Cider Guayusa

Yum yum yum, still not sure about how I feel about guayusa itself, but the flavor of this is fantastic!
I completely missed class today. In fact I am confused as to how it’s noon. I have been awake for at least 90 minutes and I’m wondering what I’ve been doing? The dishwasher is running though so I did that much. And made this tea.

I’ve got another guayusa too so I really wish I could get into the flavor of guayusa. I want to say I have had one before, I know I’ve had it blended with mate, but now I’m not sure. I have the apricot one from Butiki but I haven’t tried it yet. There’s just something so grassy/earthy about it that is just slightly off-putting for my tastebuds I guess.

But, the apple cider flavors going on here make it a heck of a lot more difficult to notice. I can’t tell if it’s the apple or the spices but something is blending in amazingly well with the taste of guayusa, and I have to actually sit here and try to pinpoint the guayusa taste on its own.

Hopefully this provides a good push for the day. The hurricane or whatever he is now has made everything feel so groggy with cloud cover for 3 days now. It was sunny yesterday for a bit, but it’s just so hard to do anything when it just looks/feels like it’ll rain (of course then it never does).

Also I have a question. I applied to a job almost a week ago and I haven’t heard back, would it be appropriate to stop in there (a store obviously, hey office crashing) and “check in” or something? Come with a non-typo resume in hand? Would it be ridiculous to just redo the resume? I am sad.

Hmm, so I just discovered that I’ve been spelling ‘guayusa’ incorrectly this whole time…. whoops. Mostly noticed because I couldn’t locate this tea with my spelling…

So thanks to Stacy @ Butiki for this sample! Not sure why I’ve gone on a Butiki kick lately, probably because I realized that there were a bunch of teas I had yet to try, and since I’m planning another large order, should get to trying things sooner rather than later! Apparently I still have a few teas from my first order that I haven’t tried (including a sample of Pumpkin Creme Brulee, which is awaiting my 4-way pumpkin spice tea comparison).

So this tea. When I first got my huge package of teas from Butiki, by way of Azzrian, I opened up my little package of samples and this tea was all I could smell. Straight up apple cider… and I love apple cider! Pretty exciting. I’m not exactly sure how I managed to wait until now to try this one… The dry tea smells so delicious, sweet and cinnamony and appley, and I can see big apple chunks in the tea… mmmmm! I can barely smell the earthy guayusa at all, which is great!

I sampled this quickly while it was hot without sweetener, and am pretty sure I could drink it without, but threw in some rock sugar anyways. It’s pretty good! Not as strong as I expected, given the aroma (and given how strong cider usually is), but the flavour is like a weak cider with earthy guayusa undertones. I wish there was more tartness from the apples, but that’s about it. Otherwise it’s quite good!

The only downside of this tea is that I can’t really see myself picking this over a cup of apple cider, even though this is caffeinated. So I’m probably more likely to stick to the Killer’s Vanilla and Good Morning Sunshine as go-to guayusa blends, although this one was definitely worth the cup!

I’ve had this twice in the past 24 hours—hot last night and cold brewed this afternoon (stretching till now, I drink iced tea very slowly ^^;). I love cider, guayusa, and Butiki, so I knew I was going to love my little sample from Stacy. In fact, I’ve been saving it up for some reason, but I plan on placing an order soon so I need to get through my samples!

I think apple and guayusa are a perfect combo. The cider is apple-y and spiced without tasting like a chai, and the grassy plant-like (in a good way!) taste of guayusa is a perfect balance. It’s like a light, airy cider. A little tart, a little sweet, just perfect! I think cider teas are usually pretty heavy (like Adagio’s apple chai) so this is an interesting counterpoint. It’s not overwhelming, and I think I could sip it all day easily! Actually, I kind of did. Two hot steeps and a cold brew without losing flavor, which is nice since tisanes often only hold up to one or two infusions. I’m debating between this and the Apricot in my order, the cider is currently a bit ahead.

I received a bit of this tea from a recent swap with DaisyChubb – thank you very much, DaisyChubb!

I really like this. I couldn’t find it on the Butiki Teas website, nor did I have any luck finding it anywhere here on Steepster. This is really quite tasty. The apple is a nice pairing with the flavor of the guayusa, and the spices weave their way in and out throughout the sip. It’s quite enjoyable. Sweet and delicious!

Quit my job and it feels grrrrreat! Need to prioritize and focus on school, plus my mom isn’t well and it would be nice to spend time with her over the holidays as opposed to working. Speaking of which, happy holidays!

I’ve had this maybe eight times by now and never knew what to really say about it. The taste reminds me more of apple cider vinegar than actual apple cider. Very tangy and kind of surprises you with every little sip. The cinnamon is more pronounced in here too.

The guayusa itself works, let me tell you. I drank two strong cups of this near supper time and probably didn’t fall asleep until 4am that night.

