Lupicia, seriously; how do you even do this? Who flavors these teas? Are they wizards? In the bag, this has that very Lupicia-esque filthy ripe-fruit oolong smell to it that I love so much in, among other teas, Ripe Mango Oolong. It’s an earthy, muddy scent with a hint of fruit rot, intermingling with a very potent …
L’Oriental – Dammann Frères
In the bag, this is perfection – the most elegant, sumptuous fruitiness, ripe with peach and passionfruit. But steeped, it’s so subtle it’s silly – I’m going to refrain from rating this, and will henceforth follow some Steepster advice and steep these DF teas much hotter. Seriously, peach, where did you go? We had a date. …
Maple Pecan Oolong – Butiki Teas
This is insane. I’m drinking a sticker. And I mean that as a good thing. See, when I was a tiny Gluttonette with braids and glasses and knee socks, we used to trade stickers during our breaks in school. This was a huge deal; I carried something like five albums on any given day. Some …
Cookie – Lupicia
When I received the kind gift of Gluttonette time for tea shopping before leaving the US plus a ride to my favorite mall in Santa Clara, I obviously went straight to Lupicia. The very nice person working the store was helpful and patient with my many demands and inquiries and I found almost everything I wanted. One …
Perfectea Filter (Perfect Paper Tea Filters) – Teavana
So I dropped by the Water Tower Place Teavana in Chicago to pick up some teaware. I’ll just be honest – I’ve never tried a Teavana tea that I’ve loved; I find them mostly plain and bland and poorly executed, and it’s vile how much sugar they put in the brewed samples they offer in-store. …
Apricot Houji – Lupicia
When I first reviewed this here: http://gluttonette.com/?p=396, I know I found it on Lupicia’s website, but as I executed my attack on the WVF Lupicia earlier this week, the very nice and patient man helping me told me it had been discontinued. Definitely a sad day, because this tea really gives me massive travel nostalgia, and it manages …
Three Friends (Orange, Marshmallow, Chocolate) – Butiki Teas
I chose this as my first Butiki tea to try (Thank you, Stacy!) because unlike the others, it came in little tin and hence balances precariously atop the rest of the pile of bagged-teas-to-try (No untried teas go in the cupboard! Rules are rules! Stand down, Cantaloupe & Cream!) but also because it’s one I …
Momoko – Lupicia
I had so much Momoko on my flight. And every single member of the crew made fun of me, as per usual. I cup-steeped after lunch and they were all like hue hue hue, you brought your own little strainer, how adorable. And then I was hanging out in the pantry filling up my thermos and everyone …
Ginger Lemon Green Tea – Kusmi Tea
I had Ginger Lemon tea and very nice company on my flight between Rome and Stockholm; double win. (Or maybe even a triple win, because I got two steeps out of this bag.) Now I feel a little Romesick, because that’s where my tea stash is. <3 My pretties! My sweet treasures! I will be back …
Apricot Houji – Lupicia
Oh, I Mosaici lounge at Fiumicino, how I loathe you. But hey, you have hot water. And tiny tiny tiny tea cups, so the bag of Apricot Houji would have been enough for ten of them. But I only had time for two. 90 C, 1 min