Kittenna

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Kittenna drank The Killer’s Vanilla by Butiki Teas

Another guayasa sample from Stacy!

The primary aroma I’m getting from this cup is minty, which would normally not be something I’d enjoy…. but there’s vanilla too (obviously)! And I like vanilla mint!

As suggested on my little sample bag, I added sweetener (again without tasting the tea first, I’m terrible this morning!)

Wow! This is probably the best flavoured guayasa I’ve tried yet! It’s minty, but the vanilla (and possibly lavender) disguises any of the ick aspects I usually find with peppermint in teas. Granted, it is also sweetened, and that probably helps too, but I’m really enjoying the flavouring here! So this is another tea that at the very least, I’d like to do some more experimenting with. Primarily trying it without sweetener (or with a smaller, controlled amount, if I decide something like that would be allowable).

Thanks for another awesome sample, Stacy!

ETA: Nom nom, this re-steeps pretty well! I don’t think I’ll go for a third, but definitely worth a second! I hate that I’m adding both this one and Good Morning Sunshine to my “must purchase” list (although perhaps I’ll force myself to finish off Apricot Guayasa, which was not my fave, first).

2012-09-18 11:07:30 -0400

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Helena 2012-09-18 11:22:40 -0400

It’s spearmint goodness :D and of course vanilla~y goodness! definitely my second favourite guayusa :D

Butiki Teas 2012-09-18 11:23:44 -0400

Glad you found a guayusa that you don’t hate.

Kittenna 2012-09-18 11:24:28 -0400

Ohhhhh spearmint! That would also explain why I liked it better than peppermint. I couldn’t read the tea description while writing up my review, and honestly hadn’t bothered to look at what was in the tea.

Kittenna 2012-09-18 11:25:43 -0400

Stacy – I’m pretty sure I didn’t hate Tangerine Creamsicle either! I should have tried it sweetened. Actually… I think it was a sample from Azzrian, therefore I probably have enough left to try! I just bought some gum that tastes like orange creamsicle, and it’s delicious…

Butiki Teas 2012-09-18 11:31:04 -0400

Definitely give that one a try sweetened. You might like guayusas in general a little more sweetened since it seems to tone down the earthiness. Mmmm, orange creamsicle sounds yummy.

Kittenna 2012-09-18 11:35:41 -0400

Yeah, I think it’s the earthiness I don’t particularly care for the flavour of, and while it does come out even with sweetener, it is far more tolerable. Also, your blends are flavoured much better IMO than my first guayasa, which was DavidsTea’s Jungle Ju Ju… which kind of made me gag. I’m looking forward to my sample of the Cider Guayasa, as it smelled amazing, but I don’t think I need a third cup of it this morning! (Especially since I am feeling awake and alert now… which is some sort of miracle!)

Butiki Teas 2012-09-18 13:17:06 -0400

Yeah, you definitely don’t want to overdo it with guayusas. The cider is pretty tasty.

Tawny Kira 2012-09-18 14:12:10 -0400

wow this sounds so delicious! I’m going to have to add some to my next Butiki order !!

KittyLovesTea 2012-09-19 11:57:33 -0400

I am waiting for this to cross the pond and pop itself into my cup. I haven’t tried any guayasa (at least not to my knowledge) but as a vanilla lover the name temped me to try it. I hope it arrives soon.

Kittenna 2012-09-19 12:05:40 -0400

If you like vanilla mint, this is delicious. The lavender adds a bit of extra character but isn’t overpowering, so doesn’t make it taste soapy. Delicious!

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I have always been a tea fan (primarily herbals and Japanese greens/oolongs) but in the last year or so, tea has become increasingly more appealing as not only a delicious, calming drink, but as a relatively cheap, healthy reward or treat to give myself when I deserve something. I should clarify that, however; the reward is expanding my tea cupboard, not drinking tea – I place no restrictions on myself in terms of drinking anything from my cupboard as that would defeat my many goals!

My DavidsTea addiction was born in late 2011, despite having spent nearly a year intentionally avoiding their local mall location (but apparently it was just avoiding the inevitable!). I seem to have some desire to try every tea they’ve ever had, so much of my stash is from there, although I’ve recently branched out and ordered from numerous other companies.

I like to try and drink all my teas unaltered, as one of the main reasons I’m drinking tea other than for the flavour is to be healthy and increase my water intake without adding too many calories! I’ve found that the trick in this regard is to be very careful about steeping time, as most teas are quite pleasant to drink straight as long as they haven’t been oversteeped. However, I tend to be forgetful (particularly at work) when I don’t set a timer, resulting in a few horrors (The Earl’s Garden is not so pleasant after, say, 7+ minutes of steeping).

I’m currently trying to figure out which types of teas are my favourites. Herbals are no longer at the top; oolongs have thoroughly taken over that spot, with greens a reasonably close second. My preference is for straight versions of both, but I do love a good flavoured oolong (flavoured greens are really hit or miss for me). Herbals I do love iced/cold-brewed, but I drink few routinely (Mulberry Magic from DavidsTea being a notable exception). I’m learning to like straight black teas thanks to the chocolatey, malty, delicious Laoshan Black from Verdant Tea, and malty, caramelly flavoured blacks work for me, but I’m pretty picky about anything with astringency. Lately I’ve found red rooibos to be rather medicinal, which I dislike, but green rooibos and honeybush blends are tolerable. I haven’t explored pu’erh, mate, or guayasa a great deal (although I have a few options in my cupboard).

I’ve decided to institute a rating system so my ratings will be more consistent. Following the smiley/frowny faces Steepster gives us:

100: This tea is amazing and I will go out of my way to keep it in stock.

85-99: My core collection (or a tea that would be, if I was allowing myself to restock everything!) Teas I get cravings for, and drink often.

75-84: Good but not amazing; I might keep these in stock sparingly depending on current preferences.

67-74: Not bad, I’ll happily finish what I have but probably won’t ever buy it again as there’s likely something rated more highly that I prefer.

51-66: Drinkable and maybe has some aspect that I like, but not really worth picking up again.

34-50: Not for me, but I can see why others might like it. I’ll make it through the cup and maybe experiment with the rest to get rid of it.

0-33: It’s a struggle to get through the cup, if I do at all. I will not willingly consume this one again, and will attempt to get rid of the rest of the tea if I have any left.