has a great strong aroma of freshly bitten cherries and strong tea. I think I may have steeped a little long at 3 minutes, or used a bit too much leaf, as it was one potent cherry chestnut colored brew.

The taste is very fresh, these cherries are definitely different than any I have had before. I don’t really enjoy the flavor as much as I enjoyed the scent. Very fresh almost floral/grassy notes overtook the cup.

I tried adding honey to see if it brought out any additional flavor, or toned down the floral note, but nothing improved. I’m sorry to say I threw out this cup. I may try the last few teaspoons as an iced brew, to see how that goes. Cold brewing may bring out a better taste.

I received this as a sample when I was in the store in San Francisco. I was glad because it was one of the teas I had wanted to try. This is the bagged version, but I assume the loose version would be similar. The scent from this one is really strong. It smells like sour cherry. When steeped, this tastes like a subdued version of how the smell would taste…if that makes sense. Id be interested in trying the green tea version to see how it compares. While this won’t be an order for me ever, because of the taste, I wouldn’t turn down a cup if offered

This was another of the teas I got in my lucky bag – there will probably be quite a few Lupicia tasting notes from me over the next few days!

I received this in bagged form and was really excited about it because it was one of the teas I most wanted to try. The scent of the leaf once I tore open the package reminded me very much of how grenadine tastes, if that makes any sense. It was syrupy sweet smelling cherry, with some hints at tartness. I had to kind of hold the bag away from me otherwise the scent was overwhelming and hurt my head. The same thing happens when I get a strong scent of bergamot. I guess I’m just really sensitive to smells?

Anyway (thankfully!), like with the Earl Grey last night, the taste of the tea was not as strong as it’s fragrance. I’m drinking this with no additives, and am getting a sort of authentic, but mostly candied cherry taste quickly followed by black tea, before a sweet cherry note swoops in again in the aftertaste. The cherry flavoring also seems to have a vaguely spiced undertone – cinnamony/peppery or something. Interesting, for sure.

I am not as in love with this as I wanted to be, but I am glad I got to try it. Plus the tea bags are quite handy, so I will likely be taking them whenever portability is a must. :)