Butiki Teas
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Ah, I am extremely cranky. There is nothing like nursing. They love to short staff so that all the nurses work 60+ hrs a week while sick and patient care goes down the toilet. Apparently they don’t care if people live or die…only if they make money off of it! I hate administrators. No heart.
Anyyway, I woke up cranky, knowing I’d be going into an overnight shift of this, so I brewed a cup of this hoping it would not only wake me up but cheer me up. I’ve never had an Irish Breakfast Tea before. Honestly I ordered it simply because it’s a black tea and has the word Irish in the title. I love everything Irish :). Smells beautiful…like raisins and earth. I already felt myself cheering up.
This was a suprisingly nice black tea, malty and raisiny black tea goodness. I drank the cup slowly letting the caffeine wake me up and put me in a slightly better mood. Now that I remember why the heck I go into work every day to begin with.
So far everything I’ve tried from my order from Butiki teas has been a hit…working its way into my favorites.
Preparation
WHOA! hah! This came as a sample with my Butiki order, and I smelled this tea before I even opened the box. Holy citrus :)
I honestly had no idea what guayasa was so I did a little bit of research as I sipped this. Wow. This packs quite a punch. Citrusy and strong it really wakes you up. I probably would have never bought this before but now I think I have to place a second order and this is only my first sample :(
Preparation
I have yet to decide whether or not I like guayusa. I received this as a sample this summer and I just finally got to it now. It was very smooth, creamy and sweet. I have found all guayusas I have tried to taste slightly watermelon-y which was also true for this one. It is the only this I did not enjoy about this tea.
I’m grateful for the sample, though it is unlikely this will make it on to my next order.
This is such a nice dessert tea and is definitely perking me up this afternoon. I have no idea how Stacy created such an authentic tasting eggnog flavor without the use of dairy but I’m so glad. It seems a bit rich and decadent!
Tea of the afternoon here….
My package arrived from Butiki and I couldn’t want to try this! I haven’t had eggnog in ages.
I steeped this according to instructions and it is better than I was hoping. The aroma is very authentic. After tasting I went to go add a wee bit of turbinado sugar and I bet this would also be really good with soymilk. I’m getting the nutmeg, vanilla and the creaminess, even a bit of the booziness.
Ah Stacy, you have created a real winner here, this is delicious. A wonderful treat with a fraction of calories of a real eggnog (and much healthier, I imagine). I think this will be gone rather quickly. ;-)
Preparation
Sipping away at this early this afternoon. I actually prefer this one a touch more cool than I normally do for other teas. I find the cantaloupe comes through a bit more clearly. Tasty.
I don’t often crave this one, but we just brought it back from A’s family and I felt like throwing something different in the mix for the never-ending studying.
I wrote an exam this morning, and I had a few hours that I could spare away from studying to clean and get groceries and book appointments. I can’t wait until my life slows down just a tad.
Anyway, this is a sipdown! In preparation for my new Butiki order that will be en route soon enough! I am enjoying this with some delicious smørrebrød before heading back to school for extra lab time.
I hope all my American tea friends had a lovely Thanksgiving!
Smørrebrød? I’d love to hear more about that!
Smørrebrød is a Danish open face sandwich! They are my favourite, well there are all sorts of different ones actually, but in general they are a staple in my house. They also have them in Sweden, but I believe they are called smörgås there. :)
Was it on proper rye bread too, then?
It was on German rye bread. I have planned on making some proper Danish rye over the Christmas break when I have more time :) It’s difficult to find here!
Cool. :) Do you have connections to Denmark?
My grandfather is Danish! So I’m always trying to learn more about Denmark and Danish culture. Any suggestions on the rye bread? I have a recipe, but I’ve yet to try it.
I tend to like it with lots of whole grain in it. My mother used to bake it for Christmas. The rest of the year we’d just have store-bought. For me, the two are wildly different beasts in taste and texture, and I’m used to store-bought. It also makes a difference if you use sourdough or not. If you do, it can have a more sour sort of taste. My favourite sort has sunflower seeds in it. I have been baking rather a lot in the last year, but I haven’t attempted to tackle rye bread. I’d have to eat it all myself after all, as Husband (he’s English) doesn’t much like it. I also haven’t had much luck with bread in general. I’ve baked a lot of door-stoppers…
Yes the one I have that I purchased from the German store here, which also carries Dutch, and a few Nordic items has sunflower seeds. It’s quite tasty. I had planned on making the sourdough so I’ll have to let you know how everything goes. And haha for the door-stoppers! :P I made a few loaves of regular bread two months back and they turned out fine, albeit a bit fluffy, so I’m really hoping for the best with the rye. Do you have smørrebrød frequently? Do you enjoy herring? I’ve not been brave enough to try…
Actually, we have it fairly rarely. When a Danish person says smørrebrød they usually think of something like this http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/25/Sm%C3%B8rrebr%C3%B8d_at_Kastrup_IMG_8275_C.JPG/800px-Sm%C3%B8rrebr%C3%B8d_at_Kastrup_IMG_8275_C.JPG with LOTS of toppings. Very elaborate, and not really an every day sort of food. It’s the sort of thing you might get if you eat lunch out or something or for special occasions where you would serve a lunch for guests, but not warm food.
