82
drank Crimson Horizon by Butiki Teas
681 tasting notes

Starting off my Butiki drink-a-thon with a breakfast tea seemed like a no-brainer. I currently have 75 Butiki teas in my cupboard, some flavoured, some not. Of those, I have rated a measly 12, and so my first new year’s resolution of 2017 is to rate and write up detailed notes of the remaining 63 by the end of January. It works out to just over 2 per day, so it’s doable. I still want to reach 400 by my third steepster birthday (beginning of February) so that might make it less doable…

This is definitely a great wake-up tea! Wow is it strong! I usually steep this for 1 minute but using Stacy’s parameters of 1 minute 30 for the purposes of the drink-a-thon I find it a little more on the astringent side. I used to find my stomach cramped a little after drinking a lot of tea or coffee, and for a while assumed it was lactose-related, but since it happens when drinking a lot of tea plain and not when drinking plain milk, I’m thinking it might be the caffeine. This one does make my stomach a little uncomfortable for a while, but I’m used to it and I can deal. I assume it has a pretty high caffeine content.It’s worth it though, because it really is a great breakfast tea. Once I’ve added a splash of milk to counteract the astringency (and just because I prefer my breakfast teas that way) it’s really enjoyable. The malty, bready note is most prominent and immediately obvious, but the more I sip the more I can taste a nutty back-note and an even lighter citrus note which are rounding it out very nicely. I’m a sucker for nutty teas, whether in natural notes or added flavouring, and this one really hits the mark. I definitely see why Stacy used it as the base for Praline Horizon (and I think maybe a pistachio one? I didn’t pick that up). I really like that this is a CTC too, because it means that when I wake up in need of tea right away I don’t have to wait too long as it brews up really quickly, which is good for my patience! I’m planning on drinking a few more different teas today since I have the day off work, so I’m not resteeping this time, but I know from past experience that this one holds up very well to additional brews. And the Butiki drink-a-thon begins!

Preparation
Boiling 1 min, 30 sec 1 tsp 10 OZ / 295 ML

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Bio

I first got into loose leaf teas when a friend of mine showed me Cara McGee’s Sherlock fandom blends on Adagio a good few years back, but they weren’t on sale in the UK so I started trying other kinds instead and have been hooked for almost three years (and have purchased several fandom tea sets including the Sherlock one I lusted over for so long).

Flavoured teas make up the majority of my collection, but I’m growing increasingly fond of unflavoured teas too. I usually reach for a black, oolong or white tea base over a pu’erh or green tea, though I do have my exceptions. I will update my likes and dislikes as I discover more about my palate, but for now:

Tea-likes: I’m generally easily pleased and will enjoy most flavours, but my absolute favourites are maple, caramel, chestnut, pecan, raspberry, coconut, blueberry, lemon, pumpkin, rose, hazelnut and peach

Tea-dislikes: vanilla (on its own), ginger, coriander/cilantro, cardamom, liquorice, pineapple and chocolate

I am a 25 year old bartender, English Literature sort-of-graduate and current student working towards finishing my degree. I am hoping to one day complete a masters degree in Mental Health Social Work and get a job working in care. Other than drinking, hoarding and reviewing tea, my hobbies include reading, doing quizzes and puzzles, TV watching, football/soccer (Sunderland AFC supporter and employee of my local football club), music, artsy weird makeup, and learning new things (currently British Sign Language).

I should probably also mention my tea-rating system, which seems to be much harsher than others I’ve seen on here. It’s not always concrete, but I’ll try to define it:

• 50 is the base-line which all teas start at. A normal, nothing-special industrial-type black teabag of regular old fannings would be a 50.

• 0 – 49 is bad, and varying degrees of bad. This is probably the least concrete as I hardly ever find something I don’t like.

• I have never given below a 20, and will not unless that tea is SO bad that I have to wash my mouth out after one sip. Any teas rated as such are unquestionably awful.

• This means most teas I don’t enjoy will be in the 30 – 50 range. This might just mean the tea is not to my own personal taste.

• 51+ are teas I enjoy. A good cup of tea will be in the 50 – 70 range.

• If I rate a tea at 70+, it means I really, really like it. Here’s where the system gets a little more concrete, and I can probably define this part, as it’s rarer for a tea to get there.

• 71- 80: I really enjoyed this tea, enough to tell somebody about, and will probably hang onto it for a little longer than I perhaps should because I don’t want to lose it.

• 81 – 90: I will power through this tea before I even know it’s gone, and will re-order the next time the mood takes me.

• 91 – 100: This is one of the best teas I’ve ever tasted, and I will re-order while I still have a good few cups left, so that I never have to run out. This is the crème de la crème, the Ivy League of teas.

I never rate a tea down, and my ratings are always based on my best experience of a tea if I drink it multiple times. I feel that this is fairest as many factors could affect the experience of one particular cup.

I am always happy to trade and share my teas with others, so feel free to look through my cupboard and message me if you’re interested in doing a swap. I keep it up-to-date, although this doesn’t mean I will definitely have enough to swap, as I also include my small samples.
Currently unable to swap as I’ve returned after a long hiatus to a cupboard of mostly-stale teas I’m trying to work through before I let myself purchase anything fresh

I also tend to ramble on a bit.

Location

South Shields, UK

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