This Lipton Apple Pie Tea is part of a series of dessert teas – along with the Blueberry Muffin Tea – released by Lipton Japan a few years ago.

The tea is packaged in pyramid tea bags containing tea fannings scented with apple pie.

Steeping one 2g tea bag in 200 mL of water at 85°C for 1 minute, the tea was a clear deep amber colour with a strong sweet cinnamon aroma. Served hot, the cinnamon is prominent at the head and developed in intensity towards the body of the sip, bringing a notable hint of bitterness along with the astringency from the black tea. A brief crispness in the finish recalled apple skin followed by a lingering bitter aftertaste.

Prepared with 10 mL of milk and 1 teaspoon of brown sugar, the bold and bitter notes of the black tea restrained and give a more rounded flavour that brought out the buttery pastry notes of an apple pie. That said, while tea does recall an apple pie, it lacked the balanced sophistication of The Tea Centre Apple Pie Black Tea.

This Lipton Apple Pie Tea contained 12 tea bags or 24 g. The tea originated in Sri Lanka and was purchased in Kōbe, Japan in 2015.