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Don’t think I get pear or strawberry. However, it does taste like the scent of an old fashioned candy store. Kind of like old wood (not in a bad way) and nonspecific “sweet.” Maybe that is the jelly roll chocolate taste Tamm mentioned.

Thanks for the sample, Tamm!

Roasty, barky with a silky mouth feel. Smokey, earthy. Amazing to think I am drinking something aged for so long. I don’t even drink alcohol that old! :)

That said, this probably isn’t going to be something I seek out to keep around. If anyone would like to try it, I’d be happy to share some.

Well, this is odd. A bit of fig, a bit of honey… and lots of other things that I can’t pick out. There is a strange sweet aftertaste. Very odd in that it doesn’t taste sweet when I’m drinking it but immediately after swallowing it, there is a sweetness that suffuses my mouth. I thought at first it was what I was eating with it, but I’m not sure how sharp cheese and pretzels would make a tea sweet. Maybe… the licorice root is the sweet.

Hm. Not sure I like this. I could drink it if it was served to me, but I don’t think I’d choose it over other teas.

Dry leaves are so, so pretty. Smells definitely malty dry.

Steeped, this is super malty, bready, yeasty, dark and satisfying. I can get some of the oak notes but don’t notice any florals at all. Maybe a tiny bit of astringency at the end of the sip, but it’s a teensy, tiny bit. The taste does linger a lot in the mouth.

Though this is something I could easily get too much of in a weekend and it might upset my tummy if I drank several cups at a sitting this is another unflavored black from Butiki that I simply must keep in my cupboard.

So… wow, Ysaurella was absolutely right about this one – cloves, cloves, cloves. :) I can pick up a bit of the citrus hiding under the cloves, but not much. I don’t think it is sweet, which is odd, since a lot of the European tea companies’ products seem sweet to me. While it is not something I will seek out for my cupboard, I am quite happy to have tried it. Thank you, Ysaurella!

Hm. Not sure I’ve had a plain black currant tea before so I wasn’t sure what to expect. The smell of the dry leaf is slightly sweet. I guess this is grapey? I know currants are grapey. The steeped liquor smells like grape and is slightly sour but not bitter. I probably won’t replace this when I’m out but not a bad flavored tea. I’ve been overdosing on unflavored blacks lately so getting back to some flavored blends it’s been nice to have decent ones. :)

This was the loose leaf version.

Not sure what orchid is supposed to taste like but, from the description, I don’t think it is supposed to be a flavor in this tea. I get toasty vanilla and coconut from this, with a pretty nice black tea base. Overall, not bad. I picked this up with a recent Rue La La certificate which made it essentially half price. Not sure I’d keep it in the cupboard over other vanilla blacks but this is a good tea to have around until it’s gone.

Oh, and I don’t know if it makes a difference but this was the loose leaf version.

Ysaurella was kind enough to send some of this my way recently. :)

This is a nice, mild black tea with strong violet flavor. It is also sweet.

What it reminds me of are the violet candies you used to be able to get in 5 & 10 stores in small towns. http://chowardcompany.com/products.htm

I never cared much for the candy. As a tea, it is okay. Not bad, but nothing I’ll seek out to keep in the cupboard. I’ll share some of the sample I have left with my mom and her friend and it will all be steeped and enjoyed while it lasts. :)

This is a lovely tea! The only teas I can recall having before this with cherries were greens and they were always very tart and didn’t seem to blend well. This is wonderful. The tea base is nice and smooth and melds well with the cherries. A tiny bit of tartness but not nearly as much as with the green bases in other teas.

I would keep this in the cupboard. Thanks so much, Ysaurella, for sharing this!