Megathread Review of the Lupicia x Fire Emblem Fódlan Tea Collection by a Tea/Coffee Addict (UPDATED!)
Ahem
LOOK AT WHAT RIKA SUZUKI DID TO MY GIRL BYLETH! SHE'S GORGEOUS!!!
And now that I have your attention...guess who bought the Fódlan Tea Collection from Atai-Kuji? Meeeee.
Out of all the bizarrely belated FE3H merchandise to actually come out, the tea set is definitely one of the better ones, and one of the most fitting. Not only does it fit the setting completely, but it's also a great bit of merch for an older weeb like me who does not care for figurines. You can either use/consume the merch, or display it, and it looks classy! And I really like tea. A lot. I even broke out my mother's fine china tea cups for the occasion. So for the curious, I decided to post a review of every tea in the set. Please note that I'm a fanatic, not an expert in tea by any measure. I hope you enjoy this anyway. Now if only they actually did a full-blown tea parlor café I mean come on it's the perfect fit and would probably bring in money hello???
Of note, the teas used in this set are blends and leaves curated by a high-ish end Japanese tea merchant called Lupicia. The majority of the teas used here are derivatives of tea they sell on their site, with a few custom blends put in here and there. They have a U.S branch based in Hawai'i, and they also have merchants in Taiwan, France, and Australia. Each store also sells region exclusive blends, like the Hawai'ian tins for the U.S site, which is pretty cool.
Also, I only purchased the tea box set (the box with Femleth on it), not the box with the special tea cup and Hresvelg Blend tin (the one with Manleth on it and also of course that blend got the big fancy tin with five satchets...), so the Hresvelg Blend will go unreviewed.
Also, I'll be sharing my favorite teas and there's a lot of hyperlinking in this post. This is NOT any kind of endorsement - I just really like tea, okay?
UPDATE: Disregard the above statement! A second run of the set was made available and I have now the Manleth box, teacup, and Hresvelg Tin in my possession!
Let's begin!
Bergamot
In-Game Description: "The bright notes of this tea stem from an infusion of citrus oils. This blend is highly favored by nobility."
Tea Base: Earl Grey tea
This well-known tea's biggest feature is being blended and cooked with bergamot oil, giving it a very unique flavor. Being a black tea popularized and cribbed by the English yet having Chinese origins (as the English so often do), Earl grey tea is one of the most accessible and affordable teas out there, and you can get it at any grocery store. Lupicia has their own base blend along with some special blends.
Alas, because this tea is normally accessible as can be, I can safely say that this set's Earl Grey is not very special - if anything, there's a lack of bergamot. Since EG is one of my all time faves, I can safely say that there are better greys out there. For personal picks, I really like Twining's Lady Grey derivative (it's an Earl Grey with lemon and orange peel added).
Two packages of bergamot come in the box. One is eagle red with Aymr illustrated on it; the other is lion blue with an illustration of a wax-sealed letter, presumably for Sylvain.
Favored By: Edelgard, Sylvain, Lorenz, Constance, Hanneman, Anna
Final Rating: 2.5/5
Dagda Fruit Blend
In-Game Description: "A stark, bitter fruit from Dagda makes this black tea particularly pungent. Connoisseurs enjoy its unique flavor."
Tea Base: Assam tea with bits of mocha
This black tea comes from a state in India that shares its name, and it is one of the biggest producers of any tea leaf in the world. By itself it is malty and bold. Because of its flavor profile and ability to grow quickly and in high amounts (due to Assam's soil and weather conditions), the tea is fairly easy to come by. If you see "breakfast blend" teas (I.E English or Irish), there's a 99% chance that it's made from a blend that includes assam tea leaves. Most straight assam teas and blends especially are quite affordable and widely available. This particular bag appears to be a custom blend, as none of the assam teas on Lupicia's site feature the mocha bits within them. A similar black tea with cacao nibs and cocoa powder is also on the site.
The tea itself is nice and malty (I already enjoy Irish Breakfast a lot, so that helps), and the mocha bits add an extra bit of sweetness and depth that enhance it. Believe it or not, very small bits of coffee flavor mixed with tea actually can taste good, as Canandian teamaker David's Tea has a pu'erh blend with coffee beans and vanilla. "But MoomooRN," I hear you say, "this isn't a fruit blend!" Technically, coffee begins its life as a fruit that resembles a cherry, so actually yes, this tea is a fruit blend. Hah!
