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I’m on standby for work but I know I’ll be called in soon – it’s a matter of when, not if, in other words.

But until then, I figured I’d make a cup of tea. Audiobooks, card games, and tea. So much more fun than work!

I hadn’t done this one in a while and it’s not really a breakfast tea to me – much more of a dessert or afternoon black. I made it WAY too strong to have by itself though – so creamer went in to kind of tone down the bitter black tea-ness and it’s much more palatable, if a little sweet. It is like a buttery root beer float when made this way. Yum!

In its own way, this is a perfect pre-Halloween treat. And I have plenty to left so I’d better start drinking it while its in season!

STEEP FOUR

Okay, trying anyway, just with less water and for 7 minutes. I’ll take it as a good sign that I didn’t want to be done with this tea yet – this is not like me at all.

Scent of the wet leaf:
Very faint maltiness.

Scent of the steeped tea:
Quite faint as well – it smells like the wet leaf, just a tinge malty and like a watered down syrup.

Taste:
Much like the 3rd infusion. Yes, the flavor is definitely done here. It is just a weak malty black tea.

Overall this was really unique – I love anything from Hawaii so there was no way I’d pass up drinking tea from there. I don’t think it was necessarily a complex tea, but it was a solid one that I will have no problem enjoying the rest of.

And now that I have logged it maybe I’ll be more prepared for next time!

STEEP THREE

Scent of the wet leaf:
Baked sweet potatoes (each time it smells like some different version of sweet potatoes, so weird)

Scent of the liquor:
Malt, but otherwise indistinct.

Taste:
This steeping is lighter than the last, in flavor, in texture (mouthfeel is a lot thinner), and in color. The beautiful aftertaste is much more faint as well. I still have a decent flavor but I don’t think I’d be able to get another steep out of this…

STEEP TWO

Scent of the wet leaf:
Roasted sweet potatoes

Scent of the liquor:
Still sweet potatoes and syrup, though more syrupy and less potatoey. The liquor is a deep red brown.

Taste:
The notes of grain and bread are still predominant. The best part of this tea so far is the honeyed syrupy aftertaste it leaves behind. I don’t get any real sweetness except way after I’ve already swallowed. This tea LINGERS, like my beloved Dan Cong. There’s no bitterness or astringence either, just…amazing tea in its purest form.

I know I’ve had this before because the bag is opened, but I did not log it. UGH. I think the main reason I didn’t log it is because Tea Hawaii has TWO Makai black listings on here, and it isn’t clear which this is. The leaves are spindly and black, but not as long as the Assam ones are reported to be, so maybe it is just the Sinesis? I think that’s how I’m going to log it.

(I don’t know and its really messing with my need to have my entire cabinet neatly labelled. This is why I don’t like blends, and unlabelled teas for the most part – I don’t like when things can’t be organized into their own definitive categories.)

Anyway, I’m sending some of this to Sil in a swap so I figured I should fully explore it since I had it out. And each steep is going to have its own tasting note only because otherwise this note would be a BEAST.

FIRST STEEP

NOTE: I used 1.5 g. leaf. Steepster won’t let you record decimal points in the “amount” box.

Scent of the wet leaf:
Cooked sweet potatoes.

Scent of the steeped tea:
Sweet potatoes drenched in syrup. I’ve never eaten this per se but that’s what this smells like.

Taste:
Kind of light, actually. I treated the steeping directions of “1 cup” as 8 oz. but maybe I should have gone with a cup as being 6 ounces and added leaf accordingly. I think I’ll add in a bit more to make it 2 g. tea for 4 oz. water and see what happens.

Hmm, as I’ve been drinking this I get this interesting taste – like if bread were condensed into a thick syrup. It has a lovely honeyed texture but isn’t overly sweet. Maybe what I’m thinking of is malt syrup, even though again, it’s not something I’ve had to even know what that is?

There is a sweetness in the aftertaste but the tea itself is mostly what a good, hearty bread would taste like. No bitterness or astringence at all. Well, on to the second steep…

I was so impatient for this tea to get here! Ever since I was informed what japanese region produces the mineral/seaweed profile I have been wanting to really try it out for myself. So I ordered this from TeaWing.