It was nice and cool this morning and very wet still from the overnight rains. This felt like the right choice to take on my morning walk with one of the dogs. It was enjoyable – the walk was not (unruly pup)…

I did try this out before walking out the door. First sip was very nice – smooth guayusa base with apple cider spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, maybe a touch of clove). Very drinkable by itself! However for some reason when I think of cider, I think of maple. So I added just a touch of real maple syrup and that took it to the next level! A little sweet cidery goodness with punch of caffeine!

This is resteeping iced in the fridge, so we’ll see how that fares later on…

Thanks to Sil for sending me a nice sample of this! It’s going on the list for my next Butiki order!

And what better tea to celebrate 100 tasting notes? Woot!

Thank you for the sample Stacy!

I don’t know if I’m a big guayusa fan, but I really wanted to try this.

This is actually quite pleasant. :) I was hoping for more of an apple flavor here but I am definitely getting the apple plus a bit of the spice. I steeped mine for longer than 6 minutes. Don’t know if I’m much of a guayusa person but this is very tasty…

Yay, another guayusa blend to try from Butiki! This one comes thanks to KittyLovesTea and our recent swap. I love apple cider, so this was one I really wanted to try.

Aaand I set my timer up to steep for 6 minutes and then forgot to start it. No idea how long this has been steeping, but hopefully it’s forgiving!

Yes, it is. This is quite delicious. Cider, yes, but also that leafy, woody flavor of guayusa, along with cider mulling spices like clove and cinnamon, which aren’t too spicy but definitely present and making this seem all the more wintery and cidery. This is something I could drink all the time, and when I do get around to making an order from Butiki I will likely restock.

Thanks Stacy for this! I can smell the Guayusa but also a good amount of apple. It’s very pleasant. My first sip I could taste both of those flavors as well in addition to clove and/or other spices. I do really appreciate the spice intensity here…it’s not over powering. The apple is the more powerful flavor and I like that. As it continues to cool a bit at room temp I can start to taste a bit or orange and that is very nice, too! This is an excellent flavored Guayusa! YUM!

This is something different indeed – I had never had Guayusa before (never even seen it for sale), and never had a Butiki tea either. Thanks to Courtney I now got the chance to try it.

This smelled absolutely heavenly when dry. Real apple with a bit of cinnamon – the orange and cloves will take on faith and indeed it is a more complex scent than “just” apple cinnamon. I have been a bit shy of brewing this, afraid to screw it up, and that it might not smell just as great as it does. I finally took the nerve to try it.

I used a bit more amount that I would have if it had been tea, and having learnt my lesson from mate, I was afraid to scald it so temperature was in the 80-90 range surely (Celsius). Never having had guayusa I can´t really compare to other blends. The apple scent is indeed transmitted to the flavour and it´s as complex as it promised to be, absolutely lovely flavoring.

I can not judge for its energizing properties just yet – I wanted to do the taste note with it on front of me, in order to not forget anything, will edit later.

But underneath the flavouring (lovely indeed), and ignoring its yet untested effects, judging this just by how pleasant a drink it is: meh about the guayusa. It tastes a little bitter at the back of the tongue and somewhat astringent, with a hint of an herbal-grassy sort of taste. The mouth-feel is well, watery, without the pleasing body of tea or rooibos. I will try different ways of brewing this a bit, but am afraid if I try to intensify the body by adding more leaf or hotter water it will also intensify the hints of bitterness. Any tips?

I accidently understeeped this by a minute. Wasn’t really paying attention and needed my morning cuppa! My cat seemed really interested in sniffing this one. Never licked it though, which is good for me. No kitty germs!! Eww!

Anyway, this one isn’t too guayusa-y. The added flavorings blend nicely with the base and transform the whole cup into one complex taste. The spices aren’t too spicy. It doesn’t taste like a Chai. It’s just a really nice, cohesive tasting cup.

I can distinguish orange and guayusa the most prominently. The cinnamon in this is very quiet and not overpowering, thank God. Cinnamon is almost always overdone in teas. This is just great! The more I sip, the more I like it. Stacy may have successfully converted me to guayusa fan! :)

Sample Sipdown … This is really quite nice! Its not a punch you in your face flavor – Butiki is excellent with subtle flavors that are quite natural and well done. This is excellent just the right amount of spice and fruity and I am mysteriously getting a banana flavor here too! I like this one a lot!

I thought I would do a quick review before bed time and after my conversation about cider on the forums I took it as a sign to try this one.

The raw tea smells like sour apples with a little spice.
Once brewed the tea creates a dark golden brown liquid that smells very similar to it’s raw state.