What we actually have on a day to day business has only about a third of the topping and usually only one topping + one condiment. Much simpler and much more boring looking, but it has the advantage that you can eat it without using knife and fork. :) Like this http://irisogbirk.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/dansk-frokost.png Liver pate with pickled beets. Very trad! If you came to an informal every-day lunch in a Danish home you would very likely just be presented with the sliced bread and a selection of toppings and expected to make your own. :)
As for the pickled herring, most people enjoy it, but I don’t much care for it myself. I can eat a bit of it, maybe half a slice with herring, but that’s it. Truthfully, I don’t care for herring as a fish in general, pickled or not. I love fish, but somehow herring is just a little too fishy in flavour. :) I’ll take mackerel in tomato sauce any day.
Very neat! I feel the ones I’ve had recently fall somewhere in between. I have been having ham with a topping of steamed carrots and asparagus mixed with mayo, sour cream, and mustard. Sometimes I will add a slice of tomato. I will also take what I have in my fridge to make creations too. I hope I’m not making any horrible errors in that haha. :P
I asked my Swedish friend the same about the herring, and her answer was about the same as yours. I’m not really a seafood lover, and I wanted to get some input before attempting pickled herring haha. It may be a while before I work up the courage to try it out.
Thanks for all the info! I love learning more about these things :) I have so many more questions haha. I will have to inbox you with an update of my rye bread in a few weeks, and maybe a few more questions… (but let me know if this isn’t okay!) :)
I wouldn’t know anything about specific rules for topping really. Using your imagination is fine so long as it tastes good. Bit like flavouring tea. Sometimes someone comes up with a flavour combination nobody else has considered before and it turns out it really works.
I have to say that I also know people who like a bit of herring now and then but otherwise don’t really care for fish. I don’t know if for them it’s some sort of traditional thing that that’s just something you eat because it’s tradition or whether they actually enjoy it. My mum used to make her own around Christmas. She would buy the fish fresh and salt them first. It’s a pretty long process. She used to make as many of the toppings as she could as well. It was for my father’s birthday on the 26th, and this has turned into the traditional Christmas family lunch really. She’s made it more buffet-y in recent years though. There are still a few things that HAVE to be there like the herring and the liver pate, but other than that it’s easier to do it in a buffet style when one family member is vegetarian and another is allergic to eggs and a third is just a plain picky eater. :)
Well this is the last of my little stash of Cantaloupe & Cream until my Butiki order gets here. Ahh!
This tea is so delicious, just perfection :) I’m so excited to try all the new ones I’ve ordered, especially Watermelon Xylophone.
Update March 14/13: Now that I have a fresh stash of this lovely I brewed some up yesterday for my drive and it was divine. No surprise there. I put those leaves to cold-brew overnight and the result is very tasty and refreshing. Overall, I think I prefer it hot but I wouldn’t say no to a chilled cup on a hot day.
There’s never enough of this tea.. so hello Friday sales. No. 29.
This guy comes out better when the temperature is exact but it doesn’t taste completely terrible if I miss the mark by a degree.. or 20. Ok, there’s probably more tart “citrus” notes then there should be but it’s still good.
I wish my favourite types of teas (dragon well, silver needle, tieguanyin-like oolong, and this) weren’t specific lower temp. steepers. It makes it hard to get by without a fancy kettle, or something, for measuring temp.
Preparation
I’m hard pressed to think of a more fitting tea for this chilly, yet sunny, Canadian Thanksgiving weekend. Maybe something Pumpkin.
I think the pecan comes out somewhat more strongly than the maple, which isn’t too sweet. It’s a close thing between the two though. There’s a faint note of citrus lightly squeezed over top, and the oolong base has that flavour which I often relate to waffle cones. Mmm, salty-sweet, and nutty.
Preparation
I only ever tried a small sample of this, which I feel I should have loved, as I love all the components. But it didn’t really do it for me. Now that Fall is here, I should probably give it another try.
