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Ohhhh this smells good. Extremely sweet, like the toasted sugar top of creme brulee. In the cup my first impression is “wow, that smells REALLY sweet, again like Swiss Miss packet sugary sweet” but the flavor is not nearly as sweet as the aroma (and I think I’m a little relieved!). The aroma is not as chestnutty to me as just straight up roasted sugary sweet, but then it’s there in the taste. There’s almost the saltiness of hot roasted chestnuts. So in the mouth we’ve got nutty, salty, and somewhat smooth. I like!

There’s also that quality I noticed in the Lupicia Earl Grey, what I think of as “that Chinese tea smell” (it might not actually be Chinese tea, but that element I always think of as a Chinese tea thing because years ago when I was a preteen visiting Chinatown tea shops in various cities they all smelled like this, and the tea I’d get from them tasted like it too). I don’t know what it is, but it’s in this as well. Not bad.

As this cools, it grows on me—it smooths out even more and the nuttiness, including a mouthfeel resembling eating chestnuts, comes in. Yum. When I want my roast chestnut fix but they’re not available (so pretty much 360 days out of the year here) this is a neat evocation.

This one’s unusual. It has a…I don’t know what the term for it is exactly…kind of…very light but definitely present jasmine-y muskiness or earthiness to it, some sort of smell I associate with Chinese tea. I suppose basing EGs on Keemun is unusual among the ones I’ve tried maybe, guessing that’s why. It’s good though!…not what I expect when I reach for my EG like a security blanket (I admit I like mine heavily perfumed with super floral and super zesty bright bergamot), a sort of unique hybrid thing. Not sure where exactly to class this in my day to day tea habits as it’s filling a rather unique niche. Hm.

(I’m noticing sometimes I run into a problem rating teas because what I think of as the in-a-vacuum aesthetic quality of a tea and whether it actually fits into my specific life are at a disconnect. I guess going forward I’m going to try to take more of the former into account than the latter in rating on this site, and keep personal notes of my must-haves and staples elsewhere. We’ll see if I can keep that straight for the most part…)

As a side note to myself, I’m beginning to wonder if “bergamot” doesn’t mean what I think it means smell and flavor-wise somehow, based on other Steepsters’ reviews of EGs. Common consensus will be “oh this one’s super bergamot-y” or “this one has barely any bergamot” and it will be almost opposite my impression. But I find this so, so puzzling because I’ve LOVED bergamot for like 20 years and as such chosen it for my bath products and candles and whatever else, so the element I find common (and tantalizingly beautiful) in all of those products (from lots of different sources, mind) must be it, right? Perplexed.

To me it’s that exquisite heady yet fresh, floral note that has an edge of citrus zest to it. The smell of, well, the flowers in an orange grove, that almost jasmine perfume (which is so funny because I loathe jasmine) combined with the zippy aroma of orange oil, the way the zest permeates the petals a bit. Done poorly or too heavily it becomes bitter.

This was really lovely, with lots of that bergamot fragrance I love and require. Going to have to savor this batch for sure, ‘cause for me once it’s gone it’s gone, alas.

Whoa, dry and brewing this smells like sweet coffee. Husband thought it smelled like pralines. Brewed it’s quite surprising—deep dark oily black, with some thin sediment rimming the cup. Made me worry it’d be harsh and burnt tasting or bitter, and there is a toasty thing going on (unsurprising as it’s barley-based), but it’s not a bad thing at all, to my relief. Sweet and caramel-y and yeah, like coffee but with much less body, a cleaner taste. There’s a light earthiness too that isn’t usually in coffee, and I like it. Thought based on the description it’d * need * milk, pleasantly surprised it doesn’t, though I can see how that’d probably add texture and richness. Great to have this at my disposal as a late night kinda-coffee-like sweet treat.

Yay a fruit tea I don’t hate! Smells lovely and is not astringent at all. I’ve noticed the odds work in my favor when it’s a citrus-based, but also creamy, tea. This is sweet-tart, yet doesn’t have any puckery unpleasant astringency. Somewhat light body that makes it eminently drinkable after a large meal like dinner. Doesn’t need milk or sugar. Bonus, it’s no-caf. I’m building up quite an arsenal of those finally, yay—no more tealess or sleepless nights!

So pretty with the flowers. Dry and brewing, the sweetness of almonds really comes out along with some floral notes—reminds me a lot of Korres’ Bitter Almond scented line of bath products (a compliment as it’s one of my favorite fragrances, and rather unique, not just the usual everyday “nut” scent found in products).

Funny about the Korres Bitter Almond aroma, because upon drinking it reminds me of their Vanilla Cinnamon line. The spices are warm and sweet, and there’s some cherry and vanilla too. All of these things in, say, a cheap drugstore lipgloss, that is to say artificial with a heavy hand, would turn me off, but here they’re beautiful and intoxicating. That said this is indeed quite sweet, so you have to be in the mood for that.

I have a feeling I’m going to have to mete out my MF experiences in order to prevent getting too used to the loveliness, ‘cause my across-the-ocean US pocketbook can’t afford to make them a habit. Hope I don’t start to feel like Icarus flying too high towards the sun only to get burned, ha.

Brews up a light, bright, pretty orangeish color. Has that light refreshing quality and woodiness I like and associate with black teas from Nepal. I think I like my Fikkal estate tea more—it’s not as delicate and has a lot of flavor—but this does me just fine for today.

It’s impressive how smooth this tea is given its strength. When I want what (given how my personal lifetime tea trajectory has played out) feels to me like an old school classic no-frills black tea taste (does anyone else get this craving sometimes? I don’t super often, but when I do the desire is super strong like woah), this would be a good option. I might prefer the Golden Moon one just a smidge more, but they both do the job admirably.

Had this last night as my last cup of the day. Wasn’t crazy about the mint smell or taste in this one, made it taste medicinal and almost bitter. Not enough licorice root to counter that (I admit though I love the stuff). It wasn’t terrible—I liked it more than the Blood Orange Rooibos—but it reminded me of the elements of Extra Sleepy Bear that make me sigh and suck it up before drinking, without the reward of practically narcotic sleep. Might do OK iced.

As always with Butiki, lovely long unbroken dry leaves. A pretty, bright, almost orange-y color. In the cup it smells like luscious fruit to me (in a good way, despite my general dislike of fruitiness due to astringency…this is much juicier smelling).

Oooh this is good. It’s got a peach flavor and aroma, but it’s not heavily so, more gentle and “authentic” tasting, and sweet but in an airy-light, refreshing way, again like light honey. And no astringency! I love a good juicy, heady intense peach, and bizarrely they are very, very hard to come by in Memphis (yeah, I don’t get it either), so this is perfect. I don’t like fruity teas but Butiki always seems the exception to the rule (and yeah I know this isn’t flavored, just sayin’).