Two bags of the Dagda blend are in the box. One is eagle red with a bag of coffee beans, funnily enough, representing Hubert. The other is one of the four grey ones for the Ashen Wolves, featuring a drawing of assorted pebbles, which Hapi likes to collect.
Favored By: Hubert, Ignatz, Marianne, Hapi, Anna
Final Rating: 5/5
Almyran Pine Needles
In-Game Description: "This tea is composed of oxidized pine needles from eastern Almyra, giving it a distinct, earthy tone."
Tea Base: Lapsang souchong
This beautiful Chinese black tea originates from Fujian Province and gets its distinct flavor by its leaves being smoke-dried over a pinewood fire. While not quite as widely available as other black teas, it is nevertheless fairly affordable. This is a special tea for the set, as Lupicia does not sell lapsang souchong on their site.
Because of its signature smoke, this tea is very divisive (I hated it when I tried it the first time). I've had a blend of the stuff from Twinings that dialed down the smoke a little and liked it, and I can safely say that this lapsang is fantastic for the same reason. It even had a little bit of a chocolate-y aftertaste, and it smells wonderful.
"But MoomooRN," I hear you again, "There's no pine needles in the tea!" Pine needle teas (like this Korean one) do exist, but it's been cited that multiple breeds of pine needles, when brewed, are poisonous. Plus, the tea in-game is described as having an "earthy" taste and the needles are oxidized; oxidization is one step in the LS-making process if smoked hot...It's the thought that counts?
...The fact that this tea is inadvertently tied to the guy making homebrew poisons is pretty funny, actually.
Two bags of the Almyran goods are in the box. One, fittingly, is deer yellow with Failnaught illustrated on the front. The other is eagle red with a drawing of a tea cup with a tea tin and bag of leaves, representing Ferdinand as one of the continent's leading tea connoisseurs.
Favored By: Ferdinand, Linhardt, Felix, Claude, Cyril, Balthus
Final Rating: 5/5
Angelica Tea
In-Game Description: "A cleansing herbal tea blended with angelica."
Tea Base: Herbal tea mixture of rosemary, jasmine, lavender, chamomile, and verbene
The angelica plant exists in varying forms across the world, particularly in Iceland, Lapland, Greenland, and in parts of China. It is a popular plant for herbal medicine, and some seeds are used to flavor gin and liqueur -
"MoomooRN, there's no angelica in this tea!"
Yeah, that's actually correct. Whoops. Despite this big fat omission, this tea is a fantastic blend of plants that always taste great together, especially the jasmine and verbene.
This is notably the only tea in the box that is a true herbal tea. The tea base for this is Lupicia's custom Lumière blend, which appears to be only available in the Japan store.
Two bags of angelica tea come in the box. One is eagle red with Linhardt's down pillow illustrated on it. The other is deer yellow with a drawing of a bow and arrow set made by Leonie.
Favored By: Linhardt, Ashe, Leonie, Seteth, Rhea
Final Rating: 4.5/5
Ginger Tea
In-Game Description: "The sharp spiciness of ginger laces the body of this tea, unforgettable and brightening."
Tea Base: Assam tea with ginger
Ginger is one of the single most ancient herbal remedies on earth. Not much else to say about it, other than the fact that it often breaks its back carrying both good tea and great food. I personally prefer ginger blends to straight ginger, and I definitely liked this blend since the assam it's mixed with isn't too strong.
This tea is based on Lupicia's ginger blend, which is African CTC (a type of assam) tea mixed with dried ginger.
Two bags of ginger are in the box. One is eagle red with a drawing of a broken hatchet, presumably belonging to Caspar (none of his Lost Items are a hatchet); the other is ashen gray with a bag of coins, presumably belonging to Balthus (again, he lacks a Lost Item of this nature).
Favored By: Petra, Caspar, Dedue, Raphael, Balthus, Seteth
Final Rating: 4.5/5
Albinean Berry Blend
In-Game Description: "Dried albinean berries give this black tea its fragrance. The sweet, relaxing scent is popular among many."
