Blueberry Purple Tea

This tea is unique and interesting. I can’t say it was what I was expecting it to be but it was nonetheless very delightful.
After a day of sampling many very strongly FLAVORED teas this one came out to be far more natural in its flavors and perhaps I could have easily dismissed it as not being flavorful ENOUGH however this tea has depth and character which is a lot better in my opinion than teas with no depth or character and tons of artificial flavor.
There is a blueberry element to it but subtle on my palate.
The tea base itself is what makes this tea so wonderful and the slight blueberry flavor is just this nice little treat that sneaks up on you now and then.
It seems that there are a lot of varying opinions on this tea but to me that is what makes it more mysterious and enjoyable.
I had a sample of this but I will for sure buy some so I can unfurl more of its mysteries in the near future!

Thank you to TeaEqualsBliss for sending me some of this tea.

Today seems to be turning out to be a “berry” tea kind of day, although I didn’t intentionally plan for it to be. I have at least one more berry tea on deck waiting for me today, so yeah… it just happened like that.

This is really good. I’ve tried purple Oolong and purple Pu-erh… and this particular purple tea seems to almost be “white” like to me. Maybe a little “green” tea-ish. Somewhere in between. It has a lightness to it … a delicateness that reminds me of a white tea, while there is a vegetative tone that is more like a green tea.

It’s very VERY good. I like the way the blueberries really stand out here, Sweet with hints of sour. The herbaceous tones of the tea lend a very “fresh” flavor to this, like freshly picked blueberries … and an earthy tone to it that give it a sort of “rustic” tone … evoking thoughts of picking wild blueberries. It’s deliciously different … unlike a blueberry green tea or a blueberry white tea … but still has similarities to both of these. Unique enough to NOT be these teas, while still similar enough to be vaguely reminiscent of them.

Quite good. I’m really glad I had the opportunity to try this tea.

WOW. That is all.

Ok, I’ll elaborate. When I set the parcel on the countertop, I smelled blueberry. When I opened the shipment of 5 items + 2 samples, I smelled blueberry. I dug through the box until I located the small packet labelled blueberry and made it IMMEDIATELY. With a fragrance like that, how could you not? I dumped the whole 1/2oz packet into the finum filter and brewed 1 liter. Wish I had not got the water so hot, but nevertheless… I select a bone china mug with blue forget-me-nots on it, because this tea requires something blue. The liquid is even blue—in the purple way that blueberries are.

And then the sip. slightly astringent—my fault. I did not do any research before boiling, I just jumped in with both feet as soon as that fragrance hit my nostrils.

Second sip. Must say, NONE repeat—NONE of that hideous fake blueberry flavoring. I have a few blueberry plants in the yard, I pick them every July. I know what a blueberry smells like and this is the real deal. This is a beautiful cup I would serve to guests in a heartbeat, and know for a fact they’d still be talking about it tomorrow. HA.

This is a work of art.

Thank you to Stacy, owner of Butiki Teas for this Sample!
I have visitors this week! Last night I drove to the Denver Airport and back to pick up my ‘gulp’ 43 year old son Aaron who lives in San Francisco. Getting to bed at 2AM, I haven’t had time to review any new tea’s until this afternoon. This nice bright sample with a large plump blueberry all juicy looking appeared to be a healthy choice. Blueberry=Antioxident! I was in need of rejuvination.
The steeping time was 5minutes at 160F. The liquid pour was light brown with a hint of lavender. I made sure. I held my clear glass cup up to the window and there was a tinge due to the blueberry skin more than likely and not from the purple tea base. You smell heavenly blueberry. It is the same blueberry as breaking open a blueberry muffin all hot and steamy. The flavor straight up is very light, not astringent but a bit creamy and lighter than expected on the blueberry flavor… almost floral. I added a bit of sweetening (not too much) which enhanced the blueberry flavor adding a nectar like taste. Honeysuckle! Truly Honeysuckle Blueberry!

As the tea cools the astringency level increases. Beware. Don’t lose your cup to over cooling.
I think that I would have this again with a piece of toast spread with Creme Fraiche. It would be like having blueberries and cream…with a little bread butteriness.

mmmmmmmmm! Another winner from Stacy! I am totally digging this today as well. I’m a little sad that I don’t have any sweetner here at work as I think that this would be that much better with just a hint of sweet added. This is not a sweet tea…it’s blueberry…that kind of blueberry that is both sweet and sour. I am really digging this as a blueberry tea.

Well, I’m kind of embarrassed that I’ve had this tea in my cupboard for so long without even trying it. Today I’ve been loving fruit flavors, whether actual or in tea, so this was a good choice.

It is a pretty tea once steeped – brown with lavender undertones. It’s possible I’m seeing purple because its in the name, but blueberry does tend to give anything its in a purple tinge.

This certainly smells like blueberry! It reminds me of blueberry pancakes, but I think that’s because both those and this tea are served hot and have blueberries in. The steeping parameters were right on, too – there’s no bitterness, though things haven’t cooled down enough for me to say whether that’s the case for the whole cup. Right now I get all aspects of a natural blueberry – sweet, tart, perfect.

