Butiki Teas

I am making up for my silence yesterday. Today is an overcast indoor day. I will drink tea. And a lot of it. Another sample from Butiki. I am brewing this in the Gaiwan for the suggested 1 minute. This tea already has sent an energy through my body that is otherworldy. I feel like I could do anything. So much for staying at home. This tea makes you want to do something. Anything. The flavor and aroma are rich and very intoxicating. In The Hero’s Journey by Joseph Campbell, Roger Guillemen states: " But yet, if you study psychedelic experiances, you also have to consider green tea, which is loaded with caffeine or molecules like caffeine. And it’s very well known that this has a profound influence on the function of some people." This tea does provide a profound influence on me. Superb….

I have to admit I only received a small sample so I will do the best I can to give a decent analysis. I went by Butikis instructions. I do not know if the water was exactly 160. I think it’s time to invest in a thermometer. I assumed the 3 to 5 minute steep would be appropriate. I let it go for maybe 5 minutes. The first second or two into the steep the liquor was a slight purple but soon became more amber. The end result was a delicious brew. I am not doing cartwheels but lets just say it’s something totally different and refreshing. In order to make a better review I would definitely need more tea to play with. This tea is to me a curiosity. After the first cup I am feeling very good. Even in what i would consider to be a weak amount of tea. So for cup 2 I am going to do as Mr. Norman does and boiling the ever loving you know what out of it. It’s now very light and not as enjoyable as the 1st. I know this is fine tea. The moral of this tale is to have ample leaf….

Received a sample in my order from Butiki…

This is a great way to end a day of tea. I am ready to Citrus Dream off to slumberland. A delightful mix of chamomile blossoms and fruit. Not tart, not sweet, just soft and pleasant. I can’t taste much of the goji or lemon grass, they are very subtle. I am getting mostly apple and chamomile with a touch of orange. I happen to like chamomile but if you don’t I would of course avoid this. It’s like Sleepytime tea x 10 in terms of flavor and beauty. Very well done for an herbal – another winner from Butiki.

I decided to cold brew this one for 24 hours so I’m drinking my results today. This is such an interesting tea and the cold brewing has brought out some nice lemon-y notes in addition to the savory artichoke. So glad I tried it this way!

This is a beautiful green tea in terms of the hand rolled craftsmanship to form these individual nettles. I steeped 3 of them today and am really enjoying the unique flavor, a bit artichoke, a bit marine and a wee bit of an orange spice type of flavor. Delicious. see previous notes if interested. :)

I bought this recently with a few things from Butiki to try. I have to say I like this very much. For one thing the unique twisted shape of the leaves in this conical fashion is just fun to look at! An organic and free trade tea from Sri Lanka, also a bonus.

For another thing this has a lot of flavor for a green tea, I am definitely picking up some vegetal notes of artichoke and the like, but there is also a flavor here which is reminiscent of black tea, I had to make sure I washed my cups since I was a bit puzzled by this. Then I went on the internet and found some other reviews which said the same exact thing so no, it is not my imagination apparently.

I feel like I am getting a hint of smoke and dried fruit in the aftertaste here. Very complex and rich for a green tea. I recommend you try it if you are a fan of green teas. :) Definitely a keeper in my book.

I followed the instructions on the bag which was 180 F and 3 minutes, two cones for 8 oz of water.

Green tea of the morning here, it’s been a while since I’ve had this one but it’s very vegetal and mostly sweet with a bit of palette cleansing astringency. Definitely a nice green tea to sip on plain (although honestly my favorite greens tend to be Japanese). I love the artichoke, almost savory flavor here.

I’ve been drinking more coffee lately and my back has also started hurting me more. I don’t know if this is a coincidence, but I think I’ll go back to drinking only tea for a while. I’ve read green and white tea are supposed to have anti-inflammatory properties.

p.s. I also got a good 2nd steep out of it

It is everything the description promises. A sweet and mellow green tea with vegetal notes a bit like artichoke notes with a sweetness like clover and hay. The instructions said 180F and 2/5 minutes but I let mine go more towards 3 and it was still fine. I am enjoying it this morning. The brewed leaves smell almost floral in nature.

I had to evacuate my home yesterday. One never knows what a hurricane may do. I decided to bring this along if things get bad. The center of the storm is coming soon and already there is flooding of historical proportions. The first few sips are tingling my tongue and throat. An immediate warmth is felt upon my whole body. After sipping, I sigh. What a lovely tea. My pores feel as if they are all open and breathing in this intense tea. My mouth is wet and the tea flavor continues to linger. There are moments in ones life when certain teas help one cope with certain situations. This is when one turns to Sheng.

I brewed this in the Gaiwan this time. I feel this is the best vessel for truly tasting a tea. It’s blowing me away. It is a touch bitter on the 1st and 2nd steeps but it’s a very flavorful bitterness. It is an incredible eye opener. This so different from any other Sheng that I have had so far. One of those teas that you feel with each sip. I cannot place a particular flavor other than earth and roots and vines. This is what’s coming to mind. This tea is scary good. And the bitter taste lingers and it’s a beautiful bitterness. I am upping the score on this incredible tea….

