Royal Golden Safari

Delicious! I was surprised by this one! Not that I doubted Stacy or her array of fine teas but I just was going to have a lazy morning making a nice breakfast and not do a review but this one has inspired me to do so! Sweet, creamy, sweet potato, chocolate, …. more to come in my review on http://sororiteasisters.com/
I love it when a tea inspires me! I got this as a sample in an order I got today from Stacy and I was honestly just wanting to enjoy a new tea. Which I have, and still am but I have to give credit where credit is due and go do a full review! Thanks Stacy for letting me try this one!

Thank you Stacy for this sample

Stacy told me that this has been her favorite morning tea of late so when I had my choice of samples with my last order, I picked this one to enjoy! Her selecton of organic, high quality rare tea’s has me coming back for more.

This is an orthodox tea from a small farm in Kenya and part of the proceeds from sales go the promotion of Tea’s for Trees. Hooray!

The dry leaves look like the tangled main of a lion…all golden shades of various browns and blond hair wrapped and twisted elegantly askew. They smell dry like softest vanilla.

The wet leaves puff up into large brown ochre fellows, sweet smelling and reminiscent of bergamot.

The taste was like a walk through the tea plantation…the scent and flavor of sweet bosc pear then golden walnut and gentle not-too-malty tea underneath which was golden and sunny in character. There was a slight heat on my tongue that lasted long after my cup was empty and which I found to be a lovely lingering reminder of just how good this tea had been.
There was a comment from Stacy about a cocoa note. I had been trying to discover that flavor but found it to be elusive this time around. I tried the tea sweet which was very nice. Without additions the tea was sweet and delicious enough. I would not add milk.

I can see why Stacy loves this tea to begin her day. Not everyone likes the heavy Assams or stronger black tea’s. This is the perfect choice for a more moderate full flavored tea without big malt and smoke but a bit of fruity flavor and nuttiness. Super delicious!

This sample was provided by Butiki in my last order – thanks for the sample. :)

These leaves are so long and slender with beautiful brown and golden colors. My wet leaves smell slightly sweet of cocoa and malt! I don’t believe I’ve had a kenyan tea before so I’m a bit excited.

This was steeped via regular infusion mug method and is quite surprising. The color is a dark orange and the flavor is yummy, like roasted sweet potatoes or carrots – it reminds me of a golden monkey type of tea. I am also getting a lot of walnut in the cup and a tiny touch of oak. The fruity aroma of this tea reminds me slightly of a darjeeling and the flavor is very clean with a rich mouthfeel. Ahhhhh

Normally with black tea I’m tempted to dump soymilk in, but this is delicious plain. This would be a great afternoon tea – Super relaxing. I really enjoyed this!

This is another one of my favorites from Butiki. I was really intrigued with the fact that this is from Kenya, it’s something totally new to me and it’s very cool that I was able to try it.

First of all, I must say that the dry leaf is absolutely gorgeous.It is composed of large, twisted and evenly graded leaves. There’s a lot of consistency in the size of the leaves and not much dust or fragments. The color of the leaf is about half dark cocoa and half golden, and the golden portions have a sort of fuzzy appearance. And when you look at the leaves in a pile they seem very “fluffy”. I don’t know, I’m just a sucker for the visual appeal of golden-tipped teas.

As for flavor, this tea is EXTREMELY unique compared to other black teas I’ve had. It’s actually very hard to put into words but the best I can come up with is notes of oak and other fragrant wood, along with a slight fruitiness and very slight cocoa notes. There is absolutely no bitterness or harshness to this tea, it is very smooth and drinkable.

My description doesn’t do this wonderful tea justice, it’s really something you need to try for yourself, and I would highly recommend trying it. I know that it was a new experience for me.

Trying to get through a few more of my straight Butiki teas before the contest closes (I really should get on posting these on Facebook and submitting things…) Anyhow, I could have sworn I had tried this tea before, but a) there was no tasting note on it and b) my tea spreadsheet (which is horribly out of date) said I hadn’t drank this one. So, they’re probably right. And, this was confirmed when I opened this bag of tea and was blown away by the sweetness emanating from the bag! Completely unexpected! All of a sudden I was much more interested in trying this tea.

