Butiki Teas

Oolong is so great. This is a lighter one with a sweet floral flavor that reminds me of a fine white wine, but without the alcohol flavor. I would say very good for a light Oolong…

This is another of my free samples from Butiki! Almond is one of my favorite flavors, so I of course had to try this one. I accidentally steeped it for a touch longer than the steeping time on the package, but it didn’t seem to hurt the tea. The color is a nice medium orangey-red. The first smell that hits me is sugar cookies, followed by cinnamon, the earthy aromas of the black tea base, and a bright hint of citrus. Taken all together, the smell once again really reminds me of the candy-encrusted roasted almonds you find at fairs (same as the almond cookie from Joy’s Teaspoon). I get very similar notes from the taste; this one does a pretty good job of actually tasting like those sugar-cinnamon coated almonds too. However, I’m more getting a feeling of almond than an actual taste; I’m sure the almond pieces and flavoring is contributing to the overall experience, but this tea just doesn’t have what I consider to be strong, pure almond notes. I get a slight bitterness from the tea, but it actually works well because it melds just right with the flavor. I think I lose some of the bakery-cookie notes in the taste, but that’s ok with me. I must have a somewhat different idea of what an almond cookie tastes like, because to an almond cookie basically just tastes like almond—no cinnamon, or spices, just plain, delicious almond. In any case in the “almond cookie” genre of teas, this one is quite good, if a bit less almondy than I’d like.

Despite being eager to sample all of Butiki’s Oolong teas, I was weary about trying this one. The last time I tried a tea with roses in it, I felt like I was drinking perfume. Or sipping on Mrs. Kaplan from the second grade. This tea smells more “potpourri” than a steeped Mrs. Kaplan.

It actually smells more like my Jasmine candles after steeping it — though not necessarily like “Jasmine tea” Jasmine. The smell is amazing. I have Jasmine candles for a reason: the aroma and warmth soothes and relaxes me. I noticed that this tea has a similarly calming effect. Possibly doubly calming as the process of drinking warm tea is itself already soothing.

The taste is nothing remarkable. It’s a pleasant, non-descript good quality green tea with only a bare hint of floral in the flavor while warm. It’s something that I can see myself drinking any time without having to wait until the mood strikes me.

The only downside to this tea is that its magical therapeutic properties seem to evaporate once it becomes cold. The aroma transforms back to “potpourri” as does the taste. I don’t like drinking it after that.

It smells and tastes like the grape lollipops I use to get whenever I went to the pediatrician as a kid. The texture is buttery and smooth. The flavor leans more toward the vegetal side while hot, and the grape becomes increasingly “present” as it cools. It’s very drinkable, but maybe a little too sweet and candy-like for my personal preference. It’s definitely worth checking out if you’re the type who loves sweets and gravitates toward grape flavors.

This tea has a slight vegetal notes and a delicate flavor.

Despite the shorter steep time, this makes a very dark cup of tea! The smell of the dry leaf reminds me very much of SpecialTeas’ almond cookie (another one of my favorites). While the scent is beautiful and very yummy, the taste is not as strong on the almond/cookie flavor. My tongue detects more of the tea base than the additional flavors. The flavor does not have the same doughy/bakery flavor that SpecialTeas’ blend has. It is a good cup, but I prefer my teas to be heavier on the flavor and lighter on the base. Thank you, Stacy!

So many Butiki Teas have arrived & I’m so excited to try all of them. I had the strawberry oolong earlier, but wasn’t in the mood to write a tasting note (I’ll do so later). My favorite coconut rooibos used to be from Teas Etc. The last pouch I ordered just tasted… rather gross, like something was wrong with the batch. I haven’t purchased that tea since. It’s been a while since I’ve had a coconut rooibos & I’m very happy to have a good one back in my collection!

I wasn’t expecting anything that different from when I last enjoyed this tea. There are small oily dots on the surface of the tea — I find them to be present with most coconut teas. The flavor is smooth & very full of coconut! For me, the rooibos is relatively hidden, but adds almost a hint of spice to the cup. The finish is creamy and sweet. I love the way it lingers after the sip has disappeared.

This tea has now taken what used to be coconut custard’s top spot. I’ll be buying more of this when I am all out!

Steeping this tea, I smelled TeasEtc.‘s coconut custard. Yes, my beloved coconut custard rooibos blend. If I were blindfolded and had a side-by-side comparison, I don’t believe that I could tell the difference. The taste is almost identical to coconut custard except maybe with a little bit more of that rooibos woodsy taste. I don’t think that I’m getting a creamy aspect, but I am enjoying this just as much as coconut custard. Really, very good! Thank you so much to Stacy for this delicious treat!

I love a good rooibos. This is very good. It works as a delicious red tea with a smooth vanilly flavor but I’m not sure why I’m not getting much of a “coconut cream pie” taste here. Maybe because a rooibos tea naturally tastes like that to me, or maybe because my sample had mostly rooibos and was missing the other good stuff to give it that coconut pie flavor. (It looked like plain rooibos in the package to me.) It may be because there is more tea out of the infuser than in it, so it just keeps steeping. (Though that is no fault of the tea, just my infuser.) Theories, theories. But if you like red tea, this is one to try anyway!