It might be worth giving it another chance, especially since it seems to do better with more leaf and a little sugar. Sometimes tea is just like that though. I had the same reaction to the Flowery Pineapple Oolong (should’ve loved that).
terri, remind me next time i’m putting your box together and i ca send you another sample
“You know you are addicted to tea” when you dream about walking into an average grocery store and finding Tiger Assam, from Andrews & Dunham, on sale, in bulk quantity, just before check-out. What is this!? Best dream ever. I want to try assam so badly.
I was worried that this oolong was going to be too syrupy, in the vein of DT’s Canadian Maple Rooibos, and taste like little else. To my glee pecan nuttiness, maple sweetness, and rich dark oolong are all kept in tactful balance. Some roasted notes are paired with caramelized sugar to create a savory, warming tea. Soft tangy quality too. I love how naturally everything pairs together; it doesn’t taste artificial either!
Thank you, Stacy, for this last generous sample. I’m officially out of new Butiki Teas to try. Tasting them was a great experience that I hope to repeat in the near future.. I need to withhold on buying teas for at least a month. :/
End day edit: Neglected it second steep and it still came out smooth. Being able to eat the pecans in the leaves at the end of the session: priceless.
Preparation
The cup is full of ripe and unripe, peppery mangoes. It doesn’t always pull off the mango lassi in every sip, but when it does life is good. The cardamon is prevalent and compliments the bright and juicy mango. Something, possibly the calendula, adds a light salty element near the milky finish. Lingering aftertaste is peppery mango. The rooibos never takes over, although it is present.
Thank you for the sample, Stacy! I’m not typically a fan of rooibos blends but the solid mango notes put this one near the top for me. I’ll think about getting this again; I need more non-caffeinated beverages to drink at night.
Preparation
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY!!!!
I thought for sure that I had posted a note on this one already but I guess I was wrong lol.
Anyways, This Tea is very delicious and smells wonderful and slightly different to me from other Assams that I’ve had.
I’ve drink this tea many times now but the first time I had it was a Sample that Stacy had sent with one of my orders and when I tried it I just had to get more because it was so good. This tea has kinda complex flavor notes from chocolatey and malty to fruity and sweet with a nice astringency to it. I don’t usually follow steeping instructions on teas instead I just tend to steep them My way which is very short steeps in a gaiwan, brewed this way it was nice and malty with a slightly sweet fruity note, slight astringency.
When I steeped this tea a little longer about 2 1/2 minutes It was very nice bold and malty with flavors of cocoa and cinnamon with some awesome sweet fruity notes like raisins and a pleasant astringency.
I enjoy an Assam with a bit of milk and sugar sometimes but I didn’t try this one with milk, I did however add a little sugar and it was really great. A little bit of sweetener makes the cocoa notes more like chocolate while keeping the maltyness and the fruity notes turn to sweet cherries and lots of other hints in there like caramel and apricot and pumpkin pie?? kinda cinnamon, spice?
I’m not sure that I would want to add milk to this tea because it’s really didn’t need the sugar since it perfectly good on it’s own, I think milk and sugar would be just too much.
That’s ok, I don’t follow my own steep instructions either. I try to put instructions at a point where I think most people would enjoy the tea. A look for a balance of flavor without astringency but personally I overleaf and steep this super long because I love the dark chocolate notes and astringency.
Happy New Year! :)
Oh…YUM! I’ve been dying to taste nsome of Butiki Teas, mostly because they seem to have great reviews and they are NJ based, which makes me happy. Thanks to Bonnie, I was able to sample Pistaschio Ice Cream. I love pistachios and ice cream, but wasn’t sure how I would like either of these transferred to a tea. I have fallen in love with black teas as of late, and I thought that I despised green teas. I was wrong! This is absolutely delicious, and there’s hardly any vegetal hint which is what I don’t enjoy too much in green teas.
I think Bonnie just swung me over to ordering from Butiki teas once I’m a little less poor.
Preparation
oh man yes Finn! do it! Stacy’s teas are fabulous! :)
ahhh don’t tell me that! Ha I was on the edge and I think you pushed me over…
Honestly her flavoured teas are really true to taste…and she’s got some wonderful unflavoured as well. I do know that she’s out of stock of a few teas for a bit so now you can plot and plan for when you get some funds :) She also lets you have 2 samples so you can use those to try things you’re not sure about purchasing :)
I couldn’t even wait. I decided on tea over food for the week. Ha I’m on a diet anywaaay? Between your reviews and the samples Bonnie sent…I couldn’t resist. Also had to support a fellow NJ company. NJ seems focused on coffee, so I get excited for a tea company. :)
I’m amazed at the dry leaf! The aroma is strongly raspberry, and there are a TON of freeze-dried raspberry pieces and chocolate chips in the blend. I’ve never seen a tea so chock full of ingredients!! It’s almost a ridiculous amount of generosity. Almost. ;)
I usually try a new tea straight before trying it with additions, but I’m really impatient right now. So, I’m just going to add skim milk and Truvia from the get go. I usually enjoy black tea better that way, and I’m ready for this dessert tea treat!
