Butiki Teas
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RESTEEPED MODE!
Feeling tired after a long bike ride to the post office, so I resteeped this morning’s tea, since it was still in my DT Steeper. I don’t often resteep teas, I guess I figure I don’t need to since I have so many teas, but I am missing out an extra experience.
Wow, this tea is just as good the second time around – a little less creamy and silky though but still delicious cantaloupey.
Uggg, there’s rabbit fur in my tea! I was brushing Benson while sipping my tea, yuck!
Preparation
I was planning to drink a guayusa today, but I woke up so alert and crazy feeling. Must of been all the matcha I drank yesterday – I need to do that again! I was practically climbing the walls all evening and was on a crazy arm bar streak in jiu jitsu!
So this morning my nuttyness continued and I tried using up my crappy matcha and made matcha pancakes – didn’t turn out as there must be some stabilizer or something in my crappy matcha mix that just threw off the pancake batter to stay in one piece, so i got pancakes in bizzare chunks that taste bitter – might be the temperature or my crappy already bitter matcha. Whatever, still eating it!
With that, I need a fun white tea to test out too! How about Cantaloupe & Cream! (C&C)
DRY: Smells just like cantaloupe! OMG yum!
STEEPED: Bright light yellow colour, smells melony sweet – similar to Watermelon Xylophone (WMX)
TASTE: Exceptional base of white tea with a taste of cantaloupe and a teeny bit of sweet veggieness. Creamy aftertaste.
Sweetened with a couple lumps of white rock sugar, the tea transforms more creamy and the sweet veggieness disappears and is a little more melony. Very silky tea!
Personally, I prefer the non sweetened version more.
WHO’D LIKE THIS TEA: Melon lovers! Fruity blend tea peeps and someone who wants to try a pro tea!
COMMENTS: I can see why this tea won an award at a Tea Championship – very elegant, well made tea.
Sweetened, this tea is a nice sweet treat, but unsweetened there was so much depth with that yummy sweet veg taste, melon and creamy and yum! DANG!
Since I recently tried WMX, they are kind of similar in a melony sense, but C&C has much more depth and levels to it. MWX has no veggieness, but a honey floral edge – like a cute floral summer dress verses a silk evening dress. I dunno, I’m rambling and entering the creepy crazy tea description zone!
However, on a personal level I prefer WMX for its watermelon goodness as I prefer watermelons to cantaloupe, but both teas are amazing. C&C would make a fab cold steep I think!
Preparation
Hahaha, on an ‘crazy arm bar streak’. How is the BJJ training going? I’m a big UFC fan and love the BJJ component. My hubby trained in BJJ for a short time then his gym closed. I did some Krav Maga training for a few years but it was really rough on the arthritis.
Good, I’m getting close to blue belt! I train with Gracie Academy, so the Helio/Rorion Gracie line. I’m a big UFC fan too, named my bunny after Benson Henderson, though my favorite fighters are GSP, Dos Santos and Ronda Rousey!
That’s so awesome! Good luck with the training. Love the fighters you mentioned. GSP just seems like he has really great work ethic and Ronda is just awesome. Makes me mad sometimes when we go to UFC parties and I hear a few guys say women shouldn’t be fighting its not right. Women put on the best show at the last Strike Force. I’m a big fan of Anderson Silva. I know he’s a bit cocky but I can’t help it.
I saw the last Strikeforce event in person, so many female fans in the crowd, it was great! I can’t wait for the next Invicta event – probably in a few years women will be in more events as the talent pool grows, despite some guys thinking women shouldn’t be fighters
That’s awesome. We have yet to go to a live event. I suspect we will see more and more women fighters in the future too. The attitude has definitely been changing as women have had some great fights but still a ways to go. Could definitely use more Ronda Rouseys.
This made me sad. Significant flavour loss here, unless it was just that I brewed it improperly (actually, I’m suddenly having a recollection of longer infusions being the sweet spot, so there’s still hope!) There was still sweetness, though, it just wasn’t as rich as I remember.
