Butiki Teas

This tea is unique and interesting. I can’t say it was what I was expecting it to be but it was nonetheless very delightful.
After a day of sampling many very strongly FLAVORED teas this one came out to be far more natural in its flavors and perhaps I could have easily dismissed it as not being flavorful ENOUGH however this tea has depth and character which is a lot better in my opinion than teas with no depth or character and tons of artificial flavor.
There is a blueberry element to it but subtle on my palate.
The tea base itself is what makes this tea so wonderful and the slight blueberry flavor is just this nice little treat that sneaks up on you now and then.
It seems that there are a lot of varying opinions on this tea but to me that is what makes it more mysterious and enjoyable.
I had a sample of this but I will for sure buy some so I can unfurl more of its mysteries in the near future!

Very tasty! The first thing I noticed was the full rich creaminess and then the vanilla. There’s also something spicy like cinnamon? Not sure. Can say I’m gettIng much pistachio but it may be the cold brewing. And I used too little leaf. I have some os this left so I can try again later! It definitely reminds me of ice cream, which Is just amazing to me. It some how has that rich yolky custard flavor. I also love that this is not a cheap sencha base like so many flavored greens are. It’s all about the quality here!

Thank you Kittenna for sending a sample of this!

Thank You Bonnie for such a unique, delicious tea experience. I’ve seen this tea before, and it’s almost perfect-such a stylish tea! :))

This Blue Nettle tea reminds me of conical slugs, or vortex cones. The steeping cones floated horizontally on my water, and seemed to be basking in fruity lemons as this light aroma tingled my nose. The wet leaves in glass smelled lightly vegetal & lightly fruity, much like artichokes & lemons; which cooled to a light woody quality often found in black teas! When I picked up a cone [the leaves were unfurled] and inhaled deeply, aromas of tart lemons, artichokes, & dill [perhaps a pickle] surprised my senses! Amazingly, there was a sweet contrast present in the aroma. :))

The cup was a very light ecru color, with light vegetal & lemon aromatics. The tea exhibited a very light, lemon-like, artichoke taste. There was a very smooth & clean aquatic or oceanic quality that I have never experienced before!! I’m not crazy!! Did anyone else experience this?? There was such a smoothness on my palate, but after I swallowed the tea-POP!! BANG!! POW!! The tea recharged on my palate with a mild tartness. That was another first for me, & nothing short of AMAZING! :))

My second cup [7 minutes at 212F] showcased a lemony tart aroma between 4-5 minutes. One cone was still clinging together, so I broke the leaves apart, hoping to achieve more aroma and flavor. There was deeper tart lemon and artichoke aromas, with some sweetness. Wet leaves also gave deeper aromas of lemon, artichoke, dill, and woods. The longer steep brought out light smokey notes as well.

While still quite light, the cup turned a deeper yellow. Slightly deeper artichoke essence adds sweetness, while a lemon nuance adds acidity to the nose. All of the flavors of the first cup are present [lemons, artichokes, aquatics]-only somewhat deeper in nature. Smooth & clean on my palate, with a more mild kick, void of most of the tart-natured, post swallow flavors I experienced in the first cup.

Nothing but great things can be exclaimed about Blue Nettle! From this teas unique shape, aromatics, & flavors, it is truly one of my supreme, most memorable tea experiences!! :D Thanks again Bonnie. :D

Cupped & Reviewed: Thursday, July 12, 2012.

I am surprised that there are no tasting notes on this for me, as I know I’ve had it before, because I even wrote a review for it last year. Here’s the link to that review, if you’d like to take a look: http://sororiteasisters.com/2011/03/10/keemun-finest-chuen-cha-from-butiki-teas/

My thoughts today are very similar to what I thought back then: This is really delicious. Sweet, but not overly so. I am noticing more of the dried plum notes today than I remember from it in the past. The first few sips were smoky, but after a while it tapered and became more of that charcoal-y note that I mentioned in the above review.

Another lovely tea from Butiki!

The dry leaf of this tea smells incredible. The way that the pineapple melds with the floral notes of the Wen Shan Bao Zhong is just stunning. I want to bathe in this tea.

The flavor is equally as amazing – the floral notes weave in and out throughout the sip while the pineapple tones provide a delicious, sweet, juicy taste, and it is soft and supple and almost creamy. That almost creamy side seems to really emerge as the tea cools… because now that my cup is almost gone and the tea has cooled a bit, I am noticing just how creamy/buttery it is.

So delicious… Stacy, this is phenomenal!

Thank you Stacy from Butiki Teas for including this sample in with my last order! This is so incredibly good!

