Butiki Teas

This is actually a very dessert-y tea. Sweet, silky, lightly buttery. Definitely picking up a strong, but not excessive, vanilla element. Minty aftertaste. I didn’t know an unflavored oolong could taste like this! Very nice.

Thanks to Stacy at Butiki Teas for the sample.

No notes yet.

mmmmmmmmm. Yummmmmmmmmmmm. Nommmmmmmmmmm.
This is my favorite tea! I really mean it.

After surviving that last batch of samples, I needed to reward myself with a trusted tea so that i could be all (*^◇^)_旦

I sure hope the new Irish Breakfast blend is just as good!

Hrmm. Maybe this is just getting old. Or maybe the water I used was still too hot. I’m not getting much grapefruit from this at all. Just seaweedy spinachy green tea.

It’s good green tea, for sure. It’s just missing the grapefruit.

Dessert tea for breakfast! Yup, it was one of those mornings.

The raspberry in this is perfect; not tart but not too sweet either. I’m not getting much chocolate but I am getting a nice rich creaminess. I’m curious to try this sweetened, or even iced (potentially the ultimate raspberry iced tea?) Of the fruity-chocolate teas I’ve tried, this one is the best and most natural tasting (but that’s not surprising, is it?)

Thanks TastyBrew for letting me try this!

This has a thick texture and malty flavor that makes it very satisfying, and it is smoother, less bitter than most assams. There is an oaky thing going on which is somewhat unusual and very pleasant. With it is some to-be-expected astringency (comes in mainly at the end of the swallow and lingers lightly), but nothing unbearable or even that noticeable. And as always, the dry leaves are beautiful, long and unbroken; these in particular are a bit pale like tiny golden tree branches. Lovely without being so complicated/distracting as to require full-on attention.

omg somebody stop me i can’t possibly justify buying any sherlock cosplay stuff. no matter how comfy it sounds to me to walk around DragonCon in a navy satin robe. just no!
and i CERTAINLY can’t justify those sherlock teacups shipped from the UK. nuh uh.

i need to get out of this seat and go run 10 miles. if i keep procrastinating i’m not gonna be home until 11pm or something hah.

oh today.

i have more of this tea. so i’ll give it more chances.
i suspect i just had too high an expectation going in. (kinda like star trek 2) i’m sure i’ll love the second brewing of fresh leaves better. but right now i’m on the second steep of this cup and i’m wanting to love it more than i do. it’s possible blueberries in tea just aren’t really my thing. it’s subtle, don’t get me wrong. and i love the color of this tea. curiously murky. thank you Shelley_Lorraine.

let’s go to the gym now shall we?

you know what is a great idea, distracting yourself from a pile of work with a little compulsive shopping on etsy!
i ordered two vintage tea cups & saucers this morning.
https://www.etsy.com/transaction/132627082
https://www.etsy.com/transaction/132627319
(one for john and one for sherlock) (i’m totally making fun of myself there)

gently dark and sweet and subtle.
i will say i think the second steep worked out WAY better for me than the first. i didn’t even time the second one. but man this is delicious.
i definitely get the peachy oak in this second go. mmm

thank you again Shelley_Lorraine

Tea with real chocolate? YUM! I got a sample of this from Stacy and I was blown away by the scent right away. Orange, chocolate, tea, and a sweetness I can’t put my finger on make this a fragrant tea.

My sample melted a little in the mailbox (it was a hot day in the bay yesterday) so there were little chocolatey lumps of tea in there today. Sadly, shortly after steeping I dropped my brew basket on the floor sob and all the delicious wet tea leaves fell out on my work carpet. I really wanted to try a resteep on this one!

I was so excited to try this tea I burned my tongue! Waiting a bit… thank goodness I can leave it and do a little work while my thermos keeps it hot. This is a good tea! I’m tasting mostly black tea and chocolate, with a little citrus aftertaste. I wish I had thought to bring my rock sugar to work with me so I could try this sweetened. I’ll just have to use my imagination on that one. I bet it’s wonderful sweet — it probably makes the chocolate flavors pop.

If you like those chocolate “break ’em apart” oranges, then try this tea. It’s like a liquid version of that holiday treat! Yum, yum, yum…

Made this iced for the first time and it’s great! Smooth coconut! I have to say though, I poured one glass over ice and it definitely diluted it. I am letting the rest of it cool and will chill it in the fridge, so that should come out even better! Yay! I am having a little too much fun icing teas!

This tea is gorgeous! Silky silver needles and puffy pink and white buds. So pretty! It smells delicious too – both in the bag and as a tea.

