Custom (Butiki)

I really need to label my packages of this so I stop nipping bits from all of them :/ Anyhow, this was divine in my mug today. Chocolatey orangey perfection. So amazing.

Still trying to figure out if the reblend I bought a bunch of is less chocolatey than the first couple versions… it kind of seems that way, but I’ll have to actually have a full regular mug’s full before really figuring that out. It just doesn’t seem quite the same as before. Still good, though (and I have a travel mug of it to get through tomorrow. Which will be delicious.)

Sipdown! But another fake one, because it’s really just a sipdown of my 2 oz. bag, and I’ve already even opened the 4 oz. one. The leaves were pretty broken for this cup, given that it was the bottom of the bag, so it’s verging towards astringent (I also probably overleafed because of that), but it’s still chocolatey orange goodness. Apparently, like many other people, I have a strong preference for autumn/winter-themed teas…. yum.

SO DELICIOUS. The end.

Yum. Picked up 4 oz. of this in the recent sale, and it’s still just as amazing. Perhaps a touch more orangey, and I think I put a few too many leaves in the infuser last time, but it’s simply delicious regardless. Although I like variety with my teas, I could probably last happily for quite a while with just PTA, Two Friends, and HellowSweetie.

Forgot to log this from a few days ago. Such an amazingly awesome tea.

ETA: Why is “orange” not a flavour?! Just orange zest? This is most certainly not zest.

Ohhhhh delicious, delicious tea. Can you believe that I forgot this tea even existed?! Crazy. Anyhow, It was amazing today. Favourite chocolate orange tea, hands down. Eventually I’ll order more, but thankfully I still have enough for a few more cups. The chocolate just blends so well with the base and the orange is absolutely lovely… definitely more fruity than peel (I don’t care for peel). Mmm.

Mmm. Travel mug-ful of this on Saturday, and a re-steep tonight, which unfortunately isn’t super awesome (probably because I left it sitting too long).

On the other hand…. this tea is an exception to the “don’t buy in large quantities” rule. Although I think 2 oz. at a time is sufficient. This tea is so frigging delicious, chocolatey-orangey mouthwateringly good. I wish I hadn’t been so sleepy while at my boyfriend’s place on Sunday… I forgot to bring my infuser home :( So sadly, only got one cup out of it this time.

Ahhhh, so good. I always get at least 3 infusions out of these leaves – the flavour lingers forever! It’s so amazingly delicious.

How on earth is my rating only 91? Bump!! I absolutely love this tea… I’m finding it to be one that I’m frequently craving, and have to restrict myself from drinking so that I don’t need to order more before the end of the summer. Such an amazing tea, and I always get three infusions from it :)

Yup, still the best chocolate orange tea ever. This probably comes the closest to satisfying cravings for Terry’s Chocolate Oranges that I’ll ever come without ingesting hundreds of (delicious) calories. I bet sweetening it a bit would make it even more delicious…. but that’s such a slippery slope…

Travel mug! Tastes delicious, as expected. I think I may prefer it in a regular mug though (but most teas taste better that way).

ETA: Yum. This lasts for one amazing second infusion, and a decent third.

Mmmmmmm. Travel mugged some of this yesterday and it was pretty amazing. All deliciously chocolatey with just enough orange. I think I overleafed though – no measuring spoons at the boy’s place. Still tasty, just a potential waste of tea!

1.5 tablespoons for 375 ml

Very full flavour. Sweetness of the mango/fruitiness coming through with the great cilantro complement. The tea is thick and brothy.

Second infusion at 4 minutes. The flavours from the first infusion are present but are not as robust. I’m detecting a nutty flavour. A different experience from the first infusion but still very enjoyable.

Third infusion at 5 minutes. Overall flavour toned down quite a bit. Mild white tea taste is primary with hints of mango sweetness and cilantro in background. Would not likely do well past the third infusion.

Thanks to Indigobloom for sharing this with me!

SIPDOWN!

IB – this is actually pretty tasty cold brewed, plus the coluor’s awfully pretty, a pale pink :) Totally running late for getting out of the house today so incoming tasting notes while we’re in transit but yeah. I still prefer this hot, but cold it’s a nice refreshing glass of tea as well. I like how the cilantro and mango come out a bit more in the cold.

Having a few delicious cups of this with dinner tonight. Cilantro in the enchiladas! and cilantro in the tea! that’s pretty much the only reason i did that, plus it’s so very nearly a sipdown lol AND my mango lassi tasting note reminded me that i do have this other mango blend from stacy

I am enjoying the fruity mango-ness of this tea quite a bit :)

Thank you indigobloom for sharing your custom blend with us! I’ve been wanting to try this forever since i love me some mango. I figure my tastebuds seem to be back to normal so this came out. I have to say, this is pretty darn delicious! I’m not getting much in the way of cilantro but i AM getting the mango and that makes me super happy! Even cold (since i got distracted) this is still delicious!

Sipdown! 281/365!

Farewell, fascinating tea. My last cup was so-so, owing to residual stuffed-up-ness, but I still drank it and it was okay. What a crazy but tasty idea for a blend.

Had a cup of this recently and enjoyed the freshness of the profile. Not much mango or anything, but still a decent cup of tea.

