Thanks to Stacy at Butiki Teas for this Sample!
I love, love, love the service from Stacy! Could not be better! The fact that I am able to pick the samples that I want to try is such a cool deal…I mean…who does this now days?!
And, I don’t know of any other company her size that has the amount of African teas from small or organic farms either. This is the future of tea that I want to support!
I chose the Kenya Kangaita as one of my free samples and it is a hand-picked tea.
The wet leaves remind me more of a Puer…all rich red-brown, large and woody chopped looking. The scent was even a bit earthy and vegital but sweet, a little malty and floral in a way I could not figure out.
When I tasted the tea, the flavor was clean and bright, without any tannin…and juicy. There again was the floral scent and flavor that I was having problems identifying. I had just emptied the pot of tea, so I took off the lid and stuck my nose inside as far as possible and inhaled over and over again…(like a tea nerd-nut)… and came away with some conclusions on scent and flavor.
There was orange pekoe, apricot, a little malt, licorice..itsy, pepper on the tongue, the tea was juicy and clean with tannin developing when the tea begins to cool. The flavors are also super wonderful with sugar and cream. I WISH I HAD MORE!
I really like this tea! It’s $4.00 an oz. and for me, I think it’s good to support the growth of small farms.
