Review: Republic of Tea Pink Grapefruit Green Tea

Before the review, a caveat: I bought this tea so that I wouldn't feel guilty for using my credit card for a $2 loaf of french bread, which means I purchased it from a grocery store where I would never usually buy tea, on account of I don't believe their merchandise turnover is very high. Possibly, this tea would be better if it were fresher, though just as likely not.

It's a little dangerous talking smack about a tea that's setting out to cure cancer. What if this review dissuades someone from buying a tin, and that $0.75 would have paid for the pipette in which the cancer-curing agent would have been created? Would I feel like a jerk then.

But then I got to thinking, why should I blame myself for telling it like it is? Why shouldn't I push the blame back to the source? Republic of Tea, doesn't breast cancer deserve better than this? Better than flavorless, stale, dry tea that's only available in bags? Tea that claims to be "premium quality" but is obviously average quality at best?

Why do you hate breast cancer research, Republic of Tea?

Let's look at some facts.

Fact 1: I enjoy grapefruit tea. Several people I've talked to have responded negatively to the very concept, but not me. Since my only experience was positive, I had high hopes when I bought this. In fact, it's one of those things I thought about every time I was at the store. "Should I try the pink grapefruit tea? No, I already have lots of tea." (this is always the case)

Fact 2: I am not a teabag snob. I have yet to write my big long post on this, but I mainly use leaf tea for better control and variety, not because I'm convinced that tea can only be enjoyed when it's brewed loose in a pot.

Fact 3: I don't like cancer. I'm a hypochondriac; with better treatment options, maybe I could spend less time worrying about having it. Go cancer research!

So there is nothing about this tea that made me predisposed to dislike it. It did that all on it's own.

Final verdict: I'll give it a star. Fewer than that is reserved for teas with an unpleasant taste, and this doesn't have enough taste for that.

Review: Lupicia Cherry & Peach

It's possible that I'm a huge jerk, because I have to tell you, I'm really excited to be doing a negative review for once. Normally when I don't like tea I just quietly don't write about it, but I'm always saying such nice things about Lupicia that I feel I can justify saying that this tea is awful.

Complaint #1: Lupicia has open tins around their stores for prospective buyers to take a whiff of their teas before buying them. This is clearly not a service I utilized, because this tea smells exactly like cough syrup.

Complaint #2: The tea itself is an inoffensive, if artificial, cherry flavor, but possesses a sharp, coppery, medicinal aftertaste. I don't want to compare it to cough syrup again, so I'll say it's really more like a cough drop. The menthol-eucalyptus ones. Without any of the benefits.

Overall: A half star, because zero stars is reserved for the truly undrinkable, and I drank all 50g of this. Why, I can't tell you. Possibly because I'm cheap and refused to waste the five bucks it cost.

Review: Lupicia Yuzu

When I was teaching in Japan, one of the types of lessons our more advanced students had was to read articles in English and then discuss them. Frequently, these articles - generally from English-language newspapers in Japan - brought up interesting cultural differences between Japan and the west that made for great discussion topics.

The article on yuzu was not one of these articles. See, though not very well known in the US and Europe, yuzu are pretty common in Japan. So to these students, it was kind of like if an advanced Spanish class in America had you read an article about how "Apples are a very popular fruit. They come in many colors, from red to green to yellow!" Every time one of us taught this lesson, the student was like, "I'm paying how much to read this?" (also worth noting: advanced students take lots of lessons, so we often went through this several times a day)

But I never actually tried yuzu. If there's any incentive not to experiment with food, it's Japanese produce prices. The 100yen candy at the convenience store was cultural immersion enough for me, thanks.

So the funny thing is, this tea tasted exactly like how I imagined yuzu would taste, based entirely on that crappy article and my students' descriptions. And since according to most of my students yuzu do not make good eating, this is not a positive thing.

Overall: 2.5 stars. Bitter and unremarkable, and if you can buy Lupicia you can probably find a market selling yuzu, if you're really curious how it tastes.

Review: Lupicia Sakura Vert

Slightly salty cherry leaves are blended into green tea, presenting a fresh clean taste. You will feel as if you are surrounded by young cherry leaves swaying in a balmy breeze.

