Milk Caramel

Tea: Milk Caramel - 8504
Vendor: Lupicia USA
Price: $6.00 / 50g
Vendor Description: The sweet flavor of milk caramel enhances a parching aroma of Houjicha. Also add some milk to well-brewed tea.

Leaf: The leaf for this is a light brown houjicha. It has a very autumnal brown hue to it. There are small caramel brown pieces in the mix which are about the size of large gravel. I assume that these are pieces of caramel in the mix. There is a very strong and prominent sweet and milky aroma to this tea. It reminds me very much of the aroma of fresh caramel.

1st Infusion Parameters: 3g, 5oz., 208F, 2 min

1st Infusion: This tea has a clear brown hue to it. The hue is lightly reminiscent of a coffee color. The aroma is very caramel like and sweet. It reminds me of caramel Chex mix. The tea is very lightly sweet in flavor. It has a light milky creaminess to the taste. The flavor of the houjicha blends well with the caramel flavoring. It reminds me of a breakfast cereal, yet the tea is not overly sweet. There is a clean aftertaste to it.

2nd Infusion Parameters: 208F, 3 min

2nd Infusion: This infusion has the same coffee brownish hue to it. It smells even more strongly of caramel than the first infusion. The flavor is lighter and has a roasted sweetness to it. It somewhat reminds me of Golden Crisp cereal.

Rating: 9/10

Conclusion: It sounds odd that I would be giving a flavored tea such a high rating, and a flavored hojicha at that. It's also a bit pricey, but I can't help but really like this stuff. It's just the right amount of sweet, it's smooth and enjoyable. Flavored hojicha is also a bit of a rarity, not many places aside from Lupicia even offer any from what I have seen. It is almost like this is one of those guilty pleasures teas. This is definitely one of the teas where you like it for what it is, make no attempt at comparing it to a fine Dan Cong or a divine gyokuro. It's made with lower grade tea, but whatever it tastes great.