Tea Base: Black tea with dried rhubarb and strawberry
Strawberry is a pretty popular additive to teas, especially of the iced and sweet variety. It's unknown when this trend began, but I suspect that Europeans who raided the Americas had something to do with it (while strawberries as we know them were produced in France, the plants that form its base originate in North America and Chile, respectively). Very sus. Rhubarb, meanwhile, is a bizarre plant. Much like how avocados and tomatoes are fruits treated as veggies, the opposite is true for rhubarb as its inherent flavor is very tart. Strawberry and rhubarb have become a classic pie-filling combo, and this translated into some tea blends, like this one.
Rhubarb is also involved in the human creation myth in Zoroastrianism. Neato.
In spite of all this, it's a pretty bog standard black tea with overpowering strawberry flavor and no rhubarb detected. And there's no berries either, if you want to take your pedantic meter to the next level. Booooo.
Lupicia has both a black tea with just strawberry, as well as a custom blend called Merci Mille Fois, which is the same thing but also includes peaches and rose. This blend appears to be based on the former, since there's mainly only strawberry flavoring.
The two bags of berry blend are both eagle red. One has a drawing of Dorothea's hat, while the other has a hedgehog toy that's presumably based on the case Bernadetta made.
Favored By: Dorothea, Bernadetta, Jeritza, Mercedes, Hilda, Yuri, Constance
Final Rating: 2.5/5
Four-Spice Blend
In-Game Description: "A novelty tea blended with four unique spices inspired by the Four Saints. Enjoyment requires a mature palate."
Tea Base: Black tea with cardamom, cinnamon, peppercorns, and cloves
The above listed spices are popular options for chai tea blends, which in turn has translated into popular dessert drinks overtime like masala chai. The original chai combo actually didn't have any tea leaves in it, but was a medical spice mixture that has origin points in both India and Siam (modern day Thailand). The British coming a-knocking on India's door because of course they did would be the launching point of the modern chai tea as we know it.
Despite this sweeping history with an even more sweeping flavor, this tea fails to live up to its name. While four spices are visible in the sachet, the cardamom overwhelms the other three, although I could taste some pepper in there too. The cardamom itself isn't even that good. The tea itself is also very weak. So much for being the tea labeled for a mature palate.
A bag of assam with pepper and cardamom is available on Lupicia's site. This is likely what this blend is based off of.
The two bags of this blend are eagle red with a drawing of an exotic feather owned by Petra (it's a peacock feather, actually) and a lion blue with a worn practice blade presumably belonging to Felix, as one of his Lost Items is a sheath fragment.
Favored By: Petra, Dedue, Felix, Leonie, Hapi, Seteth
Final Rating: 1.5/5
Chamomile
In-Game Description: "A stark white floral tea with bright notes, this blend calms nerves and heightens concentration."
Tea Base: Black tea with chamomile leaves
Chamomile is ancient, with the first citations of its long medical career stemming from ancient Greece and Egypt. Its claims to fame are sleep promotion and assisting with GI problems, so much so that it's actually become one of the few herbal remedies that's been validated to an extent in the medical world for its effectiveness. Not bad for a flower that looks like a cute little daisy. It's brewed either alone or as part of a blend, and I personally prefer the latter since chamomile by itself has a bitter taste. My personal favorite is the Sweet Dreams blend by Bigelow, which is chamo with rose, hibiscus, mint, and orange. This may not be as good, but the chamo and black tea in this blend mesh nicely together.
This appears to be a custom blend, as the chamomile Lupicia sells is all herbal and features elderflower, mint, and rosehip; this tea is a black mix mainly featuring only chamomile and some mint.
The lone package of Chamomile is in lion blue, and Areadbhar graces the front of it.
Favored By: Dimitri, Ingrid, Claude, Shamir, Rhea
Final Rating: 4/5
Cinnamon Blend
In-Game Description: "An aromatic bark blend referred to as the king of spices. Its unique taste appeals to similarly unique people."
Tea Base: Black tea with dried cinnamon
I've already bought up cinnamon in the Four Spice review above, but I did find some more fun information about it: It's origin points are Sri Lanka and Egypt, there are multiple types based on where it's grown, and the Ceylon version of cinnamon has a chemical called coumarin, which can inhibit clot formation. On the flipside, coumarin can be toxic and even cause liver damage, which makes a specific gag in Persona Q have its comical elements sucked out of it (the gag is that Elizabeth forces her brother Theodore to eat an extreme amount of cinnamon). Luckily, there's only so much cinnamon in this bag, and it tastes great, being complimented by a moderate-strength black tea.