First, a warning: I went to San Francisco this weekend because I knew Lupicia had gotten a restock recently, and ended up walking out with a free-with-purchase 30 tea sampler. So those of you who are sick of my single brand reviews might want to avoid this blog for the next little bit.*

"Because the tin is pretty" is not the best reason to buy a tea, but it's not the worst, either. And that's really the only reason I had to buy this, and its companion Sakura (Sakura Houjicha was also available, but I am not a huge fan of the houjicha and wasn't willing to risk it, even if the tin was the cutest). Don't get me wrong, it's not that I thought it would be bad; I just had no idea whether it would be good.

Actually, I was originally disappointed that the Sakuranbo tins mentioned in Lupicia's April newsletter weren't in stock, as they're very cute and cherry is more in the vein of the fruity teas I usually drink. Now that I've realized America is just a newsletter behind Japan, I'm still disappointed, as apparently we don't get the girly White Day varieties Cookie, Vanilla, and BonBon. What's the deal, Japan? We don't get a tea salon, and now you're holding out on us for flavors?

But back to Sakura Vert. I was a little concerned about a tea that billed itself as "slightly salty". Sure, a number of the teas I enjoy - Gunpowder being the most obvious example - are a little on the salty side, but most of the teas I've gotten from Lupicia have been sweet and fruity, and that's what I've come to expect from them. Also, there's a big difference between naturally salty undertones and actually salting the leaves, as this does.

So, evaluation? Very salty, as teas go; not much in the way of scent, either brewed or unbrewed; slightly smoky. It's very Japanese, and would be awesome for a cherry blossom viewing party (is there a more concise translation of hanami?), assuming you weren't having booze, which is a pretty big assumption. Lupicia says it would be good with bento or sweets, but I think it would be better with something sturdier - maybe a nice sandwich.

Overall: I'll say three stars. Good, but not really my style.**

*That's a lie. Please don't go, I'm so lonely...
**"Not my cup of tea" deliberately avoided

Review: Lupicia Momo Oolong Super Grade

Oh my gosh, you guys! Can it be? It is! My first five-star rating!

I should probably mention, here, my bias towards peach. I love peaches and things flavored like peaches more than pretty much any other flavor. (maybe not chocolate) I can eat more than a pound of Fuzzy Peaches in a sitting (that would be a sour peach gummy candy, for you non-Canadians).

But that's not why this tea is rad. Unlike the grapefruit flavor in Lupicia's Grapefruit Green, and despite what could be expected from the strong peach scent of the unbrewed leaves, the peach in this is actually very subtle, letting the oolong flavor through. And such a nice oolong it is! "Super Grade" is one of those terms that can be applied arbitrarily and therefore means nothing but "probably pretty good," but Lupicia comes through.

Overall: five stars

Review: SpecialTeas Rooibos Orange

My ambivalence for this tea is such that I was originally going to skip writing about it. Because really, once you've said "Oh my god, this smells exactly like orange soda!" a couple different ways, you have to come to some sort of conclusion, which I was failing to do. Orange flavor: pleasantly strong or too strong? Scent: unique and intriguing or off-putting? I didn't have answers.

Fortunately, Roommate Hope came to the rescue.

"I'm still not sure about this tea," I said.

"I really like it!" she replied. "It tastes healthy. Like orange juice and tea, which are both good for you."

It tastes healthy. Brilliant. And why not? Tasting healthy is the reason I like plenty of things, including cottage cheese and quinoa. Of course, those things actually are good for me, while I remain skeptical about the internet's claims that rooibos will cure cancer and make the lame walk and the blind see. Still. Healthy means you can drink it with chocolate and not feel guilty.

Overall: somewhere between two and three and a half stars.

Review: Culinary Teas Canadian Breakfast Tea

I have to tell you, I was really looking forward to reviewing this tea. See, I had a whole bunch of Canada jokes to make.

Like, "This tea doesn't taste like English Breakfast, but it thinks it does!"

Or, "This tea is kind of like a cross between English Breakfast and French Breakfast, with the worst qualities of both."

Or, "This tea is large and cold and loves curling."

Maybe I just had two Canada jokes to make.

Unfortunately, the tea itself thwarted my plans by not falling under the scope of those two jokes. Although, really, the weakness lies with me, because there certainly are similarities to English Breakfast (as you might expect from a breakfast tea) and I should really be able to make a joke out of them. And, since I generally don't like breakfast teas all that much, my ability to write an objective review (a phrase which I am declaring a non sequitur) will be put to the test.

The tea itself seems pretty high quality. I hesitate to call the taste "oaky", because that's what the website said about it, but really I think that just speaks well for the website because there's no other term that fits. For someone who likes breakfast teas, it would probably be pretty good.

