Butiki Teas

My second Butiki! And the score is two out of two… GREAT TEAS!

This one is soft, clean, sweet… I am diabetic so I don’t use any kind of extra sugars, and straight of the little bag Stacey sent as a extra sample it became an extra nice surprise! Strawberry flavors without any hibiscus is something that I do appreciate. Reminds me of the yellow cherries, and the second stepping was as good as the first one.

I’m drinking my last one of these today. I really want to start exploring the world of puerh in more depth :)

This is one of the more enjoyable straight puerh teas I’ve tried! I’m not a huge puerh lover but occasionally I get a craving for one. This particular one is smooth and not astringent or bitter at all. It is earthy, but not in a dank and mildewy forest floor type of way. It is more of a sunny summer’s day type of earthy. It makes me think of freshly tilled garden, or walking barefoot through the park. I am still on my first steep (I did do an initial rinse, too, which I discarded) but I am getting a note that reminds of a spice that I can’t quite put my finger on. Its like if cinnamon had a hippie cousin or something. Has anyone ever smelled Japanese aloeswood incense? Anyway, sorry this is so abstract. This is just how I have come to think about puerhs! :)

good morning!! i am in a dangerously CRAZY good mood today! i wanna punch the world with glee! and gobble up art with a shovel! and neck with anybody who feels the same!

this is a sprightly cup!
i will have more!
thank you Sil!
thank you world!
thank you universe!
for creating tea!

I’ve been suffering from the “tea blahs” lately, which I want to blame on the lack of oolong, dragonwell, Potato Pancake, or white teas in my cupboard. However, it’s probably just my mood because I have this amazing black tea to hold me over between purchases! I’ve stared at the Potato Pancake on the website for the last 10 minutes and it’s not getting any easier. PTA, you are so very raisin-like today!

I love how the sweetness oozes out of this one like a sugar or honey crystal. This is easily one of my favourite teas in my cupboard right now.

Life is bittersweet awful at the moment but this tea has a kind of “gentle spirit,” as corny as that may sound. I’m getting rather sappy right now, when I should be getting Orwellian. Oh, well. I may not be at my best but this tea is.

There’s nothing very special about today, except that I’m drinking this tea and that suddenly makes everything unique and noteworthy, albeit short and simple.

I have an even greater appreciation for this tea after a week without full boiling water down in Disney World. No matter how long I steeped it for, or what temperature I steeped it at (probably 175F), this tea came out tasting full of malt and chocolate. I now have this tea marked down as a necessary travel item.

Upon arriving back home yesterday, I steeped the last of it. I fell asleep with half a mug sitting beside my bed and it performed very well as a “last night’s tea.” Yes, it’s even decent old and cold.

A backlog: this tea marks the first time I’ve ever tipped over a mug. I spilled it Everywhere! Blergh. in a cruel twist of fate, enough remained in the mug to take a few sips- enough to know the session was delicious. I can’t believe I did that to this amazing tea. That’s what happens when you try to drink tea and bolt out the house at the same time, Crow. Thus I ran on that tiny amount of tea for the rest of the day.

That first tragic steep tasted of chocolate and hot waffle cones- smooth, malty, and sweet. Second steep, of four minutes, happened hours later when I returned from an adventure around Waterfront and Stanley Park. This cup was an even smoother malt, with an amazing sugary undertone- just the thing to take my mind off of sore feet.

Five minute third steep suffered more abuse, and was consumed cold after taking my grandmother home. This cup was on the muted side, and reminded me of a watered down doughy cinnamon bun for some reason. I didn’t pay too much attention and just gulped it all down.

This tea is easy to drink and definitely makes the permanent list. A few of the Assam teas I’ve encountered have left astringent, dry first impressions; this one seems to be gentler. I didn’t pick up the trademark raisin notes today but I’ll pay more attention tomorrow.

My first Butiki package arrived today and this one was the one I choose to be initiated into Butiki. I am not disappointed at all, quite the contrary!

I brewed it according to the instructions in the package and the flavor is superb. Really it is Cantaloupe and cream that you are tasting. I did not added any sugar and even so it is sweet, rich and plain delicious. I am looking forward to trying all the rest of my Butiki first batch, there will be more to come, I am sure of that!