So the little baggie of Hello Sweetie was in a bin that also contained this tea, which I believe was a generous share from Indigobloom! My hopes weren’t high for this one, again, both age/storage and the fact that it didn’t smell like much. However, in true Butiki fashion, there is surprisingly some flavour left here. There’s a pronounced herbaceous/fresh note, presumably the cilantro, and a background of juicy/fruity flavours (this has likely faded. I’d never identify it as mango; it’s quite light). A bit of cream tying it all together. I really am quite surprised that this isn’t a total wash. There is a touch of potential staleness, but it could also be the cilantro. Oddly, the best part of this tea may actually be the aftertaste; that’s where the fruitiness and cream really shine.

Oops, apparently I double-logged this the first (and last) time I had this. Found that empty note and deleted it, and now get to write another!

So this was one of these teas I attempted in the hopes of making myself feel better…. no dice. However, it is quite enjoyable, and I have to say, it’s going down much more smoothly than the Laoshan Black. I probably should have stuck to lighter, creamy teas, in retrospect. Oops.

Anyhow, I couldn’t really remember what this tea tasted like, exactly, but now that I’ve had a few sips, it’s all coming back! I brewed this up more strongly this time, using about 2 tsp of leaf for 8 oz., and due to being distracted by my roommate, it got a nearly 3 minute infusion! Luckily, it survived just fine. The cilantro is definitely quite apparent here as a lovely fresh flavour, and the mango is fairly light, but still noticeable. The white tea base, of course, is deliciously in the background.

I definitely do quite like this tea, even though it’s not one I personally would have come up with myself (cilantro in a tea?!) I can’t wait to try my portion of Pineapple Cilantro Cream next weekend!

Thanks to Indigobloom for sharing some of this little gem with me! I brewed some up during the day out of immense curiosity, and it was seriously delicious! The cilantro was present only as a delicious, refreshing flavour, and the mango as more of a background than a central note, but they combined for a really nice cup of white tea.

I let the second infusion go for closer to 3 minutes, and the flavours definitely emerged more, so since Indigobloom was generous enough to give me a bit to play with, I’ll try this on the first infusion next time.

This was the most fun I’ve ever had since I got into tea.

I had been wanting a Chili-Chocolate black tea for two years ever since TG discontinued theirs. There are others out there-but many are chais (which I don’t want), and some are not vegan and others I’m just not sure about the ingredients.

Enter Stacy, of Butiki Teas, who offered to do a vegan custom blend for me. Because the teas and other ingredients were things that she normally had on hand, she was able to give me some great prices and smaller amounts-less than $4 an ounce for this blend. In fact, it was even cheaper because the deal was for 2 ounces each but she wound up with 2.5 ounces on one blend and almost 3 ounces on the other blend. I’ve paid the same or more for blends that weren’t custom made with lots of personal attention.

Basically, Stacy and I exchanged several messages-she asked what I was looking for in a custom blend and she offered suggestions on bases and ingredients. She also asked for any suggestions I might have. It really felt like a collaboration. Like maybe Larry David was taking your suggestions and writing a Seinfeld for you. After settling on the bases, ingredients and spice-sweetness levels she went to work.

Every few days I would get an update from Stacy-when she blended, when she tasted, additional blending, settling, etc. She even sent me a pic of one of the teas in progress-so exciting! She did all this on her own-not once did I ever have to ask her how things were going-she was SO conscientious. When the teas were done, I even got to name them-it was so cool to see my tea names on the distinctive Butiki Teas labels!

I probably should have let the teas settle a bit, but, they arrived Saturday and it was raining all day, so I couldn’t wait.

This tea has a Kundaly (Nilgiri) base and is loaded with mini-chocolate chips and chili strips hand-grated by Stacy. I couldn’t smell the chili too well so I went with 1.5 teaspoons of dry leaf for an 8-10 ounce cup (you could just use 1 tsp for less heat). The liquor brews and orangish-reddish color and is closer to translucent than opaque.

You can drink this straight, but I feel that a teaspoon or so of brown crystal sugar (rock sugar) brings out the chocolate flavor better and really completes the chili-chocolate fusion. On the sip, I first taste a little chocolate on the tip of my tongue, followed quickly by spicy tingling in the sides, eventually lingering in the back of my throat after the swallow. With the rock sugar, the chocolate taste is there until the swallow. The tea blends in perfectly with everything. At first, I thought the 1.5 teaspoons was a bit too spicy for me-which is not Stacy’s fault because I told her I’d rather have too spicy than not spicy enough. Now, I am getting used to the 1.5 teaspoons and loving the heat. It’s not so hot that you would need to drink something else or eat something to tone it down. However, you might not want to sip too fast as it cools because of the lingering heat. It might not be a bad idea to reduce the spice here 10% or so, but not too much. It’s still good and spicy with just one teaspoon-but it will more likely need a teaspoon of sweetener. Still, 15 calories of sweetener is better than a 300 calorie chili-chocolate bar!

I’m really happy to have Chili-Chocolate tea again and I hope the weather cools down soon because it seems such a great drink for the fall and winter-maybe with a touch of soymilk and some vegan marshmallows.

Working with Stacy has been a great experience-professional, friendly, and responsive. If you have an idea for a tea that no one has, consider asking Stacy about a custom blend. She’s a mad tea-ologist who loves to experiment! She also will try to work within your budget-she won’t tell you that you need a $15 an ounce tea for a base. It could be a great gift idea for a loved one as well. Thanks, Stacy for all your hard work! Hope to do another custom blend in the future.

I can’t really separate the tea from the experience because of the personal service. The tea is really great and the service is outstanding.