Flavourful fresh apricots are difficult to come by unlike their dried counterparts. But when fresh apricots are good, they have a richer flavour than even my favourite golden peaches. And this is the flavour capture by this Lupicia Apricot Black Tea.

The tea is a black tea flavoured with sweet apricot and marigold petals add colour to the blend.

Steeping 3.0 g of tea leaf in 200 mL of water at 85°C for 3 minutes, the infusion was a clear deep amber colour and a sweet apricot nose. Served hot, mellow notes of sweet apricot came through lightly sweet in the head before developing to the richer flavour of ripe apricots into the body as the round notes of black tea emerge and leave a light astringency in the aftertaste. Overall, the apricot is stronger in the smell than in the taste, where it retains the flavour of fresh apricots and avoids the intensity of dried apricots. The natural malty notes of black tea make it the perfect base to bring out the refreshing sweetness of the fruit.

This Lupicia Apricot Black Tea contained 50 g. The tea was sourced from India and Vietnam, packaged in Japan, and purchased in Kyōto, Japan in 2015.