I had all these plans for what I would do with my July tea budget but I think by July I am going to be scrapping most of the plans.

This afternoon I really wished I had ordered the Grapefruit Dragon like I originally intended to. It is beautifully sunny out and I’m making snapper with dill beurre blanc (fancy way of saying white butter dill sauce). I need a tea to go with it as there’s no white wine in the house. So thought to myself “self, you should have bought the grapefruit dragon!”

Oh well, next time.

Onto this tea. I wanted a green tea and I wanted the pistachio ice cream. Oh looky here, the pistachio icecream is a green tea! And to top it off, i had just I bought almond milk. Now I’m sure I’m zapping all the green tea healthy properties by adding sugar and almond milk but hey, it’s my tea.

I did try it without milk at first. I’m not really eloquent with this stuff so I’ll just tell you I get mostly pistachio, which is fine because that’s exactly why I bought this. Vegetal? Forget it. And here I thought green teas were mostly barely flavoured warm water. Nay!

I steeped using butiki parameters because I trust them more than I trust me at his point and I got a almost clear but not quite liquor which tasted and smelled like roasted pistachio. I should really drink this cold so that I am actually reminded of icecream but my ice cubes smell of freezer … wha?!? … so I can’t put any in.

Hurray for green teas, there’s hope!

PS. I also had “with open eyes” earlier, but that’s a whole different note.

I got distracted by a patient asking me a question in the waiting area as I was filling my cup and I put cold water in my mug instead of hot. I dunked my tea ball in before I noticed that the mug wasn’t warm. I ended up cold-steeping it for 45 minutes. Pretty weak this way. I taste pineapple and definitely cilantro. It’s a little bitter for my tastes.

Thanks, Shelley_Lorraine for this tea!

EDIT:
Hot-steeped it after drinking the cold steep. Less bitter, less cilantro, more pineapple and creamier. I like it better this way, but still probably not going to be a favorite of mine.

Additional notes:  This is my ultimate of hoarded teas.  I do believe it was one of the two teas I ever gave a rating of 100. I thought I only had one serving remaining, BUT NO… there is another steep session left.  Of course there was so much nuance in this when fresh, the most nuance of any tea, so maybe this is the tea that was just ME if I needed only one tea that really was for me, or spoke to me, or whatever.  The nuance might be gone now (of course) but it is still surprisingly AMAZING in flavor. Better than I expected. Brisk enough, but bright, dark, fruity, chocolatey enough but thirst quenching.  I really wish I could find a replacement for this.

Additional notes: I also recently finished the amazing harvest of this one. Of course, due to the age of it, the nuance was missing. But the chocolate apricot flavors were missing last time too. (I still have some of another harvest.) One of the best tea experiences of all time, that one… while the harvest was fresh. Not a bad cup now, either. (I think it was the only tea I ever granted a rating of 100.) Butiki was very good at finding these uniquely delicious teas, even BEFORE the amazing flavors were added.

Additional notes: Sipping almost the last of the really great harvest of this one. Next time I’ll have to mix what’s left with the other harvest. This one was a really special tea! Probably my favorite tea ever. Haven’t found one similar (even the other harvest doesn’t compare.) Butiki, I miss you!

I’m testing out the leaves from my order a while back. This is possibly my favorite tea! Sadly, I think the leaves may have changed from the sample I had a while back (possibly a new batch?)

Steep #1 // waited 14 minutes after the water boiled // 3 1/2 min steep
Two teaspoons of this one. I’m not sure if I did something wrong, but the NUANCE isn’t here anymore. The dark chocolate flavor is here, but not as deep as before. And now any of the hints of fruits (like apricot or plum) are missing…even the sweet potato and squash isn’t there. It’s still very good, but it lost what made it so special. Maybe if I steeped with one teaspoon of leaves the fruity flavors would reappear. If I oversteeped this time, there would be a deeper chocolate flavor. Kind of disappointing.. I want the lovely leaves from my sample back!!!