Sipdown! Ahhh, iced wine sweet deliciousness. Still love this tea, although I must note that it’s critical to infuse it at 180F otherwise it just doesn’t taste right. At 180 though? Yum. I only gave it a five minute infusion this time, and I think I was a bit short on leaf so the flavour was light, but it was still good. Looking forward to additional infusions, assuming the leaves don’t go moldy… Darn humid basement…
I think I might prefer this one brewed for a bit less time than the “ice wine” brewing parameters. First infusion ended up being way too strong, but the second one is quite delicious. I thought that maybe I’d lost my taste for this tea, but I don’t really think so, I think I’m just not brewing it properly!
Well, I think I’ve figured out what I’ve been doing incorrectly with this tea – using boiling water! Whoops. Sadly, I figured that out AFTER making said mistake today.
And my stomach is feeling all sorts of not good, so this tea (and the others I brought with me) are not sitting well. Nor is anything else, for that matter. Bleeehhhhhh.
oh no. feel better soon!
What does one eat/drink when their stomach feels like it’s bubbling up with hot burning acid?! Nothing I’m choosing is seeming to help! :(
a dark pu-erh or peppermint tea usually helps me. and bananas. they coat the tummy. maybe saltine crackers?
I’d try either straight ginger in water or a ginger tea, or something minty. Hope you feel better soon!!
I wish I had some of those options. I’m currently trying baby carrots…
Unfortunately, I don’t keep pu’erhs or minty teas in my office because the former require too much effort and the latter are not my favourites. So I’m stuck with sweetened The Killers Vanilla, this oversteeped beast of a tea, and some earl grey cream…. bleh.
aww boo. I wasn’t even going to suggest chamomile…
Baking soda in water, if it’s truly an acid problem. Caffeine is probably the worst thing to have, unfortunately. :/ Hope you feel better soon!
I hope you feel better soon.
Thanks guys. Time luckily seemed to cure it, although I nearly did go for the baking soda as the rolaids I had tasted like soap (apparently just because they’re a “medicinal” product doesn’t mean you should store them with other “medicinal” items, which apparently includes soap……)
I should take a minty/gingery tea of some sort to work in case such a problem re-occurs. Sigh.
Ok… I seriously screwed this tea up this morning. Infused in a travel thermos, and it tastes absolutely vile. Bitter and… disgusting. I don’t know if I’m overleafing (probably) or what, but I think I need to try this normally, at my house, next time. I know it takes to travelling in a thermos well, but perhaps steeping it in one was a bad idea. (I also know that a) this batch of tea is good and b) there was no issue with the water). I could tell something was off when I sniffed the infuser basket this morning, but chose to ignore it… sorry, tastebuds. Thankfully I still had Laoshan Genmaicha and Premium Taiwanese Assam in my other mugs to wash the bad taste away…
Brewed up at the boy’s house on Saturday… but I clearly did something wrong, as it wasn’t very good. Ended up dumping the cup. I suspect a combo of the water (unfiltered) and either too little tea or something wrong with my leaf:water ratio. Or perhaps temperature. So many variables! Ah well.
An unexpected sipdown tonight! Didn’t realize I had so little left! Luckily it’s on the shopping list for a certain day in the too-near future…
I was in a rush and only gave this 6 minutes of infusion time today, and it was less ice winey but still ddeeeeeeelicious!
Preparation
Drinking a Timolino-full of this while waiting for the boy’s soccer game to start. First time I have ever actually been thankful for the Timolino’s ability to retain heat… I brewed this up over an hour ago, and it is only just cooled enough for me to avoid scalding myself.
Delicious as usual, even with a hint of chai. 11-minute infusion today, this oolong can handle anything!!!
Preparation
I decided to brew some of this one up this morning to take to work in my Timolino, as I thought it would be a great tea to drink at work. I definitely wasn’t wrong! It was delicious, although not as ice winey as usual (probably because my leaf ratio was off as I was brewing a larger cup). However… I clearly didn’t properly clean my Timolino after it had Mayan Chocolate Chai in it… so although the tea tasted great, every time I went to drink some I got a huge whiff of chai! Kinda unpleasant, since I wanted my oolong!