This is one of the smoothest non-chocolatey blacks I have ever drank! It tastes kind of like a standard black tea, but with a delicious sweetness and absolutely none of the astringency I usually find in black teas. The flavour is light but full-bodied, with a thick, silky mouthfeel. This is really quite delicious! It’s probably not a tea I’d pick up again, as I don’t typically drink a lot of straight blacks, but I would definitely drink it again happily!

ETA: Yum! Second infusion is lighter but tasty!

Oooh, Kittenna sent me another tea on my shopping list! Woot!! And this is my first Butiki tea; I’m so excited! I feel like I say that about every tea. Tea tasting is just a bundle of excitement for me, what can I say?

The leaves are really neat looking. Tightly twisted, spindly, curled black and gold leaves. Time to brew it up and see what it tastes like!

Wow, this brewed up really light! It’s a very light golden color. I haven’t liked Kenyan teas in the past, but this one is different. It does have that slight aroma and taste that I don’t know how to describe but that I recognize as Kenyan. But it’s not off-putting like I usually find it. It’s good!

Like the liquor color, the taste is light. That’s not to say flavorless. There’s lots of flavor. It’s just a light, subdued cup of tea with mild astringency. No bitterness though. The description says cocoa and milk chocolate notes. I’m not getting any of those. I can imagine a pear undertone, but I’m not sure how much is truly in the cup vs in my imagination.

The second steep for 4.5 minutes brewed up much darker. Now it’s a reddish amber color. The flavor is pretty much the same, except maybe a bit less astringent. I’m not overwhelmed by awesomeness, but this was a fun tea to try. Thanks again Kittenna for sending me a sample!

Lions and Tigers and Tea! Thank you Stacy for sending this downy and delicious sample!

This one brews up into the most fascinating golden color, as if Apollo’s tears of joy at the taste had been collected in my cup! The base nuttiness woven with sweet pear makes for an understated but complex taste. In the mouth both flavors sit tightly together to form a dark cacao-ish hint of a profile but once the whisper of it is all that remains in your throat, the pieces melt into distinct and separate entities. There is a starchy (not in a bad way) mouthfeel that tells you up front this will be different and lingers slightly after each sip – moving your cup holding hand by divine intervention repeatedly toward your lips! Tasty!

Thank you for the sample Stacy.

After reading everyone’s notes on this, I was really looking forward to it. I am sad to say that my experience was that it had absolutely no flavor at all. I added a tiny bit of honey and all I tasted was the tiny bit of honey.

So, I am leaving my rating off for now and will pick some up with my next order. I have loved all I’ve tried from Butiki Teas so far and am willing to try this again.

I got an oz of this during the Black friday sale. Ari & I are enjoying it’s smooth sweet potato essence, with a fruity nutty backdrop. Tasty!

This is a really nice straight tea. I received this as a sample from Stacy and have been saving it for a cooler night. The tea brews into a beautiful golden brew. It’s not a super strong tea – but the flavouring is really enjoyable. I might just have to pick this up outside of a sample size.

thank you Butiki for the samples! They are always a treat. This must be the lightest black tea I’ve EVER tried. The leaves are longer with an interesting mixture of colors: dark and golden yellow, which is maybe where the name of the tea comes from. The steeped leaves smell like a field of dry grass growing for months after a dry summer, waiting to be chopped down before the winter. It makes me a bit sad that it’s November and that won’t be happening for a while! The steep color is a light yellowish brown… I guess you could call that golden too. I steeped for three minutes and the water was way cooler than the suggested 195. I was surprised by its light fruity flavor! I thought of a cantaloupe, but I’d also agree with the pear description. It’s a cantaloupe and pear blend! Delicious! There is something slightly creamy about it too. A bit of a sweetness like honey. A bit of that grassy field. There is something there that maybe my palate isn’t advanced enough to distinguish… I thought “tippy” teas were also supposed to have a smokey flavor, but I have only tried one (Harney & Sons) and maybe that was stored around a smokey tea or my infuser had the remnants of another smokey tea. I thought this would be like the Phoenix/ Black Dragon pearls I love (maybe because of the coloring of the leaves), but both are complete opposites. Like I said, it’s hard to believe this is a black tea! This is a complex, light, fruity tea. A nice change from the stronger black teas I usually have!