Of course, that should be no surprise, I don’t think I’ve tried anything from Butiki Teas yet that I’ve not liked. The mango here is so well-defined. Sweet, juicy, delicious mango. I don’t taste a lot of rooibos, maybe a hint of nutty tones here and there, but mostly what I taste is MANGO, some cream and a gentle, warm note from the cardamom.

This is seriously yum. I’d recommend this one to anyone who likes mango. This is one of the best mango tisanes I’ve tried yet.

Thanks to Stacy for sending me a sample of this tea! I’ve been looking forward to trying it, but I am not often in a pineapple mood so it had to be the right day, and today was that day. I’ve pretty much been eating fruit salad all day long, I have about 7 different types in the fridge and really want to get through them all before they go bad. With fruit all day long I wanted a matching tea, and this was the perfect one.

This smells divine, like a ripe pineapple. The flavor is SO juicy and sweet, and without that mouth-puckering tartness that pineapple has. Definitely a bonus: it’s a good flavor in fresh fruit, but I don’t want my tea to have me making funny faces. The oolong is delightful, floral and pleasantly creamy. This is like a beach vacation in a cup!

I have to admit I was a bit skeptical about this particular tea as most melon flavoured drink tend to taste very synthetic to me. But this blend managed to exceed all my expectations by tasting very much like real, no-shit cantaloupe melon. The white tea base carries the flavour well and adds to the tea’s light, refreshing notes. I didn’t taste the cream at first but it became very noticable as the tea cooled off and made the blend seem very decadent.

I love this tea; I only got a one-cup sample with my Butiki order, but I’ll totally be buying a full bag of it the next time around.

Once again, good job Butiki Teas!

This is delightfully strawberry-ish in the bag. On my first steeping, I was a little haphazard with the water temperature. I boiled it, then let it cool off again…lazy. I didn’t really taste the strawberry, but it was still earthy and delicious.

Steeping number 2…got out the Breville One Touch and heated this to the appropriate 180 degrees, then steeped for 4 minutes, adding a bit of rock sugar. This time, the strawberry came out very subtly while keeping the delicious earthiness of the oolong.

Seriously, folks. I am going to keep steeping this until it just plain gives up today.

Delicious. This will be a staple.

Backlog:

I started the day with some Tangerine Creamsicle … decided to have one last pot of it before sending the rest off to my SororiTea Sister.

I enjoyed it very much last time, and I think I enjoyed it even more this time – and I can only attribute that to the addition of some turbinado sugar this morning. I wanted something a little sweet, so I added about half a teaspoon of turbinado sugar, and I didn’t add sugar last time. So this is one that actually does improve with the addition of a teensy bit of sugar.

YUM!

It might seem a little late for Guayusa, and hopefully it won’t be keeping me up past my bedtime, but since I usually am up past 3 am anyway, I am not too worried. I needed an energy boost because I have a lot to do this evening, and I’m already feeling a little like I should be napping instead of getting things done.

This is really tasty. The tangerine and cream flavors are balanced, and the guayusa adds a richness to the background, tasting a little earthy, and even a little vegetal, and these notes work very well with the flavors of tangerine and cream. Overall, the cup is smooth, rich and creamy, with a deliciously sweet tangerine taste.

And it tastes better with each sip! Incredibly YUM!

This is a fun tea I got from Bonnie as a sample. I don’t buy a lot of these flavored teas, so it’s a treat to try them. This one reminds me of the winter holiday season, for some reason. I detect an undertone of the deep, sweet flavors of serious, home made ice cream- nuts, caramel/vanilla. I love the nutty aroma. For me, this would be a dessert tea. I’m very happy as I drink it- maybe it’s raising my serotonin levels!

Cantaloupe and cream just doesn’t seem a natural combination, but with all the rave reviews, I decided to try it anyway.

This is a really pretty tea to look at. The dry leaves are large and green. This must be fresher than other Bai Mu Dan I have had in the past. The Helichrysum flowers that are blended in look similar to baby’s breath (those little white flowers often included in red rose bouquets). The aroma is amazing-I smell mostly the cream (maybe the Helichrysum too-not sure how that smells).

The brewed aroma is more of the same-not sure how you get a vegan flavoring to smell so natural and creamy, but Stacy has done it. Even my gf, who never has any interest or comment about tea, actually commented on the pleasing scent.

The taste is fantastic-natural, creamy, and rich. I can’t taste as much cantaloupe as everybody else (maybe it’s my taste buds?), but I don’t even care because the cream flavoring is so excellent. Of course, this tea is very smooth and has zero bitterness. I’d like to try it iced. Just a great tea.

