Kyle Carey

Long flat green leaves, that have a toasty grassy scent.

8oz/180F/2:30min

I like green teas you can steep more than once. This is a good tea for that. The scent of the steeped leaves is very grassy and creamy. It have a very smooth vegetal taste thats slightly toasty. The aftertaste is sweet and lasts for a while. As my cup cools the astringency is going up and playing nice with the sweet.

I highly recommend this tea and anything from Butiki!

The little fuzzy light green bud of this tea have a sweet alfalfa scent to them. They also have a slight floral scent to them.

I’m going to steep this for 4:30 at 185 degrees Fahrenheit.

The liquor turned out a very light golden color and smells very sweet and floral. This tea tasted very grassy at first sip and sweetened up as I drank it. It’s very wet feeling and makes me want to say juicy. The aftertaste sticks around for a while too with this tea. It’s really smooth and sweet, and keeps you wanting to take another drink.

This is an excellent tea and I recommend it to everyone! Butiki never fails to disappoint.

This tea has a very dark brow color and is very twiggy looking. The leaves are all crumbly and folded. It has a musty, earthy, alfalfa scent. The scent reminds me of a old hay loft.

1 Tbsp / 8 oz water / 2 minutes / 208 degrees fahrenheit

Rinsed twice and the leaves started smelling more woodsy and kind of like burning wood.

The liquor from the first steep was a light golden brow color and was very clear. It still had a musty scent and smelled slightly like cedar wood.

This is a very smooth tasting tea. It still has that pu-erh taste to it but its so smooth. It has a smokiness to it. It tastes like drinking a campfire. The aftertaste is a bit peppery tasting.. Never experienced that while drinking tea.

I think next time I brew this I’m going to use a bit more. I think this tea would be better if it was a little stronger, purely my opinion though.

Was really feeling like a green tonight and still had a sample pack of this in the drawer. Gyokuro Kin for me tonight!

The dry leaves are a very dark green color. They smell fresh and grassy. Reminded me a freshly mowed lawn.

Steeped this for 90 seconds at 160 degrees.

The wet leaves expanded quickly and smell really sweet. The grassy smell of this is amazing. The liquor is a murky radioactive green. Looks delicious.

This tastes very buttery and smooth. It is a bit astringent but the sweetness balances it out. Very nice mouth feel. A very savory tea. Spinach and seaweed. Just what the doctor ordered.

Woot, my first pu-erh!

Interested in seeing how this tastes! The dry leaves smell woody and floral. I can smell the oak smell like Butiki describes as well. I’m going to steep this according to Butiki instructions. 4oz of water, 3-5 seconds, 200-205 degree water.

The wet leaves smell very smokey and earthy. Like wood and alfalfa and sweet flowers and honey. This tea tastes a lot like it smells. There is a strong smokiness and earthy flavor. The heavy flavor is opposite the light mouth feel. Every drink makes my mouth feel juicy and wet. Avery interesting tea.

I’m on my 5th infusion and the taste and smell is remaining pretty consistent. There is a sweetness coming out that wasn’t there before. Still incredibly smooth and delicious.

9th infusion and still going strong. Butiki says you can get 20+ steeping out of this and I plan on it.

Cheers.

Excited to drink my first white. I was really liking all the light oolongs I’ve been trying lately so I hope this is good!

The dry leaves are a long light green color with silver hair covering the buds. They have a light grassy, floral scent.

Steeping this for three minutes at 165 degrees according to Butiki’s instructions.

It produced a very light shiny golden color liquor. It smells fruity with a very light grassy scent. Smells very good!

This tea has a very light mouth feel. It’s really wet and refreshing to drink. It tastes really sweet and juicy! It has a light peachy flavor, not at all what I was expecting but very good! It’s very light and delicious! I can also see why this is described as buttery!

2nd infusion: This infusion was even sweeter and fruitier tasting than the first! It produced the same flavors as the first infusion but with more intense flavors.

I haven’t noticed much of an aftertaste while drinking this tea which is slightly a bummer because I would to experience the flavors of this tea for as long as possible. Still delicious! Recommended!

Tonight i’m drinking my Peach Oolong sample sent that came along with my Butiki Tea Order.

I’m following Butiki’s steeping instructions and infusing for 4 minutes at 180 degrees.

The small little rolled leaves smell peachy! They colors range from light green to very dark green, and there are a few twiggy stems. I’m also seeing little flower looking things. Hm..

My first infusion came out a very light golden color. Its such a nice color. Its also smells very floral. Almost like a sweet scent. The peach scent has retreated a bit, but still there. Taste time!!!

The first sip i’m going to describe with the word “juicy”. A light, sweet, floral, peachy, MMMMMMMM! Light oolongs are winning me over. This was what I needed all day. I wish I was better at describing flavors because I can’t really give this tea the praise it deserves.