I can taste apple, clove and cinnamon and each gets stronger the more I drink. It reminds me of mulled wine that we have at Christmas time here in the UK, I wonder if that is the equivalent of warm cider in USA?
It’s definitely very tasty and happily appley. I’m being warmed up before bed time :)

I’ve been drinking this at work in the afternoons. I always find it chilly in the office and this warms me right up. The scent is pretty intriguing. I get a well balanced blend of pungent guayusa herbal goodness and sweet, comforting apple spice.

I usually add a bit of brown sugar as suggested, which really brings everything together. The flavours are subtle and really nicely done. I also enjoy the thick, creamy feel that it has too. I love that about guayusa.

Guayusa scares me. I had a cup of bare guayusa a few weeks ago and dumped it down the sink. BUT, after only one third of the to go cup I had a huge energy rush. So, today I woke up exhausted and rushed as it was the first time I didn’t set the alarm for my usual 6 am, but 7 instead. So I brought this to work with me. Man is it good! I put milk and cane sugar in it, that’s how I like my morning tea. It tasted almost bubble gum like!
Thanks to Will Work For Tea for this sample!

It’s a good tea but I like the Good Morning Sunshine better. This makes me crave some snacks :D

Love sent to Stacy @ Butiki for this sample with my order!

I was planning on trying Good Morning Sunshine, but I was craving peanut butter oatmeal. I figured lemon tea would clash, but cider would not. In the end, it didn’t matter as I gobbled up my oatmeal before I started on my tea.

DRY: Earthy scent with a gentle warm baked apple smell. Lots of great big chunks of apple!

STEEPED: Transformed into a strong spicy baked apple smell! Stronger than the smell of the dry tea!

TASTE: Gently earthy and apple taste with spices dancing through the cup. Not bitter, tart or watery. The whole tea is on a mellow level, so nothing is overpowering. The sips also change, some sips I get more earthy guayusa taste, others more spice. The apple reminds me of a baked apple without sugar.

Sweetened with plain rock sugar, the apple brightens and warms up and the tea becomes slightly creamy. Less guayusa earthy taste.

I think I like the non-sweetened version more. There’s a natural sweeteness that does the job enough for me, and I love that guayusa taste.

WHO’D LIKE THIS TEA: Someone who wants a spice tea that isn’t strong. This is a great breakfast tea for someone who drinks cream/sugared chais to switch out to a tea they don’t need the cream and sugar for.

COMMENTS: I love that this tea is not tart at all! No cardamon either, UGGG CARDAMON! I dislike cardamon after a coworker told me try adding cardamon pods to my coffee or chais and it was traumatizingly bad.

Again, guayusa teas make me feel full, and I could barely finish my cup because I was feeling sloshy.

Overall, very good! Tempting to get more than this tea – see if I start craving it and going crazy.

Another of my samples from Butiki, and another first for me as I’ve never tried a guayusa before. I guess this is a funny kind of day to be trying one for the first time, too, but I figure I need waking up. I’ve been feeling so dreary today, maybe this will do the trick.

The dry leaf smells like…cider, as it happens. I usually visit a cider press in the summer with my family, and sniffing this tea takes me right back there. It’s the same beautifully fresh, fermented apple scent. Although the ingredients list specifies other ingredients, at this point apple is all I’m getting, and that’s all right with me.

Brewed, the apple/cider scent comes through even more strongly, and there’s also a definite hint of spice (I think cinnamon and clove, mainly) that I didn’t detect in the dry mix. To taste, the natural sweetness of the apple is just glorious. It almost tastes sticky, if that’s even possible. There’s a slightly dank aftertaste that I’m assuming is the guayusa, but it’s by no means unpleasant. On the scale of my experiences with apple tea, this one is doing pretty well. It’s certaintly the most natural tasting of those I’ve tried so far, and also one of the clearest and strongest in terms of how well the apple translates. It might just be love at first sip. Definetly one I’m glad to have tried, and another I’ll be watching for future orders!

I can smell the guayusa clearly and then some apple and spice notes in there. I’m not quite sure guayusa is quite what I’m in the mood for but we shall see.

The first sip was good. Very guayusa with spice and a hint of apple. I added a wee bit of brown sugar and it really makes the apple come out. It’s much more cider-like with the brown sugar.

Definitely an excellent start to flavoured guayusas for me.

Update: I cold brewed this one for maybe 12 hours (I can’t remember exactly) and I’m preferring it cold over hot. I’m finding much more of an apple cider taste.

Thank you to Stacy of Butiki Teas for adding this sample with my latest order!

I have found that I just love guayasa. Granted, the only guayasas I have tried have been flavored ones from Butiki, so there’s that, but I haven’t been let down yet. This cup is nice enough, a smooth concoction. However, I can’t get over the smell and taste of banana that I am getting from this brew. I really dislike banana flavor. :-( I think my taster might be broken today, so I am refraining from rating this one. I know Butiki Teas are wonderful and despite the banana thing I drank it all, so it couldn’t have been that terrible!