As a side note, I imagine that cream flavoring would go really well with say a root beer float tea or a cream soda tea. Delicious.

EDIT I made a second steep, let it cool, then put it in the freezer for a bit to ice it. I added just one teaspoon of sugar. Tastes great! I had to hold back from chugging it because I didn’t want caffeine so fast so late in the day. I need to make this earlier next time.

This is a very pretty tea! I got some of this from Azzrian. Thanks so much! I think I got some for Kittenna as well, but this particular cup was brewed from Azzrian’s sample. :) I cold brewed this for about 4 hours. The flavor is light and fresh. The cantaloupe more like a cross between cucumber and cantaloupe, which is fine. I think cucumber and cantaloupe would make an awesome smoothie. There’s also this rich creamy flavor. Like some sort of dessert-y vanilla cream sauce. It’s wonderful with the fresh cantaloupe flavor! Very tasty tea. I can see why the folks here on Steepster are so in love with this. :)

Also, I can’t help but mentally compare this with 52teas’ Cantaloupe Bai Mu Dan. I think Frank’s version lacks that creamy element and his melon is more robustly flavored. His white base is also a bit chocolatey, which I think is heavenly, since chocolate and fruit are a match made in heaven.

I think I might just like 52teas’ version a little bit more. This version, however, is much more available so I guess they are both evenly awesome in the end. :)

Day 8, courtesy of Purrfect Cup! This is one of my all time favorite teas so I was really happy to see it in the swap. I mean cantaloupe and cream with a divine white base, how much better does it get?

I cold brewed this because the weather here is just weird. It’s not winter at all, more like icky fall with rain and a bit of a chill but really, it’s so un-Christmasy. So instead of doing hot tea I am drinking iced. Yeah, take that NY weather! You’re not the boss of me!

Anyway, I am reminded of how much I adore this tea. It’s so scrumptious! I kind of want to make angel food cake and infuse it with this tea.

I’ve been dying to try this tea—I love melon, it’s probably my favorite fruit flavor, both for teas and just for eating! I was lucky enough to get a sample of this from Kittenna in my swap with her, and then I got some more only a few days later from Stacy with my Butiki order! Of course I was over the moon, but somehow I hadn’t tried it out until today.

I cold brewed this with 1 small scoop in a tall glass of filtered water for about 16 hours or so: I was worried it might be a little weak because I used very little tea, but it is amaaaazing. The cantaloupe is the freshest fruit flavoring I’ve ever had in a tea, it legitimately tastes like fresh cantaloupe juice. The cream is very subtle and adds a hint of softness and a rich mouthfeel, and the white base sparkles. This is an exceptional blend, and of course now I want to brew some up hot just to compare…. but a tea this special is definitely not an everyday luxury.

Thanks to Mercuryhime for this sample! I was a little confused as to what a Guranse was until I read Bonnie’s tasting note a few days ago and then I knew I needed to try it. Teas from Nepal and Darjeeling are among my favorites!

I steeped this for 3 minutes in my tetsubin — I still haven’t found anything to replace the glass teapot I broke. One thing you can say for cast iron is it’s very durable and will stand up to a spaz like me.

I’m getting a medium orange liquor which is very mellow and smooth. I can definitely sense the malt and a hint of tobacco but there is a delightful fruitiness present as well, lots of peaches! The flavor is mostly sweet with a tiny bit of astringency at the end, but nothing too bothersome. I’m sipping on this plain and it’s yummy, but it could also accommodate a pinch of sugar, if you prefer. I think milk would ruin the delicate flavor here.

I certainly wouldn’t mind having this tea around but I have quite a backlog from the region already. :)

I’m having an odd day.

I began with this tea, one that I like but had tucked away too long and should have been drinking. It’s not old or anything like that…but has escaped from my vision. We do that, forget a tea in the back of some other tea that we’ve taken to heart.
I shared a pot of Tangerine Guayusa with my granddaughter last night
while we made tea and chocolate dusted toffee and watched ‘The Artist’ on Netflix.
There was the Guranse…so I put it out for the morning pot of tea.

This is a yum Winter tea. It has all the maple black tea taste I remember with a bit of malt. Very nice on a cold day.

Then I read a Facebook note from my daughter. A reminder of something that happened 24 years ago today. A horror.