Steep #2 // waited 14 minutes after boiling // 4 min
This cup is exactly the same as the first cup. It just doesn’t have that SPECIAL anymore. It’s very good, but I feel like other teas like this are better now (like the Teavivre I had the other day). Note to self: I’ll try one teaspoon at some point and another try with two teaspoons after waiting for 20 minutes.

Lesson learned: If a tea is your favorite, order as soon as possible. Do not wait for another harvest/batch! (I’m guessin g that is what made the difference here.) There are so many factors, even before a tea gets to the drinker, that the leaves are bound to be different.

Additional notes: Sample sipdown just so I can see how MUCH I’d like to order. This is quite possibly my favorite tea. Sadly, I only had one teaspoon for this steep session instead of the required two teaspoons.

Steep #1 // waited 20 min after boiling // 3 1/2 minutes
The flavor is so good here, just not as good as if there were two teaspoons. The dark chocolate notes are missing (which may be because I waited 20 minutes after boiling, but I think this one works best NOT at boiling. I waited a few minutes last time, and the taste was PERFECT.) No chocolate is also probably because I only used one teaspoon. I usually like dark chocolate flavored teas but this one is amazing when it isn’t dark chocolate. The notes here are complicated! I can’t tell if it’s butternut squash, sweet potato, apricot, plum or grape. It’s very elusive to pin one of those down, so maybe ALL of those!

Steep #2 // waited 17 minutes after boiling // 3 1/2 min
I tried to avoid the oaky flavor I got from the third steep last time I had this one, and it worked! The cup tastes exactly the same as the first. If you want a sweet potato/ hint of fruit, just go with one teaspoon of leaves and a lower temp. If you want those AND dark chocolate, go with two teaspoons. I’ll have to try the first cup right after boiling to see if the first cup tastes even more like dark chocolate next time. And also after a “few” minutes – since I’m not sure how many that was last time. I’ll definitely be experimenting with specific temps with this one!

Steep #3 // a few minutes after boiling // 3 min
This one also didn’t have that oaky flavor, even though it was only a few minutes after boiling. It did lose its magic by the third cup though – the flavor was very muted.

I had to run over to Butiki and order this one, since Stacy said they will be out. The price is a bit steep for this one, but I love it too much to say no. I’ve tried so many generous samples from Butiki over the years, it is justifiable! I just wish I had the money to order most of what they have. I did order some Pumpkin Brulee and a few samples though!

oh man. I really appreciated being able to try this one! Thank you so much, Stacy! The mostly gold twisty leaves look amazing. I figured this was like a Yunnan tea. But I think I just figured out that Yunnan teas come from Yunnan, China. This one is from India, so it isn’t a yunnan. I’m not sure if that is the only thing that makes a Yunnan a Yunnan! But this one is scrumptious. Possibly one of the best teas I’ve ever had. I went with Butiki’s instructions (3 1/2 min – two tsps.) for this one EXCEPT the water wasn’t at 212. I waited a few minutes for the water to cool. But it HAD to be at the perfect temp. Best flavor ever. It is like a burnt dark chocolate over sweet apricots. And I think that is why this is my favorite type of tea. Just the contrast: the dark flavor with the sweet. The second cup was at boiling. I really should have waited a few minutes again! And I went for a third steep also, because I didn’t want to waste the leaves, but it had that woodchip flavor again. But the first steep was the best: there is a darkness to the flavor that I haven’t tasted in any other tea, while not actually being dark or astringent. Yeah, there are many assams or yunnans like that, but this one had an extra depth of flavor. I’m surprised this one isn’t the highest rated tea on Steepster, since I much prefer this one to the Taiwanese Assam (the current highest rated.)

Another free sample from Stacy with my recent order. Thank you Stacy! I don’t tend to go for assams so I left this one behind when shopping but am very excited to try it as a bonus sample. The dry leaf is beautiful, mainly golden and very full leaf. After discussing steeping parameters with Stacy from Butiki I have decided to follow her directions to the best of my ability to produce the best tasting tea I can – and also to stretch the leaf out as far as I can. Accordingly, this got 3.5 minutes with boiling water. Admittedly I used 10 oz of water rather than 8 but I seem to like my tea a little less bold than others. Basically, I will do anything to avoid astringency.