This is based on Lupicia's black tea and cinnamon blend. A bag of cinnamon mixed with assam is also available.
Only one bag of cinnamon is in the set. It is lion blue and uniquely Dedue, as the illustration on its bag is of one of his earings.
Favored By: Hubert, Dedue, Marianne, Hapi
Final Rating: 4.5/5
Sweet Apple Blend
In-Game Description: "A tea blended with two types of apple peels. elegant and sweet, it is popular among common folk and nobles alike."
Tea Base: Black tea with dried apple slices
Apple is not as common a tea additive compared to other fruits, and I suspect its flavor profile and fragility might have something to do with it. The closest to a true blend I could find was this blend from a Turkish seller called Hazer Baba. It's apparently often sold to tourists in Istanbul. In any case, a friend of mine on Discord mentioned that apples in tea often don't work twofold: Apple's mild flavor is prone to being destroyed by tannins found in black tea, and caffeine from black tea also destroys apple's natural acidity.
Lo and behold, she was right. This is probably my least favorite tea in the set. Not only is the flavor poor, but it smells almost artificial.
Lupicia sells a black tea with apple, and is used for this tea.
The two apple teas are in a lion blue bag with a drawing of a music score sheet, presumably by Annette; the other is ashen gray with Constance's fan.
Favored By: Dorothea, Jeritza, Annette, Lysithea, Constance, Flayn, Hanneman
Final Rating: 1/5
Mint Leaves
In-Game Description: "An invigorating mint blend that revitalizes and refreshes all who partake."
Tea Base: Black tea with mint leaves
Mint is a perennial favorite for digestion woes around the world. In North African countries, Maghrebi tea (mint + green tea + cane sugar) is the socially significant drink of the region, similar to the socialization surrounding rize tea in Turkey, Cyprus, and some Balkan countries. Mint tea's efficacy as a GI aid is debated, but that doesn't stop it from being a hot option for tea.
Another simple combo, another great delivery. Mint is delicious and its use in savory stuff (I.E mint jam on lamb chops) is underrated.
This appears to be a custom blend, as the sole mint tea product on Lupicia's site is a Baï Mu Dan (white peony) blend.
The two bags of mint in the box are both in lion blue, with one featuring a book about a knight (Ashe) and the other featuring metal horseshoes (Ingrid).
Favored By: Ashe, Ingrid, Hilda, Manuela
Final Rating: 4/5
Crescent Moon Tea
In-Game Description: "Fermented dried seeds blended with tea leaves. It has a soft and subtle flavor, akin to the gentle light of the moon."
Tea Base: Black tea with vanilla flavoring
In spite of its rep as being the default of "boring," vanilla is one of the most expensive spices in the world due to its intensive cultivating process. Anything flavored by the beans (particularly the Madagascar and Tahitian varieties) is nothing short of divine, and the demand was so much that we got some of the earliest examples of knock-off flavoring out of it (I.E vanillin). Interestingly, while vanilla is a very popular additive for chai beverages, a true chai mix does not include vanilla in it.
It's a damn shame that this tea sucks. It has an artificial scent and taste like the Sweet Apple blend, and the vanilla itself is very thin.
This tea is derived from their black tea and vanilla blend. A small variety of other vanilla teas are also available on the site.
There is only one bag of this in the set. It is lion blue with an illustration of a hand-sewn bow, presumably Mercedes'.
Favored By: Mercedes, Lysithea, Shamir, Alois, Rhea
Final Rating: 1/5
Rose Petal Blend
In-Game Description: "Black tea laced with rose petals. A classic floral blend often enjoyed by Kingdom and Alliance nobles."