The dry leaf is very small and dark green, like pine needles. There were lots of broken bits, too. The scent was really pretty standard japanese sencha/green, so no surprises there. It came in a vaccuum sealed pouch and the recommended steeping was at 170-175 degrees for 45 seconds for the initial infusion, with 1 g. tea for each oz. of water. I steeped it in my gaiwan (so 4 g. leaf was used).

1st steep: 45 seconds. This does give me the ocean breeze taste I remember from Obukucha, though its missing the saltiness. It is actually rather sweet, and brothy. I drank this down really fast, but was kind of disappointed in the lack of saltiness – there was almost a sense of drinking miso broth with the Obukucha that I would have loved to experience again. Maybe I still will?

After steeping, the leaves, which were small and dark green, expanded and turned bright green. There is a definite note of nori/seaweed in the wet leaf, which is leaving me very excited to move on to the next steep…

2nd steep: 1 minute
And I ROYALLY botched it! I couldn’t drink this infusion – it was TOO bitter and astringent to go down. Note to self: 1 minute is way too long! I hate that I had to learn this the hard way, but down the drain it goes.

3rd steep: 45 seconds.
Got a little gunshy after the spectacular failure that was the last steep so I shortened the steep time back to 45 seconds. The infusion is still a bright green, and little bits of leaves keep making their way from my gaiwan to my cup. This steep is still bitter but drinkable, at least. Spinachy seaweed is all I’m tasting, with that underlying bitterness. It’s not bad, and I’m going through it pretty fast just so I can get to the next iteration of this tea…

4th steep: 45 seconds.
Bitterness and watery tea. I have well and truly botched this. :(

Well, on the bright side, I still have a little less than 100g. to play with and I know what NOT to do next time. The first steep of this certainly did have potential and I will withhold the rating for now, seeing as I broke the tea.

I know I’ll be trying it again soon though!

Tea of the morning. I had to get up and be somewhere for work (8 AM is for the birds, says this night shifter) and I needed something STRONG. So, 2 tsp leaf and 8 oz of water + creamer was the answer.

Today’s cup was heavy on the vanilla and not as heavy on the bergamot, which was fine by me- it’s my preferred flavor balance, actually. And I have a lot more of this left than I thought so I better start drinking!

SIPDOWN. :(

The Butiki website says there’s still some availability, so I may bite, because this tea, this fabulously unassuming tea, has become quite a staple for me at breakfast time.

I mean, it tastes like soft caramels. How could it not be awesome?

I’ve had this so many times, and it’s gotten to the point where it really doesn’t matter how I make it – with or without milk, with or without sugar – it gives me great results each time. As long as it steeps for 4 minutes, you will get a good cup of tea.

Tonight’s was without sweetener with some biscuits and honey before going into work. The milk brought out buttery maple notes and I drank it down pretty fast – but no time to have another cup as work is calling. Ugh. In a perfect world I’d have all the time in the world to drink tea all day….

I brewed this the western way, which tends to work out really well for me. (See parameters below for details on that) No additives. I don’t think I’ve ever put anything in this tea, actually. It seems like it would be sacrilegious to do so, almost.

The first steep is mostly Toasted bread. No cocoa notes. Well, there are some cocoa notes in the wet leaf, but not in the actual liquor. The dry leaf smelled like raisin bread. What a fantastic smell!

The first steep definitely has a bitterness to it- I’ve mentioned it before but its a kind of blackened toast taste almost. It paired really well with my cinnamon toast breakfast – the sweetness of that cut the bitterness of the tea well. And every sip is different – some are heavily loaded with that burny flavor, and others are more fresh baked bread. Faint notes of cocoa sneak into the periphery every once in a while too. I love chameleon tea where each sip is different but amazing in its own way.

It’s the second steep that really shines though so we’ll judge the way this tea has aged by that particular iteration. Second steep time is six minutes. Cinnamon brownie! YESSSS. There is still an underlying baked bread note separate from the cinnamon/chocolate taste, too. Oh Lao Shan black. Still quite lovely even though you’re pushing 18 months to 2 years in age.