Lupicia Momo Oolong Super Grade

[image: bag o' tea] — [image: bag o’ tea]

Tonight I thought I’d dive into one of my favorite teas. This is Lupicia’s Momo Oolong Super Grade, which is apparently their #1 best seller. I’m hardly surprised. This tea is great. The peach flavor is pronounced, and it is sweet enough on its own to enjoy without any additional sweetening.

[stock image from lupicia's website] — [stock image from lupicia’s website]

It’s a pretty tea to just look at, with the rose petals. The leaves are tightly twisted, and when set in to steep, they expand beautifully. Depending on my tea mood, I might use teabags instead of my teapot. But one tea I would never use the bags for is the Momo Oolong. The leaves need the space. They’re pretty large once fully expanded.

This is kind of a splurgey tea. It’s $13 for a 50 gram bag of leaves (don’t bother with the bagged version), but it is definitely worth it. You can get more than one steep out of the leaves per drinking session. I usually go for two or three pots with the same spoonful of leaves.

It’s a nice late afternoon or evening tea, since oolong has a lower caffeine amount than black tea. It’s not entirely absent though, so maybe stick to a morning brew if you’re particularly sensitive.

And as for food options, my old roommate Zed used to occasionally enjoy the spent tea leaves with rice. Like this but more basic.

Lupicia Lucky Bag

[image: nine bags of loose tea from Lupicia]

I went into San Francisco yesterday and stopped at Lupicia, one of my favorite tea retailers. I was there to pick up some loose leaf La Belle Epoque, my go-to for “tea-flavored tea.”

While I was there I noticed that they had a display of lucky bags (well, boxes, but same thing). Fukubukuro are a big thing with Japanese stores. They’re a grab bag sold at a discount. I was surprised to see they had any left (stores sell them for the New Year), but I picked up one for $30.

Here’s what was inside (and their descriptions from Lupicia’s website):

Momo Oolong Super Grade (retail price $13.00) Savor the succulent flavor and aroma of Japanese white peach in this Taiwanese pouchong blend accented with pink rose petals.
Sakurambo (retail price $6.50) Black tea flavored with Japanese cherries, which has a sweet and fruity aroma.
Tikuanyin (retail price $11.00) Oolong tea from Fujian province has a rich taste and sweet aroma.
Darjeeling Second Flush (retail price $8.50) A blend of summer-plucked Darjeeling tea. Often referred to as “Champagne of teas”.
Afternoon Tea (retail price $6.00) A blend of light-bodied Darjeeling and full-bodied Assam. Can be served with milk.
Matcha Black Soybean Rice Tea (retail price $5.00) A genmaicha (rice tea) blended with black beans and matcha, to promote “healthy living”.
Strawberry & Vanilla (retail price $6.50) Green tea with matcha is flavored with sweet fragrance of strawberry and vanilla.
Muscat (retail price $6.50) Refreshing taste of muscat offers an interesting impression. Ideal choice for an iced tea.
Cookie (retail price $7.00) Black tea scented with an image of freshly baked caramel cookies. Best served with milk.

So that’s $70 worth of tea for $30! I have had the Momo Oolong before and loved it, but it’s expensive so I’ve only purchased it once. I have sipped my way through several bags of Sakurambo in the past, I like it a lot. The rest are new to me, and I’m very excited to try them all! The only one I’m a bit leery of is the Muscat, but I think I’ll take their advice and brew it for iced tea.

Chocolate & Strawberry Puer

Last weekend, TeapotGirl and I headed into San Francisco for a day of food, makeup, and (of course) tea. Lupicia is my jam, and I’m lucky enough to live near two of their physical stores. I love going in and spending a quarter hour sticking my nose into all the tea tins. This time, after picking up my obligatory pouch of La Belle Epoque, I was given a bag of Chocolate & Strawberry Puer to sample. I made it today.

[image: stock image of lupicia’s chocolate & strawberry puer]

I’d never tried puer tea before, but from the reviews of this particular tea on Steepster, it seems like a flavored one was a good way to start. Apparently they can sometimes taste kind of fishy? I don’t know if I’d like that.

But this is a pretty nice tea. Really complimented a slice of sweet potato spice bread well. It’s sweet without needing sugar and creamy without needing milk. The chocolate and strawberry are definitely noticeable. I made two mugfuls with the same teabag since I’m a barbarian. While I don’t know if I would purchase a full pack of this, it was a pleasant enough diversion for an afternoon.

Cold Brew Iced Tea

[image: product photo of Lupicia's Handy Cooler (Half) in Yellow] — [image: product photo of Lupicia’s Handy Cooler (Half) in Yellow]

My friend TeapotGirl gave me Lupicia’s Handy Cooler as a gift last year. I have been using the hell out of it to make cold-brew iced tea. It’s great. I can drink so much of that stuff.

[image: tea being brewed in Lupicia’s Handy Cooler]

Here is the cooler in action. It’s got a fine-mesh insert that you put loose tea leaves in. You can also use bags without the mesh insert, if you prefer. Fill the cooler with cold water and place in the fridge overnight. Drink up, yum.

Making iced tea with cold water takes a bit longer, but the taste is really delicate and completely lacking in any bitterness.

I visit Lupicia’s physical stores a few times a year. Two of my favorite loose teas from them right now are La Belle Epoque and Peach. Both make excellent iced tea. For bagged tea, I have a particular fondness for Triple Leaf’s Ginger Tea, which is basically just a bag of dried ginger. It’s lovely on a hot day.

Lupicia Golden Honey Dew Rooibos Tea

I visited Lupicia’s San Francisco store last weekend with my friend TeapotGirl, and it never fails that I pick up something new. However, if a new tea comes in, another must leave. And so it is with sadness that I bid farewell to Lupicia’s Golden Honey Dew Rooibos Tea, which is one of the most delicious iced teas I’ve ever tasted. I don’t even like honeydew melons, but this is so good.

A steeping note, if you ever find yourself in possession of this beauty. Since it’s only available in leaf form, I don’t recommend pouring the water over whatever your steeping mode of choice is. The leaves/twiggy components in the tea are very small and easily jostled out of a bag (I get my bags in giant packs at Daiso). Pour the water first, then gently place the bag into it.

Lupicia’s Golden Honey Dew Rooibos Tea can be ordered here.