Brewed it is sweet with a watermelon tickle at the back of the throat. Definitely more flavor once it cools. I’ve been drinking it plain, but I’m adding a little rock sugar since sweetener is recommended.

Wow, sweetener changes this into something like watermelon juice! I don’t usually care for my teas sweet, but I see why this was recommended. I bet this is wonderful iced. That would actually be perfect on this 90+ day! Whew. A sweet, fruity tea was just right. Maybe I’ll borrow some ice from a neighbor and try this tea cool.

Try this tea out if you like white tea, watermelon, or sweet blends.

I received this in a swap.
this cup was so clear it was quite spectacular.
this is so delicious. I don’t know what potato pancakes are suppose to taste like, but this is so good. you get the buttery vegetal notes & the hint of cinnamon & apples. mmmmmm I could drink this all the time.

No notes yet.

Oo Oo Oo what a treat!!! thanks so much Shelley_Lorraine you are a mystery box pro.
i think you started a trend. you are ahead of your time.
it’s a beautiful tea and smells fresh and shiny. i’m a person who easily likes cilantro. and basil too. i think basil can go in anything. i made this as a very tiny cup. in my gongfu. and did a second steep. so basically i saved the little rest of the bit for tomorrow :)

oh see idk what i’ve been doing, but lately every first cup tastes not thrilling to me, and the second steep tastes awesome possum!
so at first i didn’t get any excitement, but yum the second cup had it’s woody velvety peach tones. i was surprised i could even catch them but it was unmistakable. my palate is getting a crash course. i’m cramming for the test and hope i retain some knowledge come test time.
otherwise, gotta keep it fun!
go Sil! go tea!

i have one big second steep of this tea left. it’s sitting at home smack dab in the middle of the counter. waiting for me.
i had it for pre-breakfast tea today too.
i love the blend. milder than some other breakfast teas but very appropriate. somehow it tastes kinda timeless. or it makes me think of timelessness? like how things can sometimes feel connected even if they are miles or years or worlds away?
i’d say that’s the sign of a good cup, wouldn’t you?
thanks for the existential crisis Sil!

Having a cup of this today to start my morning with the parents. My parents are coffee drinkers in the morning so I’m on my own for tea. We’re off to watch Star Trek today before my other half and I will get back in the car to drive back to Toronto. It’s been really nice seeing my parents for this brief time :) especially since we’re not likely to see them again until Christmas.

Had a cup of this last night with my parents since my dad has a collection of tea now but never wants to make tea. He seems to think there’s some sort of rules for drinking tea that he hasn’t mastered. So this weekend was about trying to show him that tea is just meant to be enjoyed. Rules be damned! Make it and enjoy it however you want. I made this one, and I’m not sure if dad enjoyed this, but mom went sneaking back to the pot to make a second and third cup for herself after I told her the leaves could be resteeped :) so this was a success for at least one of my parents to the point where she’s written down the name on her list. Heh.

Backlighting from yesterday as my other half and I opted to drive to Ottawa for basically the day. I took two mugs of tea in the car with me just in case and of course drank them both. I like how well this tea works in a travel mug. Even after a few hours when the tea gets a little cooler, it still tastes delicious!

Mmmm had this last night so good :)
I tried a second steeping to make this lovely tea last and I must of left it brewing too long and got a slight bitterness to the second steeping :( …oh well I drank it anyways! I wasn’t very careful with timing because I don’t usually expect to get good second steepings from flavoured teas. I should be more careful and maybe my tea will last longer!

Of course the one morning that I prepare a bunch of cold brew teas, it’s cold and rainy out! Of course.

Anyways, I cold brewed this up last night for my AM drive to work. Even though today was perhaps better suited for a hot cup, I still enjoyed it. Cold brewing seemed to wake up the caramel flavor quite nicely, as I noticed it a bit more than usual. As always, the assam base in this is smooth, rich, and lovely. Tiny bit of astringency, but I did leave the leaves in for 11 hours. Think it would have been perfect around 8-9 hours, but it was still awesome, so I’m not complaining!

This was the tea that I drank the most of today, but today was my daughter’s first birthday and she was getting over a cold so basically between that and the ongoing crowd of people, I wasn’t able to let go of her the whole day. So, I couldn’t really make a lot of tea. :| I’ll live – it was a great day overall, and the baby felt better during the evening so she could visit everyone else.

I can drink all the other teas later!

I love this tea! I am a potato fiend and when I can’t whip up some frsh mashed potatoes this will be my go-to tea. Creamy and sweet- can’t get better!