The second infusion was even better because the oolongs flavor started to peek though. Sweeter, better, amazing.

The small dry leaves and little pieces of toasted rice and popcorn are all coated graciously in matcha. It smells very toasty and nutty.

Brewing this according to Den’s instructions.

First infusion gave me a radioactively green cup that smelled a lot like the dry leaves do. It tastes surprisingly less toasty than it smells. There is a very prominent toasted aftertaste, but while sipping It tastes very green. Probably the matcha. I don’t know If I like genmaicha or not. I enjoy drinking it but I don’t see myself ordering it in the near future.

The tightly rolled nuggets smell grassy and sweet. Slightly buttery, a little like a green tea.

Brewed according to Verdant’s western brewing method. Rinsed with 208 degree water and then steeped for 25 seconds.

The wet leaves smell very grassy and clove like. The light yellow liquor scent on the other hand is absolutely amazing. I have never smelled a tea so complex. Granted, I’m still new to loose teas, especially oolongs, but this is blowing my mind. I can smell butter, grassy scents, citrus and then a super sweet floral scent hit me. Really caught me off guard. I haven’t even taken a sip yet because I can’t stop smelling it.

Alright, here we go…

Wow. The feel of this tea in my mouth is very wet. It’s so smooth. This is going to be so hard to describe. As soon as I take a sip its like a light buttery grassy taste. A few seconds later it starts to change before I swallow. It starts to get sweet and flowery tasting. I can’t really describe it. The after taste though… It tastes so much like citrus. It’s convincing me that I have just ate some type of citrus fruit.

2nd steep (20 sec):

The scent of the 2nd steep is even more floral smelling than the first. I could smell this tea all day. The mouth feel is so good with this tea. It’s tasting sweeter this time around. Maybe a more buttery flavor at the initial sip, but this cup is tasting so close to the first (and I have no problem with that ;P). The after taste is still very similar, but now, beside the citrus I’m tasting a green bean flavor. That’s probably just my untrained palate though. Haha.

3rd steep (20 sec):

I’m going to call the floral scent of this tea honeysuckle. That’s what it smells like to me. So sweet smelling. The third cup has a bite to it. Still delicious though. I’m kind of getting a vanilla flavor. Very nice.

This has been one of the most complex and memorable teas I’ve ever drank. I’ll definitely be ordering more soon. I urge anyone and everyone to try this. I’m very new to tea and this has showed me something I’ve never experienced before.

Cheers.

This was my first Houjicha!

Dry leaves: The leaves smelled very nutty and woodsy. It’s a very familiar smell but I can’t quite put my finger on exactly what it is.

Wet leaves: The nuttiness has gotten a lot stronger and now I can smell a green tea scent.

Steeping produced a very clear, dark golden brown liquor. This tea tastes very smooth and sweet. It tastes a lot like it smells, nutty and twiggy. I feel like it tastes like almonds. Unlike any tea I’ve ever drank, especially green tea. Very good though. Just a hard one to describe.

Cheers.

My first Den’s Tea and my first Sencha. The dry leaves are small and thin and smell like dried grass clipping to me. I brewed about 2 Tsp in 6 oz of water for one minute. The leaves expanded quickly and have a sweet vegetal smell. The liquor was a slightly murky bright green. Looked radioactive.

The taste of this is amazing. I’m just getting into loose leaf greens so this is much better than anything I’ve had… (Not Verdant’s Laoshan Green, but that completely different) It has a slightly dry mouth feel but its balanced by how sweet and fresh it tastes. Reminds me of spinach.

Second steep I did for 15 seconds with boiling water per Den’s brewing instructions. Tastes a lot like the first cup. Still very good and grassy tasting.

Excited to try. I opened the bag and smelled the small dark curled leaves and instantly thought of chocolate. The dry leaves smell so good!

I’m going to brew this western style. Three minutes in boiling water. Here goes nothing!

The liquor is a light golden brown and smells sweet like chocolate but also reminds me of barley. This tastes like it smells to me. Creamy, smooth, sweet, chocolaty. Its amazing. The wet leaves smell so strongly of dark chocolate and something I can’t quite put my finger on.. Hm.

Second steep: Sweeter and smoother than the first. Honey! I’m drinking these cups so fast because it’s so delicious.

This tea is just so smooth and delicious. I could drink it all day. I will definitely be buying more.

The teabag smells sweet and citrusy. After steeping for about 2 minutes at 175 the liquor is pale and yellow green and smells like the dry leaves. Citrus, very light cranberry flavor. Light mouth feel with a dry bite afterwards. Kinda tastes like a flavored Lipton green teabag. Just meh.

My first Verdant Tea tasting!

Not very good at describing what I taste yet but I’ll do my best.

Dry leaf: Small little swirls that smell vegetal. Alfalfa, peas, green beans… Stuff of that nature.

