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Kind of wishing I’d ordered an ounce of this one, instead of just a sample! A solid coconut aroma greeted me when opened the little baggie. The scent was much milder after steeping than it was dry.

Taste is very pie crust-like. I love rooibos, and this one is excellent; really well-suited to this blend. The coconut is definitely there, but it’s mild and doesn’t have that sickeningly sweet coconut extract taste. More like fresh coconut in a freshly baked crust. Glad I got to try it!

It’s not you, it’s me…
I’m removing my rating for this tea because, as it turns out, I just don’t like raspberry chocolate teas. I know, I’m as shocked as you are. But I’ve tried 2 now, and even though I can certainly appreciate that they (this one included) were well blended, I just wasn’t crazy about either of them. This is a good tea. It’s just not a good tea for me.

I requested a sample of this with my recent Butiki order because I wanted to compare it to Adiago’s Ripe for Romance.

You see, I really, really wanted to love Ripe for Romance. When I saw it pop-up around Valentine’s Day, my brain was like: “Chocolate. Raspberry. Truffle. Tea. What’s not to love?!” But my taste buds didn’t seem to agree. It wasn’t a bad tea; I’d even say that it was technically good. But I just didn’t like it nearly as much as I liked the description.

So when I saw this one from Butiki, I thought it would be a great way to put the Adiago blend to the test. Was it that I didn’t like that raspberry truffle tea, or is it just the general flavor I’m not crazy about?

So my order came in and I was so excited by the smell of this one. Rich, sweet and chocolatey. I happily steeped a cup. Turns out, I just don’t go crazy for raspberry & chocolate together in a tea. (Which is odd, because chocolate strawberry teas are usually a hit for me.)

This was a very good blend. I could taste the tea base through the flavoring, which is always a big plus for me, and each element complimented the others. However, raspberry truffle teas just aren’t for me. Leaving off a rating for that reason.

I really do love this tea. Several cups later, I’m trying to discern what exactly it is that makes me like it so much. I think a big part of it, for me, is the mouthfeel. I can’t explain exactly what it is (creamy is close not quite it… is it starchy, maybe?) but each sip just feels comforting. I’m bumping my rating up a bit after playing around with the water temp.

Since my first tasting note, I’ve tried it with sugar just once. I can see how it enhances the applesauciness (hey, new word!), but I prefer it without.

Dry leaf smells like an almond biscotti. Tried this plain the other day, and it was good. Tried it again this afternoon with a little almond milk, and it was VERY good.

The dry, natural almond taste blends well with the mild black tea base. Of course, being the cinnamon lover that I am, I wouldn’t have minded a stronger punch of it, but the mildness of it does let the almond stand out quite a bit.

Got a sample of this with my last DT order. Had it iced, with a tiny bit – like, 1/4 packet – of stevia. The overall sweetness was a great compliment to my berry oatmeal.

I normally prefer more autumnal flavors, but since yesterday’s snow has finally melted, I wanted something to remind me of warmer weather this morning. This smells tropical: fruity and sweet, and it makes me think of summer. If I concentrate, I can pick out the fragrance of pomegranate, but it smells more like “pomegranate flavoring” than fresh seeds. The dry blend looked really fruity, so I steeped it just a little longer than recommended since I knew it wasn’t likely to be bitter and I really wanted the flavor to pop. And it did. Tastes much like it smells: very tropical. Alone, it was sweet, but not overwhelmingly so, like many other mango teas tend to get. I had about 1/3 of the glass unsweetened, but then I added a bit of stevia to see what it would like taste like that way. I think it amped-up the flavor even more.

I don’t know that I could necessarily taste the individual mango and pom flavors, more of just a general tropical (I can’t stop saying that word) fruitiness. It makes a good warm weather tea, but since we’re supposed to get more snow on Sunday-Monday, I think it’ll be a while before I’m in that mindset again!

EDIT: I did a second infusion hot; not much flavor left to it this time around.

So, I had just enough Buttered Rum left for 1 last cup. Of course I just had to try it with a splash of actual rum. This is a big deal for me, as I normally NEVER drink rum, but all in the name of science, right? Er, I mean in the name of tea :-)
It was good, but I think I prefer it without the rum. The taste of the alcohol overpowered the tea too much for my taste. But it was definitely a fun way to accomplish a sipdown!

Backlog: Not rating because I only had a sample packet of this, and while I remember liking it, I don’t feel confident giving it number after just that one cup. Strongest impressions were of butter and walnuts. I’d like to try it again, but it must wait until I work through my current surplus of other dessert-type teas!