Flowery Pineapple Oolong

Thank you Stacy for this Tea!

This is the first review of one of Stacy’s new tea’s.

About a month or so ago, I was chatting (PM) with Stacy and told her that I thought Butiki should/could create a Pineapple Oolong Tea. I noticed that many people on Steepster enjoy pineapple but seemed to have a hard time finding that taste in a tea that they really liked. I tried to buy a highly reguarded pineapple tea myself but it was always unavailable. I pushed poor Stacy a little, she thought it over, did her amazing flavor magic, and here is the result…Flowery Pineapple Oolong!

I was waiting for the Post all this morning…where’s that Butiki Box?!
Watered the plants, cleaned house…and finally…the Post arrived!
Ripping open the package, then beginning the brewing of my pot of tea was one fluid movement. (There should be a program called ‘Dancing with your Tea’ because I would win!) I had fresh spring water in my electric kettle…so swoop, heat, pour water in the teapot…done.

It was a long 4 minute steeping! ‘bing’

The liquor was pale yellow and steaming with the scent of orchids and tropical fruit.

I took a sip…and Oh Stacy! The flavor was the softest pillow of pineapple resting on a bed of sweet fragrant white orchids. The tip of my tongue tasted some pineapple tang. That tangy taste was from the perfect blending of natural pineapple bits and Oolong tea leaves.
This was super juicy and super creamy…even…yes… an exotic experience that transported me to a cool Island Beach lined with Palm Trees. Relaxing! Ahhhh! (Where is that Old Spice commercial guy?)

There was a little temptation that I gave in to.

Reaching into the steeping basket…I picked out a piece of pineapple and chewed on that one piece slowly… while sipping my tea. It was almost sinful…(but not)… it tasted so good!

I added sweetening, and my cup came alive with pineapple goodness. (Stacy suggests raw brown sugar crystals).

You could almost make this a cocktail worthy of Rum and a decorative umbrella! Chilled this tea doesn’t get bitter! OH…the possibilities are endless!!!

Another little thing I do with melon or acidic fruit tea’s (like pineapple) is place some sea salt in the palm of my hand (just a little), taste the salt…then drink some tea. The flavor of the fruit POPS.

My 2 cents worth:
It’s important to let tea companies know what we, the consumers, are interested in drinking. They often listen. Butiki is one of the companies that is customer oriented and listens to us. There are others that do the same. Hooray for them!!!!

Great job creating a fabulous tea again Stacy! Stupendous!

http://youtu.be/-MRMqsP9Kb0 The Pineapple Song

STACY FROM BUTIKI, THANK YOU FOR THIS SAMPLE!

First order with Butiki came on Friday.  But did I know it came on Friday?  No I didn’t!  And why didn’t I know?  Cause Mr. Right was having a bad case of Nascar fever, that’s why!  ( Nascar week here in Montréal.)

See, Mr Right is in charge of picking up the mail everyday (We live in the country and don’t get mail delivered at the door). 

 I don’t know if some of you are like that, but when I have tea on it’s way, I become very anxious and kind of obsessed with cheking the mail…rings a bell? sounds familiar? So before I left for work Friday morning, I asked:  «Honey, before you leave for the race, could you please make sure you go pick up the mail?»  

What I’m thinking is «Oh! Please Tea God, make sure my tea has arrived so I may have a heavenly tea week end!»  (don’t laugh, you all know THERE IS A TEA GOD, so don’t pretend you never pray for him!) 

Of course Mr Right said:  «I will go for sure, don’t worry.» And I beleived him.  I trusted him. No reason to doubt him.

When I came back home Friday night, there was no package on the kitchen table. Oh well, I thought TEA GOD must have been too busy for me…

So I was a Nacar widow for the week end…every year he spends Nascar week end at the race track in Montreal with my broher.  They have a men’s week end, with men’s food and men’s beverages that won’t incude tea of any kind. (so they thought…) 

On Saturday night, Mr Right calls to check on me.

He’s having a blast. 

Happy for him, really.

He asks why am I not more enthousiastic for him. ( I usually am…)

I tell him about my anticipation and then my dispointment for not getting the tea.

Basically, I’m in a tea depressed mood. There, I’ve said it!  

 Oh-oh… I sense a discompfort at the end on the line.  silence.  never good.  