Second steep: The water was much hotter and I steeped for 4-5 minutes which resulted in a MUCH different cup of tea. Now it is actually more like a malty deep black tea, without the fruity, honey or grassy flavors. Is this the same tea? Very weird! I actually preferred the first steep because it was so different. It just shows how sensitive steep times and temps can be. I’ll need to keep this in mind in the future!!

Backlog:

A really delicious black tea from Butiki Teas … but that should come as no surprise for anyone who has tasted Butiki’s teas … their teas are always amazing.

A delicious warm, slightly nutty tone, with fruity overtones. Very, very good.

Here is my full-length review: http://sororiteasisters.com/2013/02/09/royal-golden-safari-black-tea-from-butiki-teas/

I received this sample from Stacy of Butiki Teas as part of their “new customer appreciation special”. Thank you, very much.

This is nice and surprising. Brewed leaf smells like cinnamon, malt, and oak. Liquor is a light golden color. The most prominent note in the flavor is of sweet potato. This reminds me of a Yun Nan Dian Hong. Very smooth and satisfying-I had no idea Kenyan teas could be so delicate. I hope this re-steeps well.

EDIT – I did get one more nice steep out of this. I had thought this was a breakfast “wake you up” type tea, but it’s more of a relaxing afternoon cup for me. If you like Yun Nan golden tips/needles, you might want to try this tea.

This is the tea I like best from Butiki. It has a sweet honeyed floral fragrance and a sweet taste.

Very long leaves. Definitely nutty and I can see where the cocoa descriptor comes from, but I’m not sure yet that I’d call it cocoa. There is something else there, I just can’t place it.

Thus far, though this is the only Kenyan I have reviewed, I don’t think I care much for Kenyan teas. I have tried all of them in the sampler pack I got and while they do certainly seem like quality teas, they have all been much more astringent than I care for. Very, very dry mouthfeel. Almost to the point that my mouth feels parched when I finish drinking. But…

I held off on reviewing after the first cup. I brewed up a whole pot and it was less dry with a whole pot. I’m guessing I’ll have to be pretty strict about amounts and steeping time with the Kenyans.

I have found that I like most of the Kenyan Teas I have tried thus far. I can add this one to the list! It’s really great! It has a cocoa and nutty type flavor to it. It looks much like a Golden Yunnan. Another fine choice from Butiki!

Wow! This one smells similar to the other Kenyan teas from Butiki teas. Delicious and sweet smelling!

The dry leaves are beautiful. They are twisted, soft, fuzzy leaves that are gold to black in color. They are also bulky, so while transferring it into one of my pretty washi tins, I had to be extra careful. The scent is like blueberries but very soft. I wasn’t sure if this was a black tea at first.

Steeped, it was a medium brown liquor. The taste was fantastic. Another great tea by Butiki Teas! Maybe I am a bit biased toward African teas also, but this tea is amazing. It isn’t bitter at all. I did not need any additives, though I might try next time to see if I can elicit other flavors. I love the natural sweetness in this tea. The light berries and cream type of flavor. It isn’t astringent either. Definitely another good one. I may purchase this in a large size if its available.

YUM!!!

Smooth middle-weight tea. Lots of notes going on—other reviewers have described them better than I can. Pear, oak, walnut, a dusting of cocoa. Complex but not aggressive, elegant but not fussy. This is one of the few black teas I like without milk and sugar. This is a tea I’d like to have around all the time.