Thursday Teas: Lupicia Sakurambo Vert (Iced)

This is Lupicia's Flavor of the Month for July, so I got a free tea bag in the mail with their newsletter.  The reviews on Steepster were pretty mediocre, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect other than cherry and green tea in unknown proportion.  Green teas can be very bitter.  Cherry flavoring can be very chemically.  The previous Lupicia teas I tried were mostly subtle and smooth, though.

Since it's the middle of summer, I decided to make some iced tea.  When you open the bag, there is a delicious cherry smell.  I steeped the bag for 2 minutes in 8 oz of hot water, according to the directions.  Although I also like stronger teas, I didn't over-steep this one.  Like I said, green tea can get very bitter and I wanted to avoid the bitterness since I planned to drink this one iced. 

It was a very light green color.  Since I prefer sweet iced tea, I added a tablespoon of sugar, dissolved, then poured the whole thing into another glass over ice to chill.  The ice melted pretty quickly so I had to add more.  All in all, I think I ended up with maybe 10 oz of water if you include the melted ice.  The resulting glass of tea was very light and crisp, with a distinct cherry flavor, and a little on the sweet side but not Southern sweet tea sweet, if that makes any sense.

Definitely a winner for a hot summer day.

Please visit our Etsy store for all kinds of upcycled accessories and jewelry, created in Hawaii!