Then, the bomb:  «You know, when I picked up the mail yesterday morning before leaving, there was a small package.  I didn’t really look at it, sorry.  I just remembered now, I forgot it in the car…ooops…»

Words are sinking in….  forgot it in the car… forgot it in HIS CAR!  Been sitting there, in the heat wave for almost 2 days, can’t be good!  I try to compose myself, I have a nervous twitch going on, but I manage to maintain a hint of normalcy in my voice.

«Honey, you know, heat is not the best thing for tea… and why did you think I was asking you to pick up the mail on Friday?  Why am I usually so anxious to get the mail?  TEA… yes, my love…TEA. You should have guessed.»

To his defense, Nascar is as much of a passion for him than tea is for me. ( well maybe not quite AS MUCH, but close enough) 

So compassion sets in, and my love for him releases the tension.  

A simple «Can you get them for me and put them in a cool place until you come back?»

 leads to  «Ok, now can you open Pineapple oolong and descibe how it smells for me?»

And so he did for all the pouches!  We had «phone tea» together and we loved it:-) 

He then told me he had too much beer and was contemplating the idea of making a cup of Orange Creamsicle!

Yes, he ended up having my heavenly tea before I did!  Both NASCAR GOD and TEA GOD working wonders for him this week end! What can I say, he’s a very deserving dude!

He came back this morning, a little ashamed of himself, but the tea was preserved! 

I had to try this one right away!  Mr Right said on the phone that it smelled just like pineapple Lifesavers. That’s exactly it!  Mmmm…the taste is so pineapple and natural! I haven’t indulged in a good fruity flavored tea in a long time.  This one is spectacular!  Exotic and creamy…but the taste is light and refreshing, with an all natural sweetness at the end. The oolong is a good quality one, does make a big difference.  Too often, the base tea is of a lower quality in flavored teas.  Butiki, from what I’ve been reading on Steepster, never does that. Those pineapple chunks are so fragrant! And the calendula buds make this blend so pretty! In fact, I find all teas at Butiki are pretty. As if Stacy blends them with all the care and love she thinks they deserve. She probably does!

This one is a hit, and I will definatly order it next time. 

I have to mention the incredible service I received from Stacy.  She made me feel so welcomed as a new client!  I loved the attention and the special samples she so graciously included.  Sets apart from competition, just love a vendor that makes you feel special :-) 

Thanks again, can’t wait to try the rest of my bunch! 

My Butiki order arrived today! So excited, I ripped open the box immediately and started my kettle. I could smell the pineapple right when I ripped open the box. Oh wow, this is gonna be good!

4 minutes seems like it isn’t a long time, but waiting for this tea to steep, it seemed like an eternity…..the smell is intoxicating.

Sip….WOW!!!! I am transported back to Hawaii, sitting on the beach eating fresh, sweet pineapple and ice cream…the waves rolling in and the sand in between my toes….ah….

This tea is super fresh pineapple, sweet, and so natural. Then the oolong makes an appearance, not vegetal, but silky and smooth. At the end of the sip, I get a flowery note.

Resteep- 85 degrees, 5 minutes: more oolong coming through, and the pineapple isn’t as strong. The floral notes are still there. Still amazing!

Edit: I had put the last few sips of each steep in the fridge to chill. As much as I like this tea hot, I don’t like it as much cold. There is just something about oolong that I don’t like cold.

oh man. this is a sipdown, though i never put it into my cupboard because i knew i was going to be trying it shortly after i received it. I asked stacy for a sample of this one in my last order because of the other pineapple oolong that i recently tried and found not so bad from lupicia. I wanted to see how stacy’s version would hold up against that one.

If you had any doubts? hers was of course so much better. First off, the aroma of this dry is like straight up pineapple. that delicious magical wonderful smell that comes from a ripe amazing pineapple. When i brewed this, it was just as divine. Forget that this is an oolong. I generally dislike oolongs but i am loving this tea. I may actually order a small bag to have when i need some fruity goodness. I actually really wish i had more of this to try as a cold brew, since this pineapple flavour is really authentic. mmmmmmmmm! delicious! seriously! love it! thank you stacy!

Edit: uh the pineapple pieces in this? totally delicious if you eat them out of the basket lol

Thank you so much for this generous sample,Butiki Teas. Once again, I have to comment on the pristine condition of the leaves. I am just so impressed at the care with which this sample was obviously handled. They infuse beautifully as well, yeilding a bright yellow liquor.

