Received my order from Butiki Teas this morning and am very excited to experience what others have already been raving about!
A cold, dreary, slightly damp June day here – it reminds me of Fall. I chose this offering from my order because it seems to be fitting of a Fall-like tea.
I like how Stacy has included brewing recommendations for her teas because I would have gone heavier on the leaf – that’s my natural default. I did only use 6 oz of water for the teaspoon of leaf and went 15 second too long (from the recommendation) on the steep. But the resulting cup is delicious – and that’s even without adding anything, something I never do! The taste is not really strong, but oddly I like that. Its just enough to stand on its own. Pumpkin and spice fill the nose and the mouth. No bitterness! To me it’s more like a pumpkin pie taste rather than a créme brûlée; I’m not getting the creamy, but that could be due to just having had a peanut butter rice cake before this.
Tried a second cup with (new leaf and) the same brewing parameters, but added a 1/2 tsp. of brown sugar to the cup, but tasted no difference. Another 1/2 tsp. later, it just tasted sweeter, still no creaminess.
A third cup using the combined leaves from the previous two cups and soaking for 3 1/2 minutes produced a still fragrant cup of pumpkin spice, but the spice is lighter in taste.
Nonetheless, I’m a happy camper! I really like that I can enjoy this without sweetener. Come to think of it, this might be the first black tea I like without it! Thank you Stacy!