First, thanks to Butiki Teas for sending me a free sample of this to review! I woke up this morning with zero energy (it might have been the wet, sleety snow outside—blech!), so I decided I’d try this tea for a wake up boost. I followed the brewing instructions exactly, though a two minute brew time is quick! The liquor turned out a medium-tint reddish brown, and the aroma is that of the nice black tea base with an overlayer of bergamot. The flavor is nice and balanced between the bergamot and the black tea. To me this bergamot is a little more floral than fruity, but as it cools more citrus notes come out. There’s a bit of maltiness, and a slight astringency. I can see why the steep time is lower, because it seems like this tea might edge toward bitterness if steeped too long or at boiling. Overall this is a nicely blended Earl Grey with a strong black tea base.

This was the second sample I tried from Butiki teas. (Thanks again!) I have always loved and craved lychee fruits and lychee flavored items. So I’ve been searching for a lychee tea that I would like. And this one just takes the cake. It’s very light and smooth. The smell of the un steeped leaves is pretty subtle, but when steeped the lychee flavor (and aroma!) are very strong. I would love to have just a cupboard filled with this tea.

Once steeped, this tea has a yummy, fruity aroma. I was worried that the lychee aspect of the tea would extend only as far the scent because “flat scented water” has been my experience with flavored greens. However, this actually does taste like lychee! Like a combination of lychee juice and tea. There’s even a wonderful natural sweetness that lingers on my tongue long after every sip.

As for the oolong base, I wouldn’t recognize it as oolong in a blind sipping. It’s less prominent than I had expected. Even so, I think the subtle oolong base added depth (pardon my vagueness… I can’t really explain it) to the tea. All the elements in here harmonize perfectly with one another to create a relaxing and refreshing tea experience. It’s really delicious. I’m so in love with it.

I’ve just resteeped my sample. The flavor taste just as strong as it had in my first steeping. Yay!

First, I have to thank Stacy of Butiki for sending me this sample! I really liked this rooibos. It was very light in the flavor department. The most amazing thing about it was how well the crusty and flaky flavors of creme pie came through on this. I was really surprised at how the creme flavor came through as well. The coconut isn’t as strong as the other flavors, but just as well! I would love a nice, large bag of this!
Also, I really liked that there was no feeling of dry mouth/throat after drinking this.

I’m not familiar with oolong teas. I didn’t expect the floral scent! I want to say a mild gardenia, if that sounds good. I don’t even like gardenia! And no matter how much I love the delicious white peachy flavor, I’m trying to smell it as much as I’m tasting it. A tea like this is like drinking juice without all that sugar. This would also work really well as an iced tea. This is my favorite peachy tea! And this can definitely be steeped multiple times! The second steep was just as strong, if not stronger. I received this as a sample in a very generous package from Butiki!

SIPDOWN

A bit on the lighter EG side today but still a winner! Thumbs up!

I’m really enjoy this! It’s more of a cakey type EG but I really like it! It’s not overly bergamotty or overly astringent/peppery like some EGs are! This is YUMMERS!

When I made my purchase from Butiki Teas, I received a small free sample of this oolong tea. I was so excited to try it but wanted to be in the right mood for it as I am generally a mood based tea person. The dry leaves look pretty. They are dark green, slender, and slightly spiraled. The scent is light and floral, which I love.

This held up to multiple small steepings. The liquor was a nice pale yellow, almost like the color of egg whites. The taste is very light with a hint floral notes. It is very refreshing and smooth. The aftertaste was a little small hint of green and nuts.

Good tea. I’d describe it as “dainty”. :)

Yet another good offering from Butiki and it’s a mighty-fine Dragon Well! It has a slight buttered veggies taste mixed with a sweet-clean green tea taste! YUM!

Had three cups so far today…going to pass this one FWD for someone else to enjoy – I like this strong burly flavor!!!

Cocoa and Plum…YUM! Backlogging another cuppa…see previous notes!

tea-riffic! LOVE LOVE LOVE – see previous notes…I enjoyed one cup hot and another cold today!

Thanks LiberTEAs!

When I read “notes of leather” – I’m not going to lie…it freaked me out! As a vegetarian I cringe at the thought of leather and even if I wasn’t a vegetarian I hate the aroma leather has. Luckily…I didn’t pick up on any of the leather-likeness! The owner of this company is a vegetarian, too, which I thought was pretty awesome! So…perhaps it’s more of a Pleather. :)

Anyhow…This is slightly smokey on the nose. The taste is slightly smokey, too, and it’s a nice slightly-smokey, indeed! There are fruity notes I am picking up on which are darned close to plum!

The more I sip this the more I like this too! It has a smoother aftertaste which is surprising and welcomed!

This is an excellent Dragon Well. The flavor is buttery and sweet. Very smooth with a light vegetative taste. Very clean and refreshing to the palate.

Nice!

Thank you TeaEqualsBliss for sending me some of this tea!

The leaves are beautifully golden. The aroma evokes images of freshly baked bread. No, it doesn’t smell like freshly baked bread, but it has a way of bringing those thoughts to mind. It tastes biscuit-y. Bake-y and chewy! Rich and malty and very flavorful.

Nice! Oh, so very nice!