I just did a note on a Bao Zhong and wasn’t too impressed so the fact that greener teas are not among my favorites could dictate some of what I write. For me the Bao Zhong leans hard toward the green side of oolongs. That said I am still impressed with the overall taste I’m currently experiencing. There are delicate intertwining notes of citrus,vanilla,floral notes, and green sweetness. The pineapple is genuine tasting-I’ve heard complaints about other teas attempting to create this flavor unsuccessfully. There’s a buttery creaminess that seems to come from the vanilla that is so prominant in the aftertaste as well. The green portion of this tea gives me that tidbit of dryness, though it’s still juicy and mouth watering. My wife insists that she detects no dryness or astringency whatsoever and she only finds the buttery creaminess throughout.

I ended up steeping this tea three times. The flavors all settled down into a mellow tasty cup. Somewhere in there I was able to appreciate the Bao Zhong part alot more with the subtle blending of added flavors. Thanks again Stacy, a wonderful drink indeed. I look forward to the other samples you’ve sent me yet to be tried. I’m sure to love them.

tunes-Adele=Crazy For You/Fool That I Am/Make You Feel My Love/Lovesong
I enjoy her classic jazz songs best and she chooses some greats to do covers tunes of.

Thanks to Stacy for sending me a sample of this tea! I’ve been looking forward to trying it, but I am not often in a pineapple mood so it had to be the right day, and today was that day. I’ve pretty much been eating fruit salad all day long, I have about 7 different types in the fridge and really want to get through them all before they go bad. With fruit all day long I wanted a matching tea, and this was the perfect one.

This smells divine, like a ripe pineapple. The flavor is SO juicy and sweet, and without that mouth-puckering tartness that pineapple has. Definitely a bonus: it’s a good flavor in fresh fruit, but I don’t want my tea to have me making funny faces. The oolong is delightful, floral and pleasantly creamy. This is like a beach vacation in a cup!

I love this oolong! It’s so good, I can’t even imagine it with some sweetener to bring out the pineapple even more. As is, it’s creamy and tropical. I really wouldn’t have thought floral notes in an oolong would blend so well with pineapple.

I iced the second steep and it was similar, just with a slightly lighter pineapple flavor. Good stuff!

Shut the Front Door!
Jumping Jehosaphat!
My Goodness Gracious Great Balls of Fire…this tea is tasty!!!
I fell in love when I opened the little bag.
I was impatiently dancing back and forth from one foot to the other waiting for the water to get to the right temp.
It is like Hawaii in a cup.
You smell floral and juicy pineapple, but neither is overpowering.
Then a creamly oolong in the background.
Taste: Mmmmm…pineapple! then I get hints of jasmine, but I do not see that listed in the ingredients, then the creamy Oolong gently emerges.
All around utterly delightful!
Well Done, Butiki, Well Done!

I need to thanks very much Nicole for this sample, she added it as a surprise in my parcel :)

I love this surprise ! It’s a Butiki tea, and I’m rarely not in love with a BT tea and however it is a Pineapple tea ! I love Pineapple !J’adore l’ananas ! Ananas sounds much tropical than Pineapple.

The dry leaves are long and so beautiful,and I love to get chunks of fuits in my fruity teas so I’m lucky I have at least 3 chunks of a beautiful pale yellow Pineapple. the scent is definitively Pineapple. I really enjoy the oolong tea base you used Stacy.
The taste is so fresh and soft, I adore it. I am not disappointed at all by the Pineapple taste of this tea, it was often the case in the past with other teas, unable to respect the natural taste of this fruit.

Stacy are you thinking about working on a Raspberry tea ? I am the raspberry biggest fan…and never found a tea I consider as really respectful with this berry.

Nicole thanks so much for this one !

Oh, man this smells amazing in the bag, pineapple and flowery, a touch of Hawaii for sure. I could hardly wait to try it.

I steeped this for around 3 minutes at 180F and got a very light yellowish/green tea liquor. This smells very pineapple-y and tastes lovely, really like pineapple juice especially in the finish. I’m not picking up much on anything buttery but I am getting the orchid notes for sure. I will have to play with my steeping parameters a bit on this one. This will be a great one to experiment with as well, I bet it’s really good with soymilk added or maybe some rum extract. Virgin pina colada tea… yummy! I don’t sweeten too many things but I thought this was better with a touch of sugar. =)

I got a second steep out of this one and it is still flavorful.