Tea Base: Darjeeling with rose petals
Darjeeling is akin to assam, Ceylon, pu'erh, and lapsang souchong in that it is specifically grown and harvested in select locations - West Bengal, in this case. Leaf types are determined by season, or "flushes," with the most commonly consumed teas being the first flush (March and April) and the second (May and June). First flush teas are typically classified as being floral-tasting and having a strong aroma. Rose petals, meanwhile, had their start as an herbal remedy and tea in China, and is cited to have GI and menstrual woe-relieving properties; It is also akin to lavender and chamomile in that it's a soothing agent. Rose petals are also a dinner and dessert darling, especially in Middle Eastern countries, with the Lebanese/Syrian zhourat tea mixture being one example.
I liked this tea a lot. Weirdly, while rose petals make for excellent blending catalysts, it doesn't fully mesh with the darjeeling here. Both taste wonderful nevertheless.
A set of first flush darjeeling can be found on Lupicia's site. Several blend varieties exist as well.
There is only one bag of this blend in the box. It is deer yellow with an illustration of a rose, the rose of the based Lorenz Hellman Gloucester!
Favored By: Annette, Hilda, Lorenz, Constance
Final Rating: 5/5
Almond Blend
In-Game Description: "A refined, nutty tea that is blended with leaves and thinly-sliced almonds."
Tea Base: Black tea with almonds
Since the composition of an almond appears to be diametrically opposed in possibly contributing to a tea blend, one would think that this wouldn't work. But this tea is fantastic, and easily one of the best "dessert" teas I've had recently. It would definitely be a great catalyst for a fancy iced latte that doesn't require metric shittons of extra sugar.
As an aside, during my research for this post, I stumbled on this old-time Chinese recipe that's a mixture of Chinese almonds, milk, and rice...except the "almonds" are apricot kernels, so they're not quite the same thing. Pretty cool though.
This tea is based on a Lupicia custom blend called...Cookie. No, seriously. The blend has almond and tiny specks of caramel mixed in the leaves, which is likely why the flavors blend together so nicely.
Only one bag of this tea is in the box. An illustration of Raphael's presumably-germ-riddled leg of mutton graces the bag.
Favored By: Annette, Raphael, Gilbert
Final Rating: 5/5
Honeyed Fruit Blend
In-Game Description: "A candied blend made up of dried honeyed fruits. For anyone with a sweet tooth, this tea can't be beat."
Tea Base: Black tea with marigold and honey-glazed dried fruit
The stunning marigold comes in shades of red, orange, yellow and white, and is an icon of Mexico, serving as its flower of the dead. The pot marigold bloom has become a popular option for herbal tea blends, and the whole plant itself is cited to be safe for human consumption. Its inherent flavor is a bit bittersweet yet still floral.
This is my second favorite of the "sweet teas" after the Southern Fruit Blend, as it was hard to parse whatever dried fruits were used. Nevertheless, the floral marigolds and honey made for a pitch-perfect combo.
This tea is specifically based on Lupicia's Neptune blend, stated on the bag.
There is only one bag of this blend in the set. It is in deer yellow with a drawing of cake and cookies on it, presumably belonging to Lysithea, who I can only assume will struggle with diabetes if her Crests don't take her out first...
Favored By: Bernadetta, Jeritza, Lysithea, Yuri, Alois
Final Rating: 5/5
Seiros Tea
In-Game Description: "A black tea common to the south of Almyra, it is fairly basic in its flavors. [Seiros Tea] is its common name in Fódlan."
Tea Base: Ceylon tea
This is yet another example of a coveted regional tea. Sri Lanka (formerly called Ceylon), like India and China, is home to lands that are primed for growing tea leaves which naturally made it yet another target of the British Empire, the assholes. This tea must meet extremely strict qualifications in order to even be considered a tea worth exporting, and the requirements include it being grown by Sri Lankan farmers and even being packaged in said country - no lion label means that it's a dupe. Ceylon blends, including ceylon grown out of Sri Lanka, are fairly easy to come by compared to their genuine counterparts, but the latter is still obtainable.
In any case, most true ceylons are described as being bold yet brisk, and this tea lovingly delivers, making it stand out compared to the other black teas in the set. Unfortunately, this is also yet another case of game-versus-reality suspension: While the use of an in-universe localization of this tea's name is pretty cool/fitting, the text describes the tea being "basic," which true ceylon definitely isn't. There's also that aforementioned pesky extreme standards of perfection to consider. Maybe they do the same in-universe?