A solid but not exceptional three stars, because that person is not me.

Review: Lupicia Strawberry Vanilla (Ichigo BANIRA)

Another of my Japan discoveries. This was, I think, the second tea I bought from Lupicia, although I honestly can't remember. Which is a little sad, since I only bought five different kinds while I was there. In some order I don't remember. Anyways, I drank my first 50g bag, and bought another before I left Japan. And I don't know why.

This tea... this tea confuses me so much. Pre-brewing, it smells exactly like strawberry Pocky. Brewed, it smells like strawberry Pocky with a hint of green tea. It even has a distinct strawberry Pocky aftertaste (kind of chalky). But it does not taste like strawberry Pocky.

I don't know what it tastes like, really. It's not strawberry, it's not vanilla, it's not even green tea. It's a bit sweet. It would make a good dessert tea. That's all I can give you.

As for quality, I have yet to be disappointed by Lupicia on that front. Aesthetically pleasing and user friendly. Reasonably flavorful, but that may not be beneficial in this case.

Overall: three stars. Unusual is not always an endorsement, but it is, at least, interesting.

Review: Peet's Gunpowder

Before I begin, I should note that I'm not going into this review objectively. If I had started this blog two years ago¹ I could be giving you my first impressions on more brands, but since I didn't, it's only fair to let you know:

I don't like Peet's tea.

This is a difficult thing to admit. I'm a third (fourth?) generation Berkeley resident; speaking ill of Peet's is like rooting for Stanford over Cal or voting Republican. That kind of shit gets you uninvited from Christmas.² But there it is, and I can't take it back. Peet's tea: kind of flavorless and a little overpriced.

I also really love Gunpowder. Not just the taste or the smell or the magical health benefits. No, I love Gunpowder tea because it's adorable. F'real. It is a thing which looks like a different thing. Man, I love things that look like other things.

So, after being previously disappointed by Peet's Gunpowder Tea, I was a little hesitant to have it again. But I'm at my parents' house for a couple days, and I figured maybe I'd give it another try. For the blog's sake.

This tea isn't as bad as I remembered. It's a bit weak, and the line between brewing it long enough to get enough flavor and overbrewing is thin, but it's not an insurmountable obstacle. It's heavy on the gunpowder, light on the tea, which I love, although it's worth noting that if you do overbrew it the smokiness leaves an incredibly unpleasant aftertaste.

Still, when made right I have no real complaints. I wouldn't buy it myself, but I may drink it at my folks' house in the future.

Overall: two and a half stars. No bonus points for exceeding expectations.

¹I've been drinking tea for more than two years, mind you, but before that all my tea was purchased in Canada so I only had opinions on Canadian brands. Opinion: the tea shop at Niagara on the Lake is totally rad

²Or Saturnalia

Review: Lupicia Grapefruit Green

It seems only right to start out on a high note, so I'm reviewing one of my favorite teas - which fortunately I had three cups of today, so it's plenty fresh in my mind.

I first discovered Lupicia right after I moved to Japan. The first one I came across was north of Tokyo in an area I was pretty much never going to come back to, so in a blind panic I bought as much as I could afford (which was only about 100 grams, since I hadn't been paid yet). Grapefruit Green was not one of the ones I bought at that time.

Flash forward six weeks. I'm not quite starting to run low on tea, but I'm getting close enough to keep my eyes open whenever I go out. One afternoon I'm heading to work after stopping by a bakery, when I realize: wait, is that... it is! Lupicia! I'd been working across the street from one twice a week for over a month.

Well, I bought Grapefruit Green on that trip and have been hooked ever since. This is not a tea I'd recommend to everyone - the grapefruit flavor is quite strong, which is one of its selling points for me, but obviously people who aren't fans of grapefruit aren't going to like it.

For being such a flavorful tea, GG is also very light. It makes an energizing morning or afternoon tea and a refreshing summertime tea. However, the flavor makes it harder to pair with food. Baked goods are excellent, but I don't think I'd try it with a full meal.

Overall: four and a half stars (out of five). Fabulous, fabulous tea.

Now that I'm back from Japan, incidentally, I can still get my Lupicia fix at their two stores in San Francisco. Very convenient! No doubt they were thinking specifically of me when they opened them.

(I realize that Republic of Tea also makes a grapefruit green tea, but I haven't tasted it and so can't comment on how they compare)