The brewed aroma is mostly black tea and raspberry. First sip…mmm this is good! I probably should have tried it without additions first, but it’s too late now! It’s very sweet and cocoa-y with the raspberry adding a nice complement to the cup. All the flavors are very balanced in my opinion. It’s equally dark chocolate, raspberry, and black tea.
I’m not a huge raspberry truffle fan though. I’d have preferred coconut truffle or caramel truffle or milk chocolate truffle. Maybe even cherry truffle. But the tea can hardly be blamed for that. As a raspberry truffle tea, this one is hard to beat. As others have mentioned, it does possess a nice creamy quality.
It’s also very strongly flavored! There’s nothing subtle about this tea. Granted, I used an extra ½ teaspoon than recommended. I can’t help myself; I’m a rebel. ;) This truly is yet another stellar tea from Butiki Teas!
Preparation
Thanks for the sample Stacy! this is supertastic tasty :D
Pineapple, creamy goodness, cilantro and white tea. Oh my that is beyond heaven. At my friend’s place so can’t write much more.
I think I am in love.
Cilantro?! Ack!
Looking forward to trying this one
WHAT??? I want!
Azz – it’s the custom blend that IB had made. :)
D: WANT!!!
Hmmm, maybe I should consider making this one. We will see. This was done for a special art project that I was working on but ended up losing out to another tea that is even better than this one. I had to borrow some of Indigobloom’s cilantro that I had special ordered for her mango blend and I figured I would send her the rest of this as a way of thanking her for letting me use the cilantro.
oopsy lol thanks for the correct Stacy…totally blanked that this wasn’t mango silly-antro
it sounds delicious… hint hint
Wow, this one sounds pretty intriguing.
Sil-Haha, well maybe. We will see. We do have a pineapple blend already but nothing with cilantro.
cough stacy…your current pineapple is also an oolong grin course i’m not sure what this one is..but you know how me and oolongs are :)
I want to try this too!
Wow comment explosion! This is awesome hah
My sample is very generous but I’m not sure there is enough for everyone!
oh and Sil, I believe it is a white blend
It is a white tea. We used the same Organic Bai Mu Dan base that is in our Cantaloupe & Cream. This one is hitting our website in the next few hours.
i’m waiting stacy… not that i’m allowed to get more tea yet..but i can pre=order for when you send my strawberry rhubarb lol!
Actually Sil, if you are ordering this, instead of me picking up a whole bag, would you be cool with either splitting it with me, or giving me a sample? I do suspect I’ll like it, and I’m dying to try it, but I really don’t need more tea!
Hahaha, Sil. Well, I just finished pricing it, so not I’m just coding it and it will be up pretty shortly. Probably within an hour.
er, I meant “now” not “not”.
Ok, its officially on our website. http://www.butikiteas.com/White.html Big thanks to Indigobloom who inspired us to make it publicly available.
Kittenna sure thing. Ill get back to you in our message thread when I get sorted
It’s gonna be a huge hit, I cannot wait to see the rave reviews :D
Thanks Stacy for this! I can smell the Guayusa but also a good amount of apple. It’s very pleasant. My first sip I could taste both of those flavors as well in addition to clove and/or other spices. I do really appreciate the spice intensity here…it’s not over powering. The apple is the more powerful flavor and I like that. As it continues to cool a bit at room temp I can start to taste a bit or orange and that is very nice, too! This is an excellent flavored Guayusa! YUM!
this is were i say “told you so!” :)
er where. ugh stupid typing. Hope your shift does well tonight!
LOL Yes! You were completely right and I do not regret my order at all. Thanks :)
If it’s any consolation, it’s not much different in the lab. “We have no money, so you guys will just have to run faster. Overtime you say? Nooooo, you should avoid that! We have no money, remember?!” We’ve only got two hands…
Oh, and I forget, “Why yes, everything IS indeed very very urgent. Even the stuff that didn’t use to be urgent. URGENTURGENTURGENT! FASTERFASTERFASTER!”
Ha yes! I get all panicked when people tell me somethings needed STAT…i think a patient is sick..i get there and the lady needs ice for her water. Hello? What? Haha guess its welcome to the real world?