93 Tasting Notes

89
drank Peach Oolong by Butiki Teas
93 tasting notes

This afternoon I enjoyed an entire kettle’s worth of this tea. It made four lovely 15 oz. steeps (adding 30s each time). As with everything I’ve sampled from Butiki, the flavor tastes very natural. I wish the peach would have been just a shade stronger so it would have lasted beyond the 2nd steep. The oolong base could have gone on longer, but I was ready to drink something else.

I have a feeling this would be excellent as an iced tea. Next time I’ll combine the first two steeps and let them cool in the fridge.

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 4 min, 0 sec

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73

This is a pretty interesting blend. The dry leaves smell a lot like grape flavoring, but not in a cough syrupy kind of way. I didn’t really detect the vinegar notes that other reviewers have mentioned. To me, the taste is somewhere grape juice and wine. The grape flavor is really bold, but there’s a very slight acidity that reminds me more of wine.

ETA: I re-steeped this for 3 minutes, but then got called into an unexpected meeting. I enjoyed this at room temperature after I got back. The wine flavor is definitely stronger after it cooled off.

Big thanks to KittyLovesTea for the sample!

Preparation
Boiling 2 min, 0 sec

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77
drank S'mores by Della Terra Teas
93 tasting notes

I polished off my sample from JennyFur today. I absolutely adored the first half of this sample. The marshmallow was oh-so-awesome and the graham cracker and chocolate were beautifully blended together to give me s’mores in a cup.

Imagine my surprise when I took my first sip and all I tasted was soggy graham crackers and nearly no marshmallow (despite seeing a fair number in the sample). Oh man, this is bad. I brewed the same amount of tea for the same time at the same temperature as the first. The only explanation I can possibly offer is that I added slightly too much water. I usually brew about 14 oz. at a time. My cup looks a bit fuller than usual, so my guess is that there’s 15 oz. in there.

I’m dialing down my previous rating a little, because I don’t think such a slight increase in the amount of water should make a tea taste so terrible. I definitely recommend adding extra tea (or using less water) beyond what you think is reasonable when making yourself a cup of this.

Preparation
Boiling 2 min, 0 sec
JennyFur

I hate it when a tea doesn’t live up to a second drinking of it. I actually love that tea so I’m sorry it let you down.

Fiddling

The first time around it was excellent, and I could see why it gets such rave reviews. I think I’ve learned that I need to make this one extra strong. Thanks again for sharing!

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89

So yummy! This blend does justice to its namesake— it really does taste like carrot cake! The dominant flavors are carrot and cinnamon with a creamy finish. The green rooibos gives the blend a bit of an earthy quality which I just adore.

Big thanks to Marcel Duchamp for sending this in a swap!

Preparation
Boiling 5 min, 0 sec
Rob Rauschenberg

I’m glad you like this one! Its a good Rooibos.

Sil

i want to try this one eventually hehe the list keeps growing lol

Rob Rauschenberg

Sil, I can send you a small sample of this. I should have enough to send 3tsp. Just PM me if you are interested.

Kittenna

This is on my list too, although I’m still not sure about my feelings on green rooibos. I think we have a couple Della Terra green rooibos blends en route though, so maybe I’ll figure it out by drinking those!

Sil

Marcel – thank you for the offer! I suspect though that given that i know kittenna and possibly some of the other girls here want to try a bunch of S&V teas, we’ll likely place an order eventually. But i REALLY appreciate the offer :)

Fiddling

You guys are awesome! I wasn’t sure green rooibos either, but this blend convinced me that it can taste fan-freaking-tastic when done right.

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77
drank S'mores by Della Terra Teas
93 tasting notes

I must say I’m impressed. I usually find Della Terra’s black base to be a bit weak, but this was truly great. The marshmallow flavor is the most prominent, but I also taste hints of graham cracker and chocolate. I may just have to order some of this in the future!

Thanks to JennyFur for sharing!

Preparation
Boiling 2 min, 0 sec

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63

This tea was definitely minty! I saw plenty of rose petals in the sample, but I really couldn’t detect any rose flavor at all, which was a bit disappointing. Rose Mojito sounded like it would be a really intriguing blend, but it failed to wow me. It’s a decent minty tea, but nothing more. After reading through the reviews, I wish I would have made this as an iced tea. But alas, I only had enough for one mug.

Thanks to Lariel for including a sample of this in our swap.

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 3 min, 0 sec

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94

Stacy from Butiki sent me a sample of this along with my order. Thanks!

From the first whiff, I knew that this tea was something special. I’ve never tasted a pumpkin tea with a flavor so natural. It’s absolutely delicious and creamy. The spices are subtle which reminds me of a slice of pumpkin pie. I usually don’t enjoy resteeping flavored black teas, but the second steep still had lots of pumpkin flavor while the third steep had more prominent cinnamon notes.

My next order from Butiki is definitely going to include some of this tea. The price is comparable to pumpkin teas I’ve tried from Della Terra and DAVIDsTEA, but I find Butiki’s to be way more flavorful. Really, it’s a steal!

Preparation
Boiling 2 min, 30 sec

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82

A former colleague gave me some of this tea from her country of origin, Mauritius. It’s become one of my go-to bagged teas when I need a quick cuppa.

The vanilla is quite strong, but smooth. It smells absolutely wonderful. Like most black bases it will get bitter if oversteeped, so pay attention to steeping times!

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 0 sec

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93

Polished off the last of my sample from T.C. today. Thanks!

I enjoyed the first steep hot. There’s a really nice sweetness from the watermelon. I also detected some honeydew flavors which was an unexpected but welcome surprise. All in all a truly fantastic tea.

I combined the second and third steeps with a bit of honey and stuck it in the fridge to enjoy as iced tea later. After about an hour, I got impatient and starting drinking it. It was so good! The watermelon flavor was even more prominent than before. I added a few ice cubes from the office fridge to speed up the cooling process, but that ended up being a terrible idea.

Luckily for me, there is a box from Butiki sitting in my mailbox waiting for me! I can’t wait to try more of their teas.

Preparation
185 °F / 85 °C 4 min, 30 sec
Stephanie

This one is my favorite! I need to order more soon.

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75

My very first order from Della Terra was for one of their Mystery Boxes which included this tea. While I can’t say that it was love at first sight (taste?), I grew to enjoy this tea. It’s creamy and walnutty— in fact, I found several walnut HALVES in this tea! The pineapple adds a nice sweetness that rounds out the flavor. That being said, I just didn’t love it enough to finish the full 2 oz., so I swapped the rest away to someone who hopefully will enjoy it more than I did. :)

I noticed that the info posted here suggests steeping at 210, while the package suggested 160. I went with 160 and enjoyed the results.

Preparation
160 °F / 71 °C 2 min, 0 sec

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Profile

Bio

I’m a Floridian living in Kansas and currently pursuing a physics Ph.D. by day (…and by night, who am I kidding?) with an immense love for all things tea.

Rating Scheme:

<50 = Undrinkable.
50-59 = Drinkable, but not my cuppa.
60-69 = Decent, but nothing to write home about.
70-79 = Good tea that I drink occasionally. Probably will not restock when it runs out.
80-89 = Very tasty. May or may not restock when it runs out.
90-100 = Delicious. A staple in my collection.

Location

Manhattan, KS

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