So I’ve been wanting to get a Happy bag (or lucky bag or fukubukuro) from Lupicia Tea for a while now. Part of me (the stingy part) baulks at the price tag. This is despite knowing that the contents of the bag will actually be worth more than what you pay for it. So this year, I swallowed Ms Stingy and walked into Lupicia Tea at Mitsuwa supermarket in San Jose. And asked for the $50 bag. The other option was $30 for 9 teas.

Fukubukuro, by the way, is a Japanese New Year tradition. All kinds of stores, from Starbucks to Muji to Ikea,   and even McDonald’s, sell these mystery bags. The Mitsuwa supermarket too had some lucky bags for adults and for kids. I think they may have contained snacks for the kids? Maybe I’ll have to buy one next New Year! Even the Apple stores in Japan sell fukubukuro – last year’s was $300 and a few of them even contained a MacBook Air!

Lacquerfiend asked if I would share the contents of the bag so here they are! Links are to the Lupicia store.

Strawberry and Vanilla $6.50
Green tea with matcha is flavored with sweet fragrance of strawberry and vanilla.

Jasmin Mandarin special grade $10.50
Chinese green tea scented with jasmine flowers which have sweet aroma like spring breeze.

Tiekuanyin $11

Momo Oolong Super Grade $13
Savor the succulent flavor and aroma of Japanese white peach in this Taiwanese pouchong blend accented with pink rose petals.

Sencha ‘Matsuri’ $7.50
Distinctively mellow and full-bodied green tea. Ideal for those who like full-bodied tea.

Matcha Black Soybean Rice Tea $5
A genmaicha (rice tea) blended with black beans and matcha, to promote “healthy living”.
Tsugaru Green $6
Japanese green tea flavored with “San-Tsugaru” apples from Aomori prefecture in Japan.

Grapefruit Green $6
Green tea flavored with fresh grapefruits makes a refreshing taste.

Afternoon Tea $6
A blend of light-bodied Darjeeling and full-bodied Assam. Can be served with milk.

Good Morning $7.50
A blend of African tea and Assam tea. An uplifting tea to start a day. Best served with milk.

Darjeeling First Flush $8
A blend of spring-plucked Darjeeling with refreshing astringency and fruity aroma.

Muscat $6.50
Refreshing taste of muscat offers an interesting impression. Ideal choice for an iced tea.

Yume $6.50
Yume is “dream” in Japanese. Sweet strawberry, vanilla and cute pink rosebuds come together in a black blend making a tea you’ll be dreaming about.

Cookie $7
Black tea scented with an image of freshly baked caramel cookies. Best served with milk.

Sakurambo $6.50
Black tea flavored with Japanese cherries, which has a sweet and fruity aroma.

And yes, that is a pretty good deal for $50 (total value $113.50!). I may not drink all the teas, particularly the ones that sound a bit sweet like Strawberry & Vanilla. So those may go to friends and family as gifts. But there are plenty that I already do love like the Tiekuanyin, the momo Oolong, Darjeeling and the Matcha Black Soybean Rice Tea. Afternoon Tea is a pretty solid black tea and I like the sound of Muscat, which is apparently best drunk cold. I am also extremely curious about Cookie!

The Husband also got in the fukubukuro mood while at Mitsuwa and he picked up a $20 Lucky Bag from J Sweets, which turned out to be filled with cookies and chocolates from Royce.

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