Side Note: For the longest time I assumed this was another Almyran tea, but the text reads "to the south of Almyra," which, going by the world map, is presumably Morfis...but there are also two islands below Almyra, so they might be from there instead. Either way, I doubt the devs give a rat's ass if their Three Hopes interviews are anything to go by.
Lupicia sells a ceylon tea blend called Ratatam, which also includes some assam leaves and vanilla flavoring.
Two bags of this tea are in the set. One is deer yellow with a painting Ignatz presumably made (it shows a view of the Monastery he looks at with Marianne in one of their Supports), while the other is ashen gray with a sword that's likely associated with Yuri.
Favored By: Ferdinand, Sylvain, Lorenz, Ignatz, Yuri, Anna
Final Rating: 5/5
Lavender Blend
In-Game Description: "Tiny dried purple lavandula flowers are sprinkled into this refreshing floral tea."
Tea Base: Black tea with lavender petals
This beautiful purple flower, much like chamomile, is one of the go-to options for relaxation and better sleep. It's less likely to be steeped on its own due to how delicate it is, however, and it is arguably more popular as a culinary ingredient and as a scent option for essential oils. Lavender has even joined chamomile in the "verified for its boasted properties" club.
Like the chamomile, this simple combo tea is great, and the lavender itself is plenty strong.
This is another custom blend, as the sole lavender tea product on Lupicia's site is a white tea blend, which this tea definitely is not.
Another deer yellow exclusive oner joins this set's club. On its cover are birds, likely companions of Marianne's.
Enjoyed By: Ignatz, Marianne, Manuela, Gilbert
Final Rating: 4.5/5
Southern Fruit Blend
In-Game Description: "A blend with a unique dried fruit of the south. Popular for its intoxicatingly strong, bright notes."
Tea Base: Black tea with mango and hibiscus
Mango is a superstar tropical fruit that has a unique flavor, is found in multiple countries across the world, and is one of several Vitamin C powerhouses. The hibiscus flower has hundreds of species across the subtropics and tropics, being commonly associated with places like Hawai'i and Haiti. The flower is even worn by Kali, the Hindu goddess of power, destruction, and change. Hibiscus in particular is an extremely popular option for teas and blends due to its lightly tart flavor, while mango is more of a popular flavoring option for the stuff - just ask Snapple.
This is definitely the best of the "sweet teas" in the set, courtesy of a good tea base, dried mango, and just enough hibiscus to avoid a sour flavor. Now in-universe, where "to the south" would be is a mystery -maybe Brigid? - but they certainly picked two fitting flavors for it.
The tea on the bag is called "Grenada," but no tea fits that description on the Lupicia site. However, there is a black mix called Alphonse Mango, whose flavors seem to align with this one.
There is only one of this blend in the set. It is yet another deer yellow (what's up with that) and features a set of three used perfume bottles, all belonging to Hilda.
Favored By: Ferdinand, Jeritza, Mercedes, Hilda, Lysithea
Final Rating: 4/5
Leicester Cortania
In-Game Description: "A specialty tea from the Alliance blended with a variety of leaves from the east. This tea is of the utmost quality."
Tea Base: Second-Flush Darjeeling
What separates second-flush darjeeling from first flush is that these leaves are specifically plucked between May and June, after a period of heavy rainfall. The flavor is muskier (and sometimes more floral depending on where the leaves are harvested from), with some farmers describing it as a "muscatel" flavor, or like muscat grapes. Second flush teas often boast more potent flavors in exchange for a less noticeable aroma. Due to the shorter window for harvesting, as well as the tea-making process, this tends to be more expensive than its first-flush counterpart.
This tea was a good option for the Leicester Cortania label, and it definitely had a pleasant faint grape flavor and a nice floral scent.
Lupicia has both first and second flush darjeeling, with the latter being this tea's base. Darjeeling blends also exist on the site.
The lone package of Leicester Cortania is one of two that are purple. The illustration on it is of the Sword of the Creator.
Favored By: Catherine
Final Rating: 5/5
Tea of the Saints
In-Game Description: "Even commoners have tried this cost-efficient tea, which is a mixture of herbs. It's a tad bitter."
Tea Base: Pu'erh tea
Pu'erh tea is a unique tea originating from Yunnan Province in China, and said uniqueness comes from the fact that it is made by microbial fermentation. Much like how the wood of a barrel and aging flavors a whiskey, oxidization and how long the fermentation process goes on determines the tea's flavor. As you can see by the length of the linked wiki page, the creation process is extremely intricate.