I followed the western brewing instructions from Verdant because I don’t have a Gongfu set. So one minute in 175 degree water. The liquor is a bright yellow green. And it smells so good! It smells like creamy spinach and green beans. Also has a buttery scent to it.

Taste!
Being new to loose leaf teas, this tastes so interesting! It’s hard to describe. As I sip it all I can think is creamy, buttery, green beans. Ha. Spinach too! It’s so good! I haven’t had many loose leaf greens so I can’t really compare this to anything but I’m really satisfied with this purchase!

This was one of my Design a Tea samples I received in the mail today. The teabag has a strong vanilla scent to it, I don’t smell much wintergreen.

I followed Design a Tea’s direction and brewed this oolong for about three and a half minutes in boiling water. Result was a golden-orange liquor that smelled like vanilla.

I think I may have steeped this for too short of a time. Was kinda week tasting. From what I could taste I got hints of cocoa and vanilla. No wintergreen despite it being wintergreen vanilla. ;P It was decent for a $1 sample I guess.

Tea: Flower Basket Green Tea with Vanilla

I dropped the tea ball into my glass tumbler and poured boiling water over it. As it steeped it had a very light vanilla scent. The liquor was a light golden color. When I tasted it I expected vanilla but it actually just tasted like a light green tea. It has an astringent mouth feel and aftertaste. Not too bad, not too good.

I poured the single steep packet into my infusing basket and it looked to be mostly lemongrass with some bits of ginger and lemon peel thrown in. They smelled a lot like ginger. I can smell lemon too, ginger is definitely dominant though.

I steeped for five minutes in boiling water, result was a cloudy yellowish-green liquor. It smells like lemon.

The ginger is very overwhelming in this. Its really all I can taste. Okay, I can taste the lemongrass and licorice root a little but the ginger is really drowning everything out. Bummer, dude.

The dry leaves smell of lemongrass, a touch of mint and licorice. Also, kind of reminds me of a hay loft because its so floral smelling.

Steeped for five minutes in boiling water. Result was a very clear, golden liquor. The liquor smells sweet and reminds me of butter.

I mostly taste licorice and chamomile with a cool minty aftertaste. Has a very creamy mouthfeel. As I keep drinking, the citron is becoming more apparent. Decent soothing herbal tea.

Was feeling sleepy after a long day so I decided to try Tea Forte’s Forte Breakfast blend to wake me up. I’m using a single steeps packet to brew this cup.

Water: Boiling
Steep time: 4 minutes
Dry leaves: Smelled nice but were unfortunately mostly powder.

After steeping the cup smelled fairly decent. The liquor is a very dark brown/red. Taste time.

A tad astringent, but very bold. I usually don’t drink milk in tea but this is one I would consider adding a wee bit. Don’t have much to complain about, but also nothing to rave about either.

Alright, so after my unfortunate experience with Tea Forte’s Earl Gray earlier this evening, I decided to try their Green Mango Peach. Hope this one goes better. ;P

Dry leaves: Smelled very much like peppermint with a hint of mango. The leaves looked better quality than the Earl Gray and expanded nicely too.

I steeped this for three minutes in 175ºF water. The liquor is a nice golden color and smells strangely like NyQuil… Haha. Maybe its just the peppermint and mango mixing, I don’t know. Now what really matters, taste:

The peppermint is definitely the dominant flavor. Tasted medicine-like, just like it smells! I’m getting very light hints of the peach and mango but the peppermint is just drowning them out. At least this is drinkable though.

Fist off, the tea leave are very fine and powder like. They smell VERY strong of bergamot.

I boiled water and poured in a mug and let it steep for 5 minutes per instructions from Tea Forte. The end result being a very dark liquor smelling a bit less of bergamot. I can smell the assam now unlike before. Onto taste, first sip I took tasted nothing like bergamot and very much like pure black assam. Second sip, all I got was bergamot, and not good bergamot, chemical tasting bergamot. I drank about 1/4 of the cup before throwing it out. This tea tasted horrible. Didn’t even taste like tea, just chemicals… I still cant get the taste out of my mouth. Very disappointed.

My first tasting note but I’ll do my best to describe what I taste. ;P

Tea: Primula Guilded Lotus Green tea with Pomegranate flavoring.

I steeped this tea for 5 min in boiling water. The bloom opened up fairly quickly, probably within 3-4 minutes. Instead of preparing this in a teapot I used a clear glass mug. I also warmed the mug before brewing.

Now onto the tea. As soon as I poured in the water I could smell pomegranate and faint remnants of green tea. First sip was very much pomegranate. As I drank more I could start to taste the green tea more, and also a floral hint (from the flower, I assume). This also has a natural sweetness to it. Very light feeling in my mouth with a bit of a dry bite after swallowing.

Like I said I’m new to tasting so that’s all I have for now!
Cheers!