Anyhow, I also would like to note that I brewed this one up prior to 9am, popped it in my mug after it had cooled some (call me weird, but I hate that super hot tea doesn’t cool in the Timolino! I don’t drink scalding hot tea), and didn’t really drink any until the afternoon, finishing it at 5:30pm. And although it was cool at that time, the flavour was still excellent. I had been trying to talk myself out of purchasing more of this one, but I am absolutely in love with it! At some point I’ll have to try the recommended infusion time, but I’m so addicted to the flavour I get at 8 minutes….
Preparation
I have that problem with the Timolino too, I can’t drink the tea for ages once it’s in there, so it almost defeats the purpose! One the other hand, it keeps drinks cold for a good long time, so… Iced, it is!
I haven’t tried putting anything iced in there… interesting thought! I usually enjoy drinking most things lukewarm though :D
Ok, after reading Awkward Soul ‘s note on this oolong, I was worried that my ’ice wine’ tasting experience last time was a totally one-off experience. Therefore…. time to try and repeat the deliciousness! I went with probably about 1.5 level teaspoons of tea for about 8-10oz. of water, and infused for 8 minutes at 180 degrees. And, I am happy to say that the tea definitely still has the same notes that remind me of the ice wine I sampled most recently. It’s not as jarring as last time (because the ice wine memory is a touch farther back), but at least to me, it is unmistakeable, and delicious. The aroma doesn’t betray this deliciousness, mostly being of a warm, slightly sweet, woody oolong, but the flavour is just fabulous, with a sweetness that builds until the end of the sip, hitting that intoxicatingly sweet ice wine flavour which lingers in the mouth after swallowing. Amazing!
This will definitely be in my next Butiki order, which is growing quickly! Apparently I can curb my restraint in tea ordering to some degree, but when it comes to Verdant, Butiki, and DavidsTea, I’m totally helpless…
ETA: Second infusion of this today, also for 8 minutes… still getting that sweetness that makes me think ice wine, however, there is bitterness this time as well. Not intolerable, but enough to make me consider a bit of a shorter second infusion. Or perhaps, 183F was too high (3 degrees Fahrenheit making a difference? I hope not, but who knows.)
Preparation
Sweet, totally doing this next time I make this tea, which will be soon! It’s pretty amazing!
Mmmm Ice Wine flavored tea ….
That sounds so good!
I mean, it’s not ice wine flavoured like the ice wine teas I’ve tried from various companies, there are no real muscatel/grape notes, it’s just that syrupy sweetness, and some flavour that was bang on to whatever ice wine I tried most recently. I could probably look up what it was… my recollection tells me that it was a maple ice wine. I very nearly bought some…. regretting having not, since it’s a 4-hour drive away…
The above said, I have to say that of all the ice wine teas I’ve tried (I’ve tried at least 2, possibly 3), this would be by far the best…
Accidently brewed this one for over 8 minutes, my bad! However, it doesn’t seem to have suffered! It’s just a toasty oolong, with… wow, a super sweet flavour that reminds me strongly of an ice wine I had recently. Like, very strongly of this ice wine. So delicious! Oh man. I’m drinking this one waaaayyyyyy too quickly now. I suspect I won’t get a second infusion this fabulous, but this is absolutely delicious!!
Wow. I can definitely see myself picking this one out again when I’m looking for a darker tea that isn’t a black but has lots of flavour! Too many times I’ve found darker oolongs to either be super finicky, or lacking in flavour. This is neither!
I just realized I’m the first person to review this one?! Seriously!? C’mon, people!
ETA: Second infusion, not sure how long I let this one go, is still pretty tasty, but not nearly as intense in the syrupy ice wine flavour. There’s a bit of astringency, perhaps, coming out (but it may have been a very long infusion, again), but it’s still very delicious, and the aftertaste remains that delicious sweet ice wineyness. Hopefully I’ll get to #3 tomorrow. This tea definitely hit the spot tonight! Exactly what I wanted, apparently!
ETA again: Third infusion, 180F for 5 minutes, is more your generic sort of woody oolong flavour. Nothing wrong with that, and it’s still quite flavourful, but I definitely enjoyed the first two infusions much, much more. I may try for a fourth tomorrow if time permits.
Preparation
ooooooh, tastes like ice wine? I’m all over that! /adds to shopping list
It was crazy! It was initially that typically woody oolong flavour, but then there’s a huge rush of delicious sweetness that yeah, was bang on the mark for ice wine for me. It may need a long infusion to be like this, I’m not sure!