Ok. While I am on a Sheng roll. I received this today in the mail. I had already brewed the Asha ’08 Jing Mai and loved it. I know patience is a virtue. I had to try it. I followed the instructions and I have to admit their a bit light for my tastes. So I decided to to let it steep much longer. The liquor is pure and clear. Dare I say that this tasted somewhat fruity? This Sheng is like no other that I have had. I definitely have to do another tasting and not after another Shu or any other tea for that matter. I will up the dosage and the steep time in the Yixing. I will rate this because I feel it has a world of potential. I loved it even though i could not immerse myself in the ritual and give it my undivided attention. Lu Yu said that purple tea is the best of all. I respect and honor his humble opinion.

It’s a sipdown for me!
This is one of the few rooibos blends I actually like and I’m sure I’ll get more soon, it’s become an essential part of my revolving permanent collection. Better when steeped for a longer period of time.

This is one of my favorite flavored rooibos tisanes. I don’t know what more I can say about it that hasn’t been said already. :)

It would be great to see some more rooibos blends from Butiki, maybe even a green rooibos? Banana cream pie? Well, one can always dream…

I had a lovely dinner tonight with my friend S. at this vegan restaurant Millennium. We definitely had a bit of a splurge but it was fun and well worth it for a special occasion. I had a shaved asparagus, avocado and bitter greens salad with a smoked tempeh entree. We shared the apple cake for dessert and I was so full but not overwhelming so because the food was really healthy.

Anyway I have written about this tea quite a few times but it’s still one of my favorite rooibos blends. I really enjoy rooibos in the evening and this was great with soymilk and a touch of teavana’s rock sugar which I got as a gift last year from my brother.

It was such a delightful day and now I am really to doze off happily in slumber land…

yummy tea of the afternoon…

I started drawing some flowers and decided I would have this tea to accompany me, which is definitely one of my favorite rooibos tisanes.

I have a date this afternoon which I don’t really want to go on, however I think it would be good for me to get out and meet some new people so I’m going anyway. I hope I don’t die of boredom or bore the other person to death. ;-)

I’ve written about this a couple times before but it’s so yummy. Anyone who likes rooibos should definitely give this a whirl. Much less medicine-y than a lot of rooibos blends, the mango is very juicy tasting and the cardamom is such a nice touch. Heavenly with some vanilla soymilk.

Rooibos is another one of those things I used to hate but I know it does seem to help me when I have an upset stomach and also with allergies. Someday I will need to try this one iced.

Backlogging… got some more of this and had it last night, it’s good!

Thanks to Butiki , this came as a free sample in my Butiki tea order…

Wow, I am impressed! This does not taste at all like rooibos, I can’t believe it’s not honeybush?? A very faint sweetness here with juicy mango -mango is one of my favorite fruits. I can perhaps taste a tiny bit of cardamom and calendula. A very yummy dessert tea! I put soymilk in mine and it totally hits the spot. Yeah, I would definitely buy this! Its super good!

Many thanks to Jenn for sending me a sample of this to try…

This is a pretty nice option for a dessert tea. It is pumpkin-y, and sweet and tasty. I did add some soymilk which I think pumped up the brulee/cream factor. My only tiny complaint is that is is very heavy on the nutmeg so that seemed to overwhelm the other flavors a bit for me. Still pretty yummy…

I got this as a sample with my Winter Sampler set. The loose leaf smelled promising, but not quite as strong as I thought it should be with a name like “Almond Indulgence.” I was more expecting to be smacked upside the head with an almond extract-like heaviness, but I didn’t get that. I actually didn’t get much almond flavor at all, and the same was true for the brew.

From the first few sips, I sort of got the “cookie” from its former name, but the almond was almost completely lost. It was an attempt at subtlety that came across as timidity. :(

The flavor wasn’t bad, though. It was a tasty black tea, although the leaves were a bit crumb-like. I don’t think I’ll order it, since I love Teavana’s Almond Biscotti and The English Tea Room’s Ciao Amaretto SO MUCH, but I’m glad I got to try it. :)

This is the tea I like best from Butiki. It has a sweet honeyed floral fragrance and a sweet taste.

Never before has a tea defeated me like this. I went a good seven or eight rounds with this pu-erh – the first five were gongfu-style, the last two were Western. Same leaves each time. It didn’t lapse in strength until steep seven, and even then it still had juice to jolt me. Odd spectrum of flavors, too – peat, oak, wilderness leaf, juniper, strawberries-’n-cream (yeah, you heard right) and earth. This was one tough sip. Totally worth it, though.

Full Review: http://lazyliteratus.teatra.de/2011/11/17/pwned-by-purple-pu-erh/