Friday 15 May 2015

Why I Won't be Buying from Lupicia (Tea Japan)


Inferior tea.  Some of them stink. I never thought tea would stink, but Lupicia does.

When prices are low, can't expect the best quality.  But even Clipper Tea SG with their low prices, smells better than Lupicia. Even Twinings tea is better. Even TWG is better. Even supermarket brands Lipton & Dilmah smell better. Even our local Gryphon Tea smells nicer.

I was at Vivocity, browsing the Lupicia teas for the first time. Their fragrances are too light, too weak to be quality teas.  Teas from Japan, Germany, China, Kenya.  Not even organic.

Those who buy Lupicia must be tea newbies. Not really tea lovers or tea connoisseurs.

I have considered that the tea samples have been exposed too many times, thus their fragrances are lost. Also, the sample containers are too large & the amount of sample too little, contributing to greater loss of fragrance. (In which case, the sales staff should change the samples or put more to ensure quality).

Yet even with these considerations, the scents are too thin & poor to be good quality teas.

When the sales woman offered me samples to taste, I didn't bother & declined.  After that, she just left me alone. That is actually a very poor way of doing sales.  Can't sell such products by leaving the customer alone.  Just because the customer declined to taste doesn't mean you can't sell anything. She didn't even try.

Another case of poor staff selection by management. She looks like a foreigner (Burmese?) although she didn't seem to have any detectable accent. I noticed her fingertips had a darkish skin tone to them, didn't look clean.  But she was friendly to three Indian girls asking for directions.

I prefer they employ a Japanese lady who will do her utmost in presenting the products the Japanese way. Or at least a Singaporean. (I have just read that it's 2 Singaporeans who opened Lupicia in Singapore, so all the more the staff should be Singaporean.).

It seems that there aren't many good tea brands in Singapore. They all taste the same. Nothing extraordinary. I'm looking for a tea that will wake me up with a whole new special taste.

Lady M's Chamomile tea that tastes refreshingly different from the usual, is their "own brand" & isn't sold in Singapore. 

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