Wow, I can’t believe that survived 8 minutes. How accurate would you say our description of the tea is based on the 8 minute steeping? Hmmm, maybe I should try a long steeping to see what it tastes like.
I was shocked, to be honest! It would have gone into the cup at 180F, and stayed there for about 8.5 minutes. Not sure what the temp was when I removed it, but it was fabulous! I think the honey notes were intensified by such a long infusion, and there was definitely no astringency. I’m terrible at picking up specific flavours, so I’m not sure about almonds/apples. It was very, very good though!
I’ll have to try the tea with the recommended infusion time and compare :)
makes me think this might be good cold brewed :P
Possibly! I don’t have a ton of it so may not try that since it’s so good this way.
apparently you need more teas that let you make them and be distracted cough
I am innocent!
Very interesting. I’m going to try this at a long infusion.
This is my first order from Butiki Teas. I’m always in a search for a perfect rose tea. This smells like a delicate mixture of rose and violet with a hint of jasmine.
It’s light and floral and tastes like Marzipan which is good thing as far as I’m concerned.
Preparation
Thank you Stacy for this Sample!
I’ve received my new tea’s from Butiki (dance, dance, dance)!
As always, Stacy lovingly places just the right little packets of samples in my order (and will in yours also).
It never fails to make me smile with excitement when I discover what she has tucked in my box as my free samples!
I have tasted the previous Butiki Assam, but this is a newer one…
a Premium Taiwanese Assam.
My experience with Assam’s has been average.
The one’s I’ve tasted have been of medium body, slightly smoky and a little malty. Good breakfast Assam’s that can hold up to milk in the morning and have mild astringency. Not overly complex tea’s.
What now?
Stacy is always hunting down the best tea’s she can find. Like a sly fox, she scours the tea markets improving the line-up of tea’s she carries, always looking for unique flavors and blends. This is one of the things I love about her and Butiki Tea!
Flavor
Well, this was not like any Assam I’d ever tasted before!
There was a yam, potato flavor right away though not a lot (if any) malt.
I didn’t pick up any smokiness and the astringency didn’t even arrive until the tea was quite cool.
Speaking of cool…
The spicy heat in this tea was followed by a characteristic that I associate with Taiwanese Tea’s…that menthol/minty cool feeling in the mouth.
This was such a great mouth-feel (if you’ve never experienced it before) but subtle.
I was looking for a raisin chocolate taste (which I found), and along the way got distracted by how soft the finish was.
Like a mist the tea evaporated at the end. All the flavors seemed to be up front with a spice-cool shift in the center and then poof, gone.
This was before I added anything to my tea!
You can’t imagine how sweet and nectar-like my tea was when I added
just a little sweetening. (Stacy would say “Add a little natural raw sugar crystals to bring out the flavor”)
Very tasty and delicious for breakfast or anytime!
Lovely Assam!
Stacey! You Sly-Fox, you! :)
teehee
So glad you are enjoying this one. :) Its one of my favorite breakfast treats, though I do tend to add a lot of leave and let it sit until its nice and malty and very astringent.
A Taiwanese Assam? Oh my goodness, I’m intrigued!
Stacy, I’d try that if I had more on hand, but I would have missed the cool mint/menthol feel possibly for the tasting.
LiberTEAS-Here is what I wrote about Taiwanese Assams in my tasting note: As the name suggest, this is an Assam that comes from Taiwan. In the 1920’s, under Japanese rule, Assamica tea bushes were brought to the Sun Moon Lake area of Taiwan. At the time, the Japanese wanted to compete with the British in the black tea market. Since then this Assam has been refined by the Taiwan Research and Extension Station.
Bonnie-I’m terrible with my black teas, I so abuse them by intentionally over-steeping them. I just love that really astringent taste. Well, I do that to all except the Mi Xian which is really naturally sweet.
I got this as a sample from the ever cool Stacy. I’ve never had a mango lassi so I wasn’t sure what to expect. It’s Great! it reminds me a bit of her cantaloupe and cream. I think it’s the melony goodness.