I’ve never had a purple tea before so I can’t attest to its flavor in this. If you like blueberry then for sure give this a try, though – it doesn’t get more fabulous, and it doesn’t need any additives to make it that way!

Mmmm, blueberry tea! My fav blueberry teas are by DT – White Tiger and Blueberry Jam. But this is a purple tea? Ultra fun! Thanx to Stacy @ Butiki for this sample on my last order!

STEEPED: low saturated brown colour, very interesting! Smells like sweet blueberries. After steeping, the leaves look pretty smushy.

TASTE: Floral, blueberries and light to moderate astringency. Very tasty aftertaste of blueberries. I’ve never had purple tea – with this it is kinda earthy but light. Like a really earthy green.

Sweetened, the blueberries come out in a mellow warm honey like form and less astringency.

EDIT: second steeping, no sweetener needed! The purple tea held up and is not astringent anymore with a good aftertaste of blueberry that is sweet! This purple tea stuff is intriguing.

WHO’D LIKE THIS TEA: someone looking for something a little different. Blueberry tea peeps should try this to change up having the typical white or black blueberry tea.

COMMENTS: Pretty fun tea! I’d love to have more than a sample to play with the steeping times to minimize the astringency.

Drinking so much tea today!

I placed a Butiki order yesterday, so I went to go have a Butiki tea to celebrate, I lifted up one of the bags, and this sample fell to the floor!! What excitement at finding this. I have no idea where it was hidden all this time….lol. Thanks to Stacy for this sample!

What an intriguing tea…purple tea, brews up a light yellow. I am not getting any bitterness at all. So this base is nice and smooth. I am definitely getting a sweet blueberry taste to this tea. It isn’t strong, but it is there for sure. Very yummy.

I am going to cold brew the resteep here and see how that turns out!

Ok, so I’ve been pretty absent on Steepster of late – had a doozy of a cold and wasn’t drinking much tea because of it. Then after the cold I got super busy. Things seem to have finally calmed down a bit, so I’m going to backlog a couple of teas (or at least I want to try… I have tasting notes written down in several different notebooks. Now to find them all!) and should be back to sipping this wonderful beverage.

ALRIGHT – now on to the tea! This was a sample that Stacy so generously added to my last order. Thanks, Stacy!
The dry leaf smelled super interesting. Blueberry? Yes. But there were also some slight buttery notes, slight floral notes, as well as an earthy scent. Overall, I’m getting a sweet factor. Smells really nice!
Once brewed – YUM! Very blueberry! As it was brewing I could hardly keep the lid to my pot on… it smells so nice. Sweet and tart blueberry notes are present, with that thick creamy/buttery note again (can something smell thick?). The earthy scent is still present and meshes well with the blueberry. It’s like getting the whole plant together in the pot – that’s what it seems to smell like.

Now for the true test – TASTE
Smooth mouthfeel overall, with a slight, slight, astringency and spice. The blueberry is definitely there – nice and natural tasting. I’m also getting those nice, smooth earthy notes in the taste. Sweet and yet earthy at the time… cool. Like I said with the smell, it’s like getting the whole blueberry bush.
The only remains of the buttery/creamy smell would be the smooth, slightly thick aspect of the brew. But that’s ok, it isn’t really missed. I think I may have to add this one to the list of purchases. It’s got a fairly light taste, but it’s enough for me to enjoy. I like how natural the blueberry is. Not candy sweet, but naturally so.

Glad I had this one tonight!

This was one of the samples I got with me first Butiki order. It’s actually one of the ones I was most curious about, being a person that likes blueberry and being intrigued by the “purple” base. It’s an interesting tea to look at. The leaves are dark — almost black in colour — and quite fine. There are pieces of dried blueberry and what I’m assuming are cornflowers scattered throughout. The scent is quite delicate. It’s definetly blueberry, but there’s also an earthy sweetness to it that I really like. It almost reminds me of compost, in the best possible way!

To taste, this is actually really nice. I wasn’t at all sure what to expect, but it shares in taste the same candy-like sweetness and faint touch of blueberry that it possessed in scent when dry. It’s very subtle and delicate, but it’s definetly moreish. There’s a very, very slight astringency, but it’s so slight it’s barely there. As it cools, the blueberry taste comes out more clearly, along with a slight creaminess I didn’t notice at first. Rewardingly, there is a tinge of purple about the liquor.

I had no idea what my reaction was going to be to this tea, but I’ve been very pleasantly surprised. I’m glad I decided to try it as a sample, but it’s definetly one I’ll come back to in future orders!

This actually brews up a deep purple/blue colour with a subtle scent of blueberries.

There is a earthy blueberry taste in there, not too strong, but it’s there. There’s something else over the blueberry that I’ve tasted before but I can’t quite remember what it is.

This is a fascinating tea. I only have a small sample so I may have to pick up some more to experiment and enjoy.

Update: The second steep of this was a success. Almost as flavourful as the first. I’m impressed.