Steeped, this is remarkable. I find this very cocoa-y, rich, with some malt but no bitterness or astringency. Basically, it reminds me of a Chinese black rather than an Assam. Very cool! I really like this. This is the sort of tea that could change ones mind about assams. Man. Okay, if/when I do another order, I think I might stock up on this one. I wish a had a little more because I wanted to try it side by side with a couple teas I love from Teavivre, as the taste reminds me of their Golden Monkey and maybe even my long-gone beloved Golden Snail from Harney and Sons.

As I continue in the cup, the cocoa only intensifies for me. This is good drinking tea! This is definitely a bit more expensive than many teas I enjoy, but if I could get this on sale it would be great to have on hand. I will definitely be giving it a second steep to try to squeeze some more goodness out of it.

I got this as a sample from Butiki mostly because of its name. I just had to try it.

It smells great. Like very sweet watermelon. The taste didn’t hit me as much until I took a few sips. It tastes like melon! Just sweet enough for me, it didn’t need any sugar or honey.

Probably not a tea I’ll buy again because it just isn’t the type of tea I’d drink a lot but if you like melon or sweeter teas give this a shot.

It is going to be impossible to be descriptive when it comes to this tea because all I want to do is repeat “oh my god”.

First off, the dry leaf. I have never seen tea like this but I am sure it’s because I’m new! The leaves are … furry? And the bag smells so nice!

1 tbsp @ 185 F. It smells so good even as the water hits it. I put the lid on quickly so as not to lose anything. You know they say all that good stuff you smell when cooking things (or brewing tea in this case) is actually flavour escaping with the steam. That’s one of the reasons sous vide cooking became so popular, the stuff is trapped in a bag and the bag immersed in water, no flavour escapes there!

This tea is so refreshing, the flavour matches the aroma. You almost want to drink this in the winter when you miss watermelon but there is no fresh watermelon to be had! (for most people anyway).

This is like watermelon water!

You make tomato water by hanging a cheesecloth bag with a concassee of tomato and you let it drip. The water is clear, there is absolutely no colour but the taste is pure tomato. I wonder if you make watermelon water the same way… And then you soak the tea leaves in it and maybe after a few days you dry it out and see what happens. In theory the water evaporates and the flavour remains. I should make my own experiment.

Stacy if you’re laughing, this is my way of thanking you for this tea: with entertainment!

This is the most delicious tea I have ever had so far.

Made a double strong pot of this tea for me and my husband and a batch of this chai mix http://www.food.com/recipe/awesome-and-economical-chai-concentrate-34713

So we are having some AWESOME decaf chai together this evening! :D

I made a pot of this iced last night and tried it with my lunch today. Much better than the cheapo bagged decaf teas I normally drink iced! I’ll have to drink it hot some time and do a more detailed tasting note. I love that it is pesticide free and socially responsible, too! :D

Stacy included this in my recent Butiki order as a free sample. I honestly don’t know why I didn’t order it, I really like Keemun teas. It must have been an oversight, but I am glad I at least get to try it!

I used my pre-measured sample and steeped for about 4 minutes (as the water at work isn’t boiling). The liquor is a warm orange and the aroma reminds me of sweet baked goods, I almost want to say cinnamon rolls. I get sweetness, black tea and almost a hint of cinnamon. Very appetizing and a little unexpected. I’ve been craving cinnamon rolls for a while, so maybe it’s all in my head. Either way, Mmm!

First sips retain that bakery aspect, I get a sense of yeasty baked goods with some innate sweetness and still something that reminds me of cinnamon. This is all very mild and complemented by the tea base which is flavourful and with a thick mouthfeel but no bitterness or astringency. All good things.

As I get further into the cup and it cools, I get a little less sweetness and a bit more of a bread/bakery taste. It is still good just a little less interesting. I think this is one that benefits from being consumed while hot at least if you’re looking for more flavours.

This was a really nice keemun and one I might stock up on if I were to catch it on sale. I can live without it, but it’s definitely no hardship to drink up. Yay!

Edit to add: Second steep was disappointing. This makes a good first cup but don’t even bother trying a second go roung.