Producer: Lupicia
Origin: China
Brewing Parameters: 2.6 g bag, 100°C, 1.5-2 min. (recommended)
Appearance: Small, rolled green and yellow-green leaves (pan-fried) in a nylon pyramid bag
Rating: B+ | 88/100
# of Brews: 4
Tasting Notes and Thoughts
Another sample bag I received in the mail from Lupicia. A long time ago, I tried Lupicia's standard Jasmine Mandarin during the 100 Days of Tea, but at this point, I've forgotten what it tasted like. Although this is a teabag, I'm cupping it today; I ripped open the teabag and poured the loose leaf into the tasting set. I'll still be brewing it at boiling temperature for 1-2 minutes, as recommended. Today's review will be quick, since I have a lot of work to do.
For the first brew, I only brewed for about a minute. The liquid came out a yellow amber color, with a very strong jasmine scent (obviously). Interestingly, the leaves had a different aroma; they were a bit more smoky and coffee-like, with a lighter floral scent. Since it's a small amount of water at a high temperature, the tea itself was slightly bitter. There's some sour kick to it with some fruitiness, which transitions to the floral jasmine flavor with bitter undertones. It lingers for a while in the mouth with a sweet taste and a smooth texture– somewhat soupy and thick.
The second brew was only 30 seconds to a minute. At this point, I've decided that I'm just brewing it more gongfu-style with a tea cupping set instead of the actual cupping style (where everything stays constant). The liquid was a much darker yellow color– hate to describe it this way, but it's like a dehydrated person's urine (now that's a descriptor!)– with relatively the same aroma. With that color, I would've guessed it would be more bitter, but surprisingly, it's not. It lost the sour taste and gained more of a sweet and vegetal flavor.
I ended up going to four brews, when the tea was starting to lose its flavor; it could still go for a few more. From the other jasmine green teas I've tasted, I think this one is pretty good. The leaves are high quality, and not broken up. It's forgiving in brewing; it doesn't turn extremely bitter if you brew it a second too long. It's not necessarily as floral scented/tasting as other jasmine greens, but it's good.
Other Notes
Today's album is Triple J's Hottest 100 for 2015. I randomly came across the Triple J Hottest 100 for 2016, while it was airing live on Australia Day, and I actually really enjoyed it. Sadly, I stayed up past 1 AM listening to the entire playlist after joining when it was around number 47. Great selections for both years, though.
Welp, let's talk about two things today: the Legion Oratorical contest and State for Competition Civics. First, round 2 of the Legion Oratorical happened yesterday, and I'm actually pretty happy about it. I had to come 2-3 hours early because I had to catch a ride with one of the organizers of the event, and I spent most of that time reading Civil Disobedience by Thoreau and studying for comp civics. When the other contestants came an hour before we started, we all actually hit it off with each other. It was me, a girl from Hayward High, and two guys from Oakland Military Institute. Compared to round 1, the guys from OMI were super cool and we all hit it off together. We spent a lot of time talking about school, things we're interested in, and politics. It was a pretty diverse group, racially, but we all shared the same interests– one of the OMI guys and I bonded over Aldnoah.Zero. Every time someone had to leave to go present, there were brohugs all around. I ended up taking second place with a score of 437– 2 points behind first place with 439 points. I'm not even mad about it; the guy who won is super nice– he even almost started crying because this was the first time OMI advanced past round 2– and I don't have to worry about practicing anymore now. As second, I took home $100 for a grand total of $300 for (admittedly) not that much preparation. My only regret? Not participating in this contest before senior year.
Oh, and also, many of the judges said that I have the speaking skills (just need to slow down) and knowledge/understanding to enter law or politics. I'm still unsure about what career I want to enter, but hey– at least I know my majors now. After talking with the organizer (the one who drove me there), I think I want to do a double major in environmental sciences and American studies. He told me about his daughter who went to Cal, what she did in high school (comp civics, too!) and college, and what she does for work now. I'm excited.
Second is state for Competition Civics. There are four days left, including today. For the most part, I think we're ready; the issue is that we're restructuring one of our testimonies now, but better late than never, right? To be honest, I don't know how it's going to go, though. Our rival school from Northern California, I'd say, is on par with us; our rival from Southern California, I'm guessing, is probably much better. I trust my unit to do their best, but I'm not sure about the rest of the team. It looks like their getting everything together, but I'm hoping we don't have to carry them in terms of points (which is what happened last round). I'll probably write a full post regarding my feelings about state the day or night we go; here's what I think, though– it's going to be a tossup.
Welp, let's talk about two things today: the Legion Oratorical contest and State for Competition Civics. First, round 2 of the Legion Oratorical happened yesterday, and I'm actually pretty happy about it. I had to come 2-3 hours early because I had to catch a ride with one of the organizers of the event, and I spent most of that time reading Civil Disobedience by Thoreau and studying for comp civics. When the other contestants came an hour before we started, we all actually hit it off with each other. It was me, a girl from Hayward High, and two guys from Oakland Military Institute. Compared to round 1, the guys from OMI were super cool and we all hit it off together. We spent a lot of time talking about school, things we're interested in, and politics. It was a pretty diverse group, racially, but we all shared the same interests– one of the OMI guys and I bonded over Aldnoah.Zero. Every time someone had to leave to go present, there were brohugs all around. I ended up taking second place with a score of 437– 2 points behind first place with 439 points. I'm not even mad about it; the guy who won is super nice– he even almost started crying because this was the first time OMI advanced past round 2– and I don't have to worry about practicing anymore now. As second, I took home $100 for a grand total of $300 for (admittedly) not that much preparation. My only regret? Not participating in this contest before senior year.
Oh, and also, many of the judges said that I have the speaking skills (just need to slow down) and knowledge/understanding to enter law or politics. I'm still unsure about what career I want to enter, but hey– at least I know my majors now. After talking with the organizer (the one who drove me there), I think I want to do a double major in environmental sciences and American studies. He told me about his daughter who went to Cal, what she did in high school (comp civics, too!) and college, and what she does for work now. I'm excited.
Second is state for Competition Civics. There are four days left, including today. For the most part, I think we're ready; the issue is that we're restructuring one of our testimonies now, but better late than never, right? To be honest, I don't know how it's going to go, though. Our rival school from Northern California, I'd say, is on par with us; our rival from Southern California, I'm guessing, is probably much better. I trust my unit to do their best, but I'm not sure about the rest of the team. It looks like their getting everything together, but I'm hoping we don't have to carry them in terms of points (which is what happened last round). I'll probably write a full post regarding my feelings about state the day or night we go; here's what I think, though– it's going to be a tossup.
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