My daughter and 3 other girls were driving down Skyway from Paradise, CA to Chico. The road is on a ridge with canyons on both sides, quite beautiful. Two lanes up the mountain and two down with a wide buffer between. The division of upward and downward lanes wasn’t even. At times, you could look uphill or downhill on the oncoming traffic.
Katrina turned 17 on Dec. 7th and my daughter was turning 17 on the 12th. I knew the driver a little. The other girl I didn’t know. In fact, I had no idea the girls were going to Chico.

It’s amazing that all 4 girls wore their seat belts in a new convertable. California hadn’t passed a seatbelt law yet.

At some time, on one of the mountain turns…the driver lost control, flipped over and over the median and ended up in the uphill lane upside down. The driver and front seat passanger got out and my daughter and Katrina were trapped in the back.
A fire started and someone stopped with an extinguisher and put out the fire.
A tow truck driver arrived and had a heart attack and died on the spot.
The fire department arrived and used the jaws of life and cut out my daughter and Katrina.

I received a call to get to the hospital in Chico but nobody would say anything else. My son had my car and I couldn’t reach anyone to take me to the hospital for quite a bit…until I found a friend of my mom’s.
Going down Skyway, all we could see was a massive traffic jam for miles and miles…not knowing that this had anything to do with my
daughter.

At the hospital I was briefed. My daughter was in shock but fine. Katrina was dead. She died instantly. My daughter didn’t know and was not to be told yet, she was still too fragile.

When I was allowed to tell her the next day, she somehow knew. She remembered and was heartbroken. What grief for such a young girl, and what a big heart she has always had full of compassion.

Every year my daughter still misses Katrina. A sweet daughter of Hawaii who lived in a difficult situation at home, but had such a pure heart and deep love for others just like my Annalisa.

I sat with her mother in a bar while she got drunk. Me, drinking coffee, making sure she got home safely. She was mad for awhile that my daughter had lived.

I can’t imagine such sadness.

Memory Eternal Katrina Afong.

This is the second time I’ve had this tea from Butiki only the last time it was a Sample and now I own 2 whole ounces all to myself!

I remember the first time being so surprised the first time at how good the flavor was that I even cooked some apples in this tea…so yummy!

I made a full pot for my morning sit down with Steepster!
The news today in Fort Collins is almost right out my window.
The President is speaking at the University today at the other end of my street ( W Elizabeth is interrupted by the University then on the other side E Elizabeth continues on). The parking for the event is at the Stadium with shuttles going down my street…right past my house. I’m not going anywhere!!! I have a ticket but I’m staying away from the crowds because it’s HOT! Besides, I’ve seen Presidents and lived in Washington, D.C. so let the young people go!

I’m sittin’ and sippin’ my Guranse! Boy is this tea GOOD!
It reminds me of those old fashioned sassafras candy cane sticks
you can get at old fashioned candy stores. If it was a bit more tangy I would say horehound. The color is brilliant mahogany.
So syrupy sweet and yummy!

I’ve been invited to Happy Lucky’s at 5pm to taste a Green Tea Cake by a baker lady who is on Steepster! I’ll give a report tomorrow!

Everyone have a happy day…I’m so glad to have you all as my friends!

Thank you Stacy for this tea Sample

What a pleasure to have overlooked a Butiki tea sample. How on earth did that ever happen? I look forward to every little bag.
Whatever the reason, it’s been found at the right time.

Today I don’t feel good. I’m sure this will pass soon enough.
My weekend was great so I can reflect a good time with my granddaughter Schey! (I forget that I have disabilities and do more than I should at times, especially when the weather is hot. I live in a fantasy world and think I’m in my 40’s!)(or younger!)

First we went to Church Sunday morning and then stopped by the H.L. (Happy Luckys) tea shop for a pot of Puerh. This was Scheys first Puerh! I have to say the experience was like ‘Steepster Live’! We were at the bar, the shop was quiet and the servers had been tasting samples I brought in the day before. I was hearing verbal reviews. Schey was giving me her review of the Pu-erh (LOVED IT!), and I was in heaven!

I drank more tea later when I arrived back home…and then…I couldn’t sleep till 2 am! I’m trying to set up a blog. No zzzzzzzzz’s

I felt ill this morning at 7 am….burned out and not good at all.

I saw this little packet from Butiki. Hum.
What was a Guranse? Another one of those high caffeine tea’s that Stacy has?
(I had no idea!)

With a good deal of blind faith and trust that whatever was in the packet would be good because it came from Butiki, I followed the only information on the label and used boiling water then steeped for 3 minutes.

What a shock when I tasted the tea!

“Wow, this is good!” I said.

(I think in my foggy brain that I half expected an unflavored Guayusa.)

