Happiness Rooibos/Green Blend from Lupicia

happinessTea Information:

Leaf Type:  Green/Green Rooibos

Where to Buy: Lupicia

Tea Description:

Rose petals, marigold and small mallow decorate this green tea and green rooibos blend scented with energizing grapefruit and luscious white peach. One sip and you will find happiness.

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

In Canada Lupicia teas are fairly hard to get a hold of without swapping with someone else, which is what I did in order to try this sample. I’ve only tried a handful of their teas, but generally speaking I’ve enjoyed most if not all of them. That said, I’ve read almost entirely negative, or at least relatively critical reviews about this particular blend so know I have some expectation bias prior to trying this blend. With the sample I have, I decided I’d cold brew this tea because I thought it would work well for the fruity aspects but also the dual bases used.

My first thought upon trying this was that it tastes very familiar. I realize I drink a lot of tea, and so it’s no uncommon for new teas to bear a resemblance to ones I’ve tried before but I’m talking serious Deja Vu with this tea; I was convinced I’d had the experience of drinking this one before even though I know I haven’t.

As for the actual flavour of the blend I do have to say the peach element comes through the clearest to me: I made a recent discovery regarding peach, actually. I’ve always thought of peach as a flavor that I could go either way with but someone at work recently pointed out to me that I’m actually very consistent with some peachy things and that’s either “Peaches & Cream” or “White Peach”, both of which I regularly like. So I did a little bit of research (I asked one of our produce clerks the difference between white and yellow peaches; that counts, right?) and it turns out the main difference is the acidity – yellow peaches have a much more noticeable acidity that only levels out as they ripen while white peaches are more delicate and naturally sweet, ripe or not. They’re also a little more floral. Makes sense to me.

So in addition to the clear and enjoyable flavour of white peaches, I tasted a few other fruits – however one fruit I didn’t observe was grapefruit which is actually the flavour that’s supposed to be present. Instead I tasted a more mellow strawberry flavour which was a great compliment to the peach notes. Chef Darcy, at work, tried a little of the cold brew and said he tastes peach and green melons and while I didn’t taste that melon flavour myself I can see where he was coming from: there was a sort of “bubblegum” sweetness, and as I’ve observed from honeydew teas sometimes the flavor of of those two things can be similar. As for the bases, visually I know there was more green tea in my sample but the taste of the green rooibos was a lot stronger in my opinion. I really like the green rooibos that Lupicia uses though – it’s one of my favourite of any company’s.

Overall, this was a really great experience – not just for the flavour, but for the little journey of self discovery that it took me on.

Almond Happiness from 52Teas

Photo from Wikipedia

Tea Information:

Leaf Type:  Black

Where to Buy:  52Teas

Tea Description:

Ingredients:  Premium black teas, almond slivers, organic cacao nibs, coconut, natural flavors.

This tea is part of 52Teas’ Box of Chocolates Sampler.

Taster’s Review:

This is the fifth “new-to-me” tea from 52Teas’ Box of Chocolates Sampler, and I think that this is the one I was the one that elicited the most excitement from me when I first opened the box.  I think I actually squealed when I saw the tea through the lid of the tin, and then turned the tin over to read the name.

When it comes to chocolate, I generally have pretty expensive taste, but, in a pinch, I’ll settle for a readily available candy bar and this tea is created with one of my favorites in mind (I don’t really need to tell you the name of that candy bar, do I?)  So, needless to say, I had high expectations when I brewed this tea.

The aroma wafting from my tea cup at the moment is absolutely delicious.  I can smell the sweet almond.  YUM!  I do wish there was a bit more coconut both in the fragrance and in the flavor.  That’s not to say that it isn’t a noticeable flavor, because it is, but in the candy bar, the coconut is the strongest flavor, and that isn’t the case with this tea.  Here, the almond dominates, followed by the chocolate and then the coconut.

So while I am enjoying this cup (immensely, I might add!), I do think it could be improved with a little more coconut flavor … and perhaps just a touch of vanilla to amplify the creaminess factor.  Because while that candy bar may be for those who feel like a nut… its that creamy coconut that most of us really crave.

I also believe that by increasing the coconut flavor, it would help soften the black tea base here, which isn’t bitter but it is quite astringent, and I think that this takes away from the “joy” just a little bit.

Overall, it is still a VERY good tea, but, I think it could still use a little tweaking to make it even better.