Second new tea to try!

The flavour of this one is quite tasty; a delicious green oolong paired with fruity pineapple notes. I’m enjoying the fact that it definitely does taste like pineapple! I’m not sure I am really catching the “flowery” aspect though. The flavouring here reminds me quite a lot of another tea… perhaps a DavidsTea (not Pineapple Oolong). It’s quite tasty though!

ETA: I re-steeped this one once, but can’t recall the results. I don’t think it was all that wonderful. However, I looked in the infuser, and it seems like I may have used way too little tea… so will definitely have to fix that next time.

This is something I must have more of!
Now I am not sure why – maybe my palate is just different from others but I get a definitive spicy element in this tea! Chaiapple tea perhaps? I know that the description says nothing about spicy but I was absolutely getting a chaiesque flavor in this tea! The delicate floral oolong base was outstanding and came through loud and clear. The pineapple – superb! Not one artificial flavoring element within this tea whatsoever – perfection!
I ate all the pineapple out of the leaves after the second steep and I do not recall ever having such tasty juicy sweet delicious pineapple before!
I will absolutely get me more of this wonderful stuff!
I still am confused over the spicy element in this tea but I loved it – was a nice surprise!

Thank you so much for the sample, Stacy! Pineapple is one of my favourite fruits, and it seems to be a tricky fruit to incorporate into a tea.

The first thing I smell when I open up my little pouch is buttery, buttery oolong. Maybe my nose is/was broken, but I could barely smell the pineapple in the dry leaf.

While I was letting this steep, the buttery aroma filled up that corner of the kitchen and it was utterly taunting me.

Then once I poured the coveted tea into my teacup, the scent of canned pineapple juice shows up to the party. The buttery oolong base is still there but the tangy pineapple juice sprang up to the top.

First sip, it’s like I added a few teaspoons of canned pineapple juice to my oolong. I can detect the buttery, very lightly floral oolong underneath, but with each sip, I am reminded of crushed pineapple from a can.

The floralness comes out a bit as this cools, but the predominate flavour here is the pineapple. Honestly, I was hoping for more of a fresh than canned pineapple here, but perhaps it’s just me. But it’s still a great tea. I’m especially fond of the base. I think I’d rather just drink the unflavoured version of this oolong!

After tasting this, I couldn’t believe how long I waited to order from Butiki. I am LOVING everything so far. This one might just be my favourite.

I love how light and crisp and refreshing it is. This is probably the freshest-tasting pineapple flavour that I’ve had in a tea. It’s not overly candy-sweet or sickly at all, just a bright, smooth kiss of pineapple. Deelish!

I think the floral note is what makes it so interesting and addicting. Is it a flavouring that’s added, or just a natural quality of the oolong? Either way it’s really, really lovely. I don’t have oolongs that often, but I’m really starting to enjoy them.

I had it hot for my first try, but I’ll definitely try it iced as well. It would be SO delicious iced, I can just tell! I like that it’s one of those versatile teas that’ll be tasty no matter the temperature.

The dry leaf of this tea smells incredible. The way that the pineapple melds with the floral notes of the Wen Shan Bao Zhong is just stunning. I want to bathe in this tea.

The flavor is equally as amazing – the floral notes weave in and out throughout the sip while the pineapple tones provide a delicious, sweet, juicy taste, and it is soft and supple and almost creamy. That almost creamy side seems to really emerge as the tea cools… because now that my cup is almost gone and the tea has cooled a bit, I am noticing just how creamy/buttery it is.

So delicious… Stacy, this is phenomenal!

Sipdown, 188. I requested this sample because I have been interested in trying this one for a while. I was almost sure enough that I would like it that I just ordered an ounce, but I decided not to this time. For sure, it combines a lot of my favorites: flowery? check. light, green bao zhong? check. pineapple? well, I could take or leave pineapple, but I do enjoy it.

My other half wandered by and said, without knowing what the tea was, that it smelled like flowers. When I told him it was flowery pineapple, he allowed that he did smell flowery pineapples. This is a great improvement, because probably 3 months ago he would have said it smelled like tea (everything smells like tea).