This tea was light and sweet with the essence of Freestore Peach and Assam. BUT, without being as dark or malty as an Assam. WAH?…A totally different kind of Black Tea than I’m used to!

To compare this tea to a Darjeeling would be a mistake also. There was no acidity or tannin, just smooth and juicy light and fruity tea. (Sounds like a jingle)

I let my cup cool. Sipping again and again…trying to reach deep into the soul of this tea. Always the floral sugary peach(could there be a vanilla cream with the peach I am still not committed to that idea as yet)vibrated in my mouth.

Guranse has my attention! At no time have I tasted a light Black Tea like this one. I have 4 Black Tea’s from 2 companies that are my favorites and all 4 are FULL BODIED! Very rich and unmistakably distict! My… BONNIE’S TOP BLACK TEA LIST!

This little tea slid in under the radar and slapped me awake!
I love the subtle beauty of this drippy, succulent, peachy liquor!

High Praises Stacy!!! You will hear from me!

Later that same evening…
Tonight I steeped this tea again nice and strong, cut an apple into cubes, heated the apple in the microwave and then poured the tea over the apples to infuse them for a bit. Later, I drained some of the liquid off, added a pat of butter and some brown sugar crystals and popped the apples into the oven next to a breast of chicken that was cooking in a mixture of brewed Butiki Tangerine Creamsicle Guayusa, and bacon. (Yes I’ll have some spinach greens too at the end).
Don’t know how this will turn out…going to check on it now…
Oh Wow! The Chicken is really good! Um…I think I’m going to have the apples alongside the chicken because they’re soft and mild. The apples in this tea is mild (no spice added).
Perfect with the cream citrus poultry.

If I had company over I’d turn the juices into a beautiful glaze and chiffonade some basil and mint over the top. This would be so good with rice. (no apples though) And add artichokes or asparagas.

Bye

Thanks to Azzrian for the sample.

This is my first guayusa and it’s definitely different than I expected. I can see how the citrus flavors lend themselves to this type of tea. My tea tastes a lot like orange peels. I’m not really getting TOO much of a creamy taste from it. It is pretty good, though. Rather interesting.

Also, I totally forgot to smell the tea before I brewed my sample – d’oh! I’m reading all these notes about how wonderful it smells, too. Urgh. I used my IngenuiTEA to brew this, but I’m noticing now that the tea doesn’t really expand too much. A T-Sac will work just fine for next time.

Oh, and I thought that guayusa had no caffeine – good thing I double checked THAT one (and good thing this is the morning). It has more caffeine that Yerba Mate. I’m certainly awake now, if I wasn’t before ;)

Second infusion: I think this is better the second time around. Not quite so much “orange peel”-ness and I’m able to taste more of the cream. Overall, a very interesting tea.

Backlog:

2nd infusion – this tea MUST be resteeped! It’s even better the second time around… the flavors have become smoother, and are even just a little bit creamy. The tartness of the blueberry has even softened somewhat, leaving a pleasantly sweet berry taste with a soft, silky mouthfeel.

Thank you to TeaEqualsBliss for sending me some of this tea.

Today seems to be turning out to be a “berry” tea kind of day, although I didn’t intentionally plan for it to be. I have at least one more berry tea on deck waiting for me today, so yeah… it just happened like that.

This is really good. I’ve tried purple Oolong and purple Pu-erh… and this particular purple tea seems to almost be “white” like to me. Maybe a little “green” tea-ish. Somewhere in between. It has a lightness to it … a delicateness that reminds me of a white tea, while there is a vegetative tone that is more like a green tea.

It’s very VERY good. I like the way the blueberries really stand out here, Sweet with hints of sour. The herbaceous tones of the tea lend a very “fresh” flavor to this, like freshly picked blueberries … and an earthy tone to it that give it a sort of “rustic” tone … evoking thoughts of picking wild blueberries. It’s deliciously different … unlike a blueberry green tea or a blueberry white tea … but still has similarities to both of these. Unique enough to NOT be these teas, while still similar enough to be vaguely reminiscent of them.

Quite good. I’m really glad I had the opportunity to try this tea.

Another sample from Stacy (thank you!)

I loved how large the leaves were for this tea- I felt like I was steeping something wild and exotic as I poured the water into my teapot.

Once the tea was finished steeping, I poured it into my cup & was greeted by a delicate floral scent with what seemed like hints of hay as well? Very light and inviting.

The flavor of this tea was very smooth, floral (kind of rosy, maybe? I’ve never had any rose teas so I’m just guessing here) with slight hints of what I’d describe as lime zest. Absolutely lovely.