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Thank you to Will Work For Tea for this sample!

First, I taste the black base which is a smooth black with good almond flavour. Then the cinnamon at the end of the sip. It is a little bit astrigent but not overwhelmingly.

I brewed this according to Butiki’s website at boiling for 4 minutes. Now that I am writing this note, I noticed the steepster description says to steep for 2 minutes. Maybe that is why it is a bit astringent. And by my previous Butiki experience with tea, they are not usually astingent. So……next time I will only brew for 2 minutes.

I would rate it at maybe 84 right now but I will not rate it for now because I will try again later on and review.

Sipdown: I cold brewed the rest of my package of this.

This is a nice light blueberry white tea. Nice and refreshing. I don’t see any blueberries in here so that is a little disappointing. This is good, but I think DT’s White Tiger is similar but superior to this blend. I am lowering the rating a bit.

Quick rinse

Wow, the fresh smell of the dried leaves is just dreamy. They look so beautiful, green and rolled. They look and taste of supreme quality.

5 seconds
Steepings 1-4: Creamy, sweet, floral. So smooth with a slight vegetal note. This takes me back to when I was a kid, drinking hot milk when I couldn’t sleep. This tea (same as the hot milk) gives you the feeling of comfort and safety.

5 seconds
Steepings 5-8: Less vegetal with a creamy, buttery, vanilla sweetness. I do notice some tingling on the tongue as well. For sure, my favourite group of steepings.

8 seconds
Steepings 9-12: Still sweet, but less buttery and creamy. I am picking up some fruity notes now.

The leaves are now almost filling my entire gongfu pot. They are so pretty. This tea could probably handle more steepings but I have some errands to run , then I want to try the Laoshan White.

I got this in my grab bag way back in July. But, I have swapped and received so many samples in my swaps that I am getting so far behind!

As the name says, it is buttery, with sweet orange, and hints of cranberry. I like it with the honeybush base because it is nice and mellow. And it isn’t too tart.

It almost feels like I am having a baked good for a bedtime snack.

Quick rinse

I am really starting to love my little gongfu mini teapot and tiny double walled cups.

2-4 seconds
Steepings 1-4: Roasted honey notes with a thick mouthfeel. The aftertaste is woodsy.

5 seconds
Steepings 5-8: Now I am getting the waffle cone notes. It is sweet and smooth, but not too strong. Some vanilla is peeking through as well. This group of steepings is my favourite.

8 seconds
Steepings 9-12: These steepings are not as sweet as the previous ones. The vanilla is still present. I am getting a slight cinnamon hint, but no banana like the website suggests.

The first steepings of this tea are almost a little bit too strong for my taste. The later steepings shine though!

Thanks to Nicole for this sample

This is the first Darjeeling I have tried. I am not sure what notes I am supposed to pick up on, but this tea is smooth with a little bit of astingency. I am not picking up the typical black tea base, but that is likely because it is a decaf.

As Nicole mentioned in her note, I am sure this would make a great iced tea!

Dry leaves smell incredibly chocolately.
Wet leaves smell like dark chocolate and malty.

Using my little gongfu mini-teapot and clear double walled cups!

2seconds for each steep:
Steeps 1-4: Rich, creamy dark chocolate fills my mouth with a little hint of baked honey nut bread. The aftertaste is sweet and malty but not “too thick” on my palate. The mouthfeel is full and fantastic.

Increasing by 3 seconds for each infusion;
Steepings 5-8: Now, the tea has transformed from chocolate to nutty caramel with honey notes coming on a little bit stronger

Steepings 9-12: These steeps aren’t quite as steep. But still smooth and delicious. My palate isn’t really sure what notes are present, something lightly cinnamon maybe?

Overall: this tea is fantastic, chocolatey but so naturally sweet, with not bitterness. This is a great tea to enjoy on my day off!! Who knew straight tea could be so complex? I have certainly really learned to enjoy straight teas!

Thanks to Will Work For Tea for this sample

Wow, this is smooth! This is sweet, creamy, and with great vanilla flavour (vanilla is one of my fav flavours). This is a truly great blend. The black tea base doesn’t come through too much…….

Wait a minute……reading other reviews and I realize: this is a DECAF? WHAT? No wonder I couldn’t taste the black base too much…lol. This is way too good to be a decaf. This is the best decaf I have ever tasted. I might have to make a Harneys order one day and this tea will certainly be on it!

Backlogging from Monday.

This is very refreshing like orange juice but with a sweet tropical aftertaste. I am definitely getting hints of pineapple and papaya. Still a bit earthy from the mate base. I like that there are no artificial ingredients in this blend.

I put some in the fridge to cool, and it is good chilled too. The same notes shine through as I mentioned.

Backlogging from yesterday.

I finally got this tea. It was sold out of my local DT for quite awhile. Then, the last 3 times that I went, I got distracted by other new teas and forgot to try this one!

This is better than I was expecting. It is earthy but not as earthy as a mate base. I like this guayusa base, it is earthy but remains sweet. To me, this and the new main squeeze are very similar which I tried the day before this one.

The papaya and peach come through very nicely. Too bad there is flavourings in this one.

I put the last part of this cup in the fridge to cool and tried it this morning. It was very good chilled. Very peachy and refreshing.