This Lupicia Jasmine Mandarin has a rather confusing English name that implies (at least, to me) a mandarin and jasmine scented green tea. Turns out, though, ‘Mandarin’ doesn’t refer to the sweet, orange-like citrus fruit, but merely the Chinese language.
A quick read of the packaging confirms it’s a loose leaf with jasmine scented Chinese green tea.
Steeping 3 g of tea leaf in 200 mL of water at 80°C for 2 minutes the infusion was a clear straw colour with a fragrant floral aroma. Served hot, though, the notes of jasmine that came through are subtle in comparison and emerge ahead of mellow buttery notes from the Chinese green tea in the body with minimal astringency before leaving a lightly vegetal aftertaste lingering on the palate.
While easy to drink, this tea has a more mellow and vegetal quality that’s closer to Japanese green tea at the expense of the more fragrant and fuller body of the T2 China Jasmine, which steeps to a darker straw colour from a darker green loose leaf that’s also unfortunately more broken than the full leaf in this Lupicia.
This Lupicia Jasmine Mandarin contained 50 g. The tea was sourced from China, packaged in Japan, and purchased in Tōkyō, Japan in 2018.