Why did I buy this tea? Not really sure. For some reason it sounded like a fun blend and I do not regret buying it. It does smell like blueberries and word “purple” seems very appropriate. If colors would have taste assigned to them then this is how purple would smell/taste. It’s light and slightly tart without harshness that sometimes lemony/citrus/berries blends have. Overall very pleasant.

This is very yummy! The tea looks a bit blueish/purple like blueberry juice. I’m enjoying it a lot better than David’s tea white tiger :D

I offered to make a small pot of this to share with my wife and she got very excited. “Oooh, yes, in the clear teapot!”

“…the tea itself isn’t purple, honey, just the leaves.”

“… … … pout”

“I’m sorry?”

“Hmph. The tea is a liiiiiiiie.”

So my wife is pouting about the lack of purple in this tea. That being said, we are enjoying it. We agree it tastes kind of like blueberry muffins. It is very, very tasty. But with the amount of tea we already have in the house and the price point, we decided not to restock just now. It is a delicious tea well worth the price, but we already have many, many teas to drink and while it is a tasty tea, it didn’t strike us as one we had to keep in stock. Maybe later!

My 2nd Purple Tea! Woot!

Here’s what I am smelling…black tea, green tea, blueberry, floral, and something that resembles Tulsi.

Here’s what I am tasting…strong earthiness, grassier green tea notes, the brashiness of a black tea, blueberry berries and leaves, floral notes thru-out.

A little of this goes a long way. I think I over infused but it’s still a conversationable cup! I will be trying this again before passing it along to my SororiTEA Sister LiberTEAs!

I do love the blueberry notes here, tho! Ahhhh!

Thank you Emily M for this yummy sample!

This is probably the best smelling flavored tea I have come across. Smells like blueberry muffins right from the bag. The flavor is perfectly balanced, as are so many of the Butiki teas. Sweet without being artificial or overwhelming. So yummy (^o^)

Hmm… a very interesting tea! It takes a little while for the flavor to develop on your tongue. I first taste an earthy tea flavor. This is closely followed by a tart fruit flavor that slowly finishes in a mellow, slightly astringent blueberry note. Very cool! I wish that there was more of a sweet blueberry flavor as I taste mostly an earthy tea. I will say that the tea base complements the subtle blueberry flavor. I also find the dry leaf to look awfully pretty as well. Love the cornflowers against the dark tea!

I received my package from Butiki Teas today and immediately ripped it open! Stacey sent me a sample of this blueberry purple tea. I heated up a pot of water and opened this small bag for a whiff. my my my! It smells absolutely delicious. It smells like blueberry flavored candy! I love the small bits of blue cornflowers. The leaves were small… and resembled something like the insides of a cardamom pod. They were black with bits of blue cornflowers. I brewed this up using a tetsubin and poured it into my small white cups. One very small one for tasting, one slightly larger one for my husband, and the other one for me.

The liquor appeared to be a medium brown color with a slight tinge of blue/purple. It smells just like the leaves but a little less intense. It tastes so GOOD! I noticed some floral tones but mostly blueberries and slight sweetness. There was no bitterness to it. I love this flavor. It is so smooth. It is like a blueberry cream or a blueberry yogurt without the sourness to it. Wow. I am in love with this tea. At the end of my sip, I detected a slight astringency in the back of my tongue. It wasn’t anything offensive though.

Another great tea from Butiki Teas! I haven’t been disappointed!

Final tea of last evening was a sample from Stacy at Butiki! I drank a bit and fell asleep before posting a tasting note, so here it is.

There wasn’t a great deal of aroma to the cup. Unfortunately, I was getting quite a lot of astringency, which kind of tarnished my opinion of this cup. There were some interesting flavours, and I was getting a lovely “tea” aftertaste (which speaks to the quality of this tea), however, the mouth-drying sensation and bitterness weren’t making me all that happy. I think there was a bit of a light wild blueberry flavour, but unfortunately after having had 52teas’ Blueberry Zabaglione, I found it difficult to pick out (bad timing on my behalf). I tried to drink a bit of the rest in the morning, and it was possibly the most bitter cup of tea I had ever tasted :( I couldn’t pick out any of the potentially nice flavours from the night before.

I feel it’s unfair to rate this tea… I know I enjoy the straight Purple Tea, so something must have happened to cause all this bitterness. The tea was quite broken up in the sample bag, but I used a Finum filter so would be surprised if particles got through… ah well. Perhaps I’ll try it again someday.

This was my first time trying a purple tea. I look forward to trying more. As recommended by Butiki Teas, I tried it using different times and water temperatures. The info provided below was the first go round. I tried it at 160 degrees first and it tasted much like a lighter oolong, or perhaps a strong white. The blueberry was definitely present and pleasant, but didn’t hit you over the head. At the other extreme, i.e., boiling, this tea came across similar to a weakish black tea in color and taste. Again, the blueberry was nicely balanced. In short, I think this would be a great desert island tea because you could brew for whatever you were in the mood for and only need the one package. With that in mind, the tea stands on its own merits. It’s not a gimmick. Worth trying and enjoying.