There's a variety of flavors to any pu'erh, but the most common heard is that it tastes "shroomy," likely because of the fermentation. This pu'erh is subtly shroomy, earthy, and a bit grassy, and absolutely wonderful because of it.
This is one of the single most egregious cases of in-and-out of universe separation for this piece of merch. In-universe, this tea is cited to be common, inexpensive, and made of an herbal mix. Out-of-universe, they happened to pick a tea that's one of the single most expensive to produce in the world, is highly coveted, and, uh, there's no herbs in it. It's straight pu'erh tea. That's pretty bad, IntSys.
Lupicia sells a highly affordable blend of pu'erh made in the Menghai Factory in Yunnan, which is one of four pu'erh processing plants in the province. If you want to look elsewhere though, be prepared to shell out some serious dough for it.
The lone package of Tea of the Saints is the other sole purple bag. The illustration on the front is of Sothis' elaborate tiara.
Favored By:...No one, which is probably why Sothis' tiara is on the package. Perhaps she herself liked the tea when she was alive?
Final Rating: 5/5
And now, at long last...
❁Hresvelg Blend ❁
In-Game Description: ✽ "A high-quality blend of leaves procured specially for House Hresvelg. Its refined flavor brings sheer bliss." ✽
Tea Base: Assam and nilgiri tea with rose petals and safflower...and fragrance.
If you bought only the tea cup and the yellow box with a Byleth who looks oddly angry for some reason, then this is the tea you got saddled with, and they let you know it because you got the elite, better-than-you House Hresvelg's epic, boasting tin of how their tea leaves were specially procured only for them. In-universe, this tea and the Leicester Cortania are the most expensive teas to purchase, and the Kingdom gets no equivalent because they're too cold and mopey for one, I suppose. Fittingly, they have assam and rose mixed in with nilgiri tea leaves from Tamil, India (ironically reverse-engineered by English colonists, as the camellia sinensis tea leaves grown there were given to India in the 19th century) and safflower is what the Crimson Flower route is called in the Japanese version of 3H (紅花の章).
In addition to being flowers thought useful in attracting love and marriage, safflowers are both drought and wind-resistant, is able to grow and tolerate slightly acidic soil, can make a dye that can wash away easily depending on the cloth it's placed on, and is considered a cheaper alternative to saffron in cooking.
🤔
In any case, this tea's scent borderlines on being a potpourri ball. The flavor is similar to the rose petal blend but it's much more bitter and leaves a harsh feeling on the roof of the mouth. Safflower flavor is said to be similarly bitter, which is apparent. While it's not the most unpleasant-tasting of the teas (Albinea and Sweet Apple are still at the bottom of the barrel), the princess treatment is a bit overrated.
Funny how that works.
As boasted on the tin, this is a custom blend, and no equivalent exists on Lupicia's website.
As shown above, this tea gets the princess treatment with its own tin. The tin itself is...fine? I guess? It looks and feels very cheap. Furthermore, unlike the individually wrapped teas in the purple box, the tin has the five sachets packed together in a single aluminum bag (similar to how some companies package matcha powder).
Favored By: Technically no one, but both this tea and the Leicester Cortania are the most expensive teas in-universe, and some characters will comment on said expense if you give this to them.
Final Rating: 2/5.
Final Rating for the Tea Cup: 6/5. Unlike the tin, it's gorgeous and much sturdier than the average piece of china. Can be used to drink out of, or as the perfect knick-knack! And I will say that Rika Suzuki's art of Male Byleth does look fantastic.
Overall, most of these teas are pretty great and I'd honestly get the set again if it's ever available. This sort of merch is also my favorite - think of all the fic ideas and accidental laughs you can get out of stuff like this - Like how the Bergamot tea shall hereby be named the "Duke Aegir" because "Earl Grey" is an actual guy, plus in one of the few bits of Hopes' fun worldbuilding bitw is how the Aegir Dukedom actually owns a stretch of sea that serves as their trade route with Morfis. See? Fun!
(IDK why male Byleth is frowning here, he's having the coveted Hresvelg Jingle Juice, he should be happy lol)