Preparation
Today is my first trip to the DMV, oh boy! Thankfully, I made an appointment to get my state ID, woot state ID! Maybe at a later date I’ll try for getting my drivers, it’s been a long time since I drove, plus I’d have to take the tests and such over again.
So, time to bust out the energetic guayusa tea. I was thinking GMS, but would clash with my breakfast of oatbars. Very nice flavor, as always. Vanillay sweet, without any sweetener, with a hint of lavender. Relaxed and caffeinated!
Preparation
I’ve noticed I reach for this tea for stressful mornings. The smooth vanilla, perky guayusa plus relaxing lavender? Sign me up!
Had a crazy crazy birthday yesterday evening – did a lot of jiu jitsu, frozen yogurt with mochi and was up really late.
Argg, if the caffeine doesn’t kick in soon, I’m going for a nap until it does, heheh!
Preparation
Wedding day has ended! Phew!
And.. this was the tea I had when in the morning! I was ready to strangle a number of people (like I was trying to do my hair and there was 3 people asking separate things). I had a big cup of Killer’s Vanilla, and everything is calm and nice. Smooth vanilla, calming lavender – it was amazing! I didn’t think I was going for this tea on my wedding day, but it called to me and came to the rescue!
Preparation
Wedding!!! Huge congrats! Glad tea helped get you through it! :D
My husband offered to take my tea kettle to the venue so I could sit there drinking tea (and not spaz out) while they set up. I just ended up bringing a bottle of matcha though, seemed too much work taking an entire kettle there!
Awwwww! I think matcha would have buzzed me a touch too much for a wedding, somehow, but glad it worked out for you!
Blessings to both of you!
A new guayusa blend? Yes please! IMO, we need more guayusa blends, it’s quickly becoming my favorite type of tea for it being earthy, creamy and amazing! (and loads of caffeine)
I got lots to do today, so I figure I need to get a caffeine hit of awesome! I have to make curry (yum!), work on some jiu jitsu blogging and get my weight lifting done.
DRY: Slightly creamy smell with a kick to it – lavender and mint? Very interesting smell that was hard to piece together.
STEEPED: Steeps up a dark earthy brown. Smells again like lavender.
TASTE: Smooth, calming – creamyness and vanilla, earthy, a gentle kick of lavender with an aftertaste of mint.
Sweetened with rock sugar KV changes to a stronger creamy and vanilla tea with lavender and mint gently relaxing together in the background. Personally, sweetened is the way to go with this tea.
WHO’D LOVE THIS TEA: Those peeps who drink “calming” teas, but in need of a wakeup caffeine hit.
COMMENTS: Slightly addictive tea. I just kept sipping away experiencing the rocking out of lavender and vanilla.
A similar flavored tea would be DavidsTea’s “Jessie’s Tea” – which has rooibos, coconut and much more lavender. KV’s is much more full bodied with the earthy guayusa, smoother and more creamy. The lavender and mint dance perfectly together.
Overall, best use of lavender in a tea I’ve tried so far. Now I’m all feeling mellow yet alert and sloshy full. Man, I love guayusa!
KV, I think, would be a great tea to have before an exam – keep you calm but energy sparked awake!
Preparation
I really can’t wait to try this one – should be getting it tomorrow. YES! We do need more guayusa blends! :)
I too am a big fan of guayusas. I think GMS is my personal favorite, since there is something about lemon and waking up that I love. You are so right, this one is addictive. Before you know it, the cup is finished.
I got GMS in my stash to try, can’t wait!
^Nice. Since you’ve tried a fair amount of our guayusas, I would definitely be interested in hearing your opinion on which you enjoy the most.
Thanks so much to Stacy for this lovely sample
These leaves are suprisingly really long and beautiful looking.
This black tea is great quality. Natural tasting black tea first with smooth notes of honey. In the aftertaste and at the end of the sip, I am picking up those lovely fruity peachy notes.
I am really enjoying this without any additions!
I love resteeping! Sometimes the second or third steep is better than the first. :)
lol…what the rabbit fur didn’t add alittle extra to the tea?grins try putting the cup higher up when your brushing your rabbit or any other animal, or use a cup with a lid, or try placing a small saucer on top. I got kitties, so been there, done that…..