Review: Anela - Lupicia

Type: Flavored Black
Producer: Lupicia
Origin: India
Brewing Parameters: 2-2.5g; 100­°C; 2-2.5 min.
Appearance: Medium-small, rolled brown and black leaves with whole flower buds and chunks of flower petals
Rating: B+ | 88/100
# of Brews: 3

Tasting Notes and Thoughts
Quick review today since it's the first day of school. According to the brochure, this tea is "a sweetly aromatic strawberry and lychee flavored black tea." The strawberry is definitely noticeable just by smelling the dry leaf, and there's hints of tomato. I didn't really notice the lychee, on the other hand.

Interestingly, the brewed tea, darker than the others, left what appeared to be gold flakes in my teapot despite me not seeing it in the dried leaf. The color was more of a gold orange than the others, and all I could smell were the strawberries. I thought that, unlike the other teas, this wasn't too artificial; in fact, it even smelled a bit like fresh berries or an Italian soda. The taste was similar, too. The closest thing I can place it to is a strawberry Italian soda– a slight bit sour, with a touch of sweetness. There was some bitterness, probably from the tea base (which I'm guessing is a darjeeling, based on the slight green color of the leaves in the water.

All in all, I think this was one of the more enjoyable teas of the group. The fruit taste was mellow and enjoyable, and it went down pretty smooth.

Other Notes

First day of school went alright. I think my favorite classes are African American Lit, AP Gov/Macro, and Competition Civics so far. However, my schedule change didn't go through yet, so it looks like I'll be stuck in World Lit and Ceramics for a few more days (my counselor said I can get a schedule change into AP Eng Lit, but not ceramics, if I can have my entire schedule switched, so there's that. Hopefully it happens tomorrow? Ceramics to photography apparently is next week).

As for the AP Chem struggle right now, I'll be studying my ass off today and tomorrow to figure out types of chemical reactions, predicting products, and writing equations (which didn't seem too hard when I did it at home, but when we tried in class I was clueless). Stoichiometry is okay. So, I'll be working on that for the next few hours. To be honest, my goal is a B for this first test, figure out what I need to learn, go to the teacher's office hours, and then put as much effort as I can into the first quarter so I can get caught up. Wish me luck!