Anyway, it does smell like flowery pineapples, which is to say it has a nice, sweet, authentic pineapple aroma and also a good dose of florals. Lilac, perhaps, or maybe peony. That does translate over to the flavor, although I’d say its heavier on the pineapple and not so much on the florals. The baozhong base is lovely, and there is a creaminess to the whole thing. It gives it a tropical drink feeling; a hint of coconut and you’d have a piña colada. If I was mad for pineapple this would definitely have a place in my cupboard (kind of like if I were mad for cantaloupe then Cantaloupe & Cream would have a place in my cupboard), and maybe some day it will find its way back into it anyway. It is quite delicious.

I was browsing my tea shelves and saw I had a sample of this happy sounding tea. I think today will be a day of flavoured tea which made this sample perfect to try. Thank you stacy for the sample and opportunity to try this Oolong. :)

Colour – Pale yellow
Smell – Gentle flowers (and a soapy sort of fragrance)

This is very nice, it starts off flowery and then the pineapple gets stronger and stronger until all of a sudden it vanishes. The green floral Oolong pairs nicely with the sharp and fruity pineapple. The more you drink the more buttery it gets but stays light and fresh.

The notes suggest to add a little brown sugar but this is sweet enough for me and I adore the natural flavours. The Oolong becomes stronger as the tea soup cools down but still deliciously so.

Overall it’s a very enjoyable drink (even for someone who is not a huge fan of pineapple such as myself) and it would be perfect on a hot day. The cup remained fresh throughout and the balance was spot on.

Love sent to Stacy @ Butiki for this sample on one of my orders!

Uggg. I was walking down the stairs and I tripped but recovered. My tea pot didn’t and went flying and shattered on the carpet. BOOOOO! Luckily I have another small tea pot and there was no tea in the pot that broke! OMG, if I had a sample sized tea in there I would of cried!

DRY: I’m thinking I can’t smell much with teas in plastic baggies.

STEEPED: Lovely floral oolong smell in a light yellow tea. I ate a few freezedried pineapple chunks. They were deliciously sweet and yummy. Then I got mad at myself as that probably killed having a resteeping.

TASTE: Refreshing light oolong thats silky. A great taste of pineapple and sweetness as well. I’m talking fresh pineapple too, not that sugary stuff. No tartness.
Sweetened with some plain rock sugar (I should really get some brown rock sugar) the pineapple comes out more at the end and is amazing.

WHO’D LIKE THIS TEA: pineapple lovers and fruity tea peeps that need to be schooled!

COMMENTS: I’m really digging the silky oolong here, so tasty! The pineapple is so natural tasting and yummy! The more I drink, the more I love it! It’s simple but the silkyness of the tea take it to the next level! Yeah, I used a lot of exclamation marks!

Added to shopping list, dang!

Still here with my grandmother…

I smelled the tea leaves of Butiki Tea’s latest Oolong, attempting to savor the scent before the taste.

They smelled particularly like PEZ candies and I could almost taste it in my mouth already.

Grandma poured some in my cup and handed it to me.

The color was a fading golden-yellow, promising to be smooth and silky when I drank it.

I smelled it once more, savoring the candied and flowery smell (no wonder ‘flowery’ was in the name) and finally took the first sip.

A wide grin spread across my face.

Yay! It tasted just as deliciously as it smelled! Hallelujah!

I then added sweetener and the flavor got serious.

It was so perfectly sweet and the taste of pineapple had gotten to work!

A blast of juicy pineapple exploded in my mouth and my taste buds rejoiced as a dendritic zest zinged and zanged my tongue and then quickly disappeared as I swallowed.

Just as it had promised, the Oolong was silky and sleek when I swallowed it.

It was as if I were drinking sunlight.

Hurrah! The tea was a success! Thank Butiki Teas for creating such a flavorful experience in a cup!

This is amazing. I rarely find greens I want to keep in my stash. This is one.

Smells of sweet, heavenly pineapple. Almost more like juice than the fresh fruit, which is just fine. The tea leaves are super huge when they unfold.

Pale, pale yellow with a taste that lives up to the smell. Such a rarity. :)

This goes on the list to buy more. I can see I’ll go through this pretty quickly. Plus, I have to have some to share!