Tamarind Pop

I really took a chance with this one as I have no idea what a tamarind or tamarind pop tastes like!
It’s a good sturdy tea though, no fuss – pretty tasty! I just need to read the description again to see what it is I can look for!

I think when I ordered it I had the peach hoppitea/beer tea on my mind. I hope that one day I can get my hands on some of those because they just screeeeam summer to me. Fruity beer tea! YESPLS.

This is the first tea that I am trying from Butiki Teas and I’m excited. I didn’t really know what tamarind tasted like before this, but the dry leaves smell of caramel and vanilla. The tea is malty and kind of earthy tasting. There is a slight spiciness about this tea, but not a peppery spiciness, more of a sweet type of spicy. I can taste a little bit of a rich cocoa flavor in the aftertaste. This is definitely a uniquely flavored tea. I’ve never had a tamarind soda before, but I think I would like it after tasting this tea. Thanks Alphakitty for the sample!

-Dry blend has medium black tea leaves and twigs with small bright reddish orange petals.
-Dry leaves smell like caramel and vanilla. Tea liquor aroma is of black tea, cocoa and sweet caramel.
-Tea liquor is a clear light golden brown color.
-Malty and earthy caramel flavor with a sweet spicy finish. Small rich cocoa aftertaste.
-Best with milk and sweetener.
-Very good tea. A unique cup. Earthy, deep and sweet spicy flavor.

I am not familiar with tamarind – this is not something we find easily in France (except probably at La Réunion or in the French Antilles) – so have nothing to compare with and no special expectations with the tamarind flavour of the tea.

The brewed liquor has a beautiful amber colour and the scent is fantastic.

I find the tea a little bit bitter to my taste and just a hint of sourness but it is pleasant even if I won’t add this one in my shopping list.

Despite its quality I think it is just maybe not a tea for me or maybe I won’t be a fan of tamarind if I ever have the chance to taste it.

Thank you Azzrian for the sample I am very glad to have had the opportunity to taste it.

Rayn and I tried this last night and both gave it the verdict of YUM.

It tastes very much like a tamarind jarritos (mexican soda) with a little hint of vanilla. I’m pretty sensitive to sweetness and thought it was just enough sweet for me sans sugar. Rayn drained his cup in record time. Two thumbs up!

Oh, also it smells WONDERFUL.

Thanks so much for the sample Azzrian!!!
What an interesting tea. The tamarind comes through loud n clear. Love it! Quite tasty. Only in the first steep though. I ended up with three and the second had a rather faint tamarind aftertaste and the third had at all.
I don’t mind, the base is great. Reminds me of Keemum, rich and deep with cocoa notes. Almost coffee like in a way, with a similar roasted roundness. Mmmm.
Rating: 84

Sipdown, but should not have been….I overzealously made the whole bag, thinking it was a milder teas from what I remembered, and that I was putting it in my travel mug, so this one came out a little more astringent than I remember, though still a bit juicy, I think. I’m gonna see how a resteep does. I wanted to try this again, since it has been a while since I last had some, and I wanted to see if I should order a small amount for myself when I place a Butiki order. At this point, I’m not sure, because this is not tasting as I remember, but it could be my own fault. Maybe if I split a half ounce with someone on a group order, I’ll consider, but I’m not sure at this point. I feel like I’m on the fence with this one.

Thanks, Courtney, for sending little more my way to try again.

I gave this tea another go, as I sometimes like to do with teas that have unique characteristics that don’t immediately turn me away. Last time, I had trouble detecting what part of the tea was the flavor and what part was the base. This time around, it seemed blatantly obvious. I think it’s because I’ve had a lot of different black teas (flavored and unflavored) recently, that differences stand out stronger now. I didn’t drink so many black teas in the beginning of my tea journeys, so it has taken some time to get familiar with them, but I’m far from an expert on any type of tea.

Unfortunately, the tamarind flavor didn’t agree with me this time and I didn’t finish my cup (thought I drank most of it). Oh well.

To be fair I made this in a mug I had been drinking milk in earlier so I’m not sure how that worked with the tea… I steeped for about 3min and it was pretty tasty :D Thanks Stacy for the sample (I did not try this sugar as it was great without)

This one I ordered completely on a whim – I don’t have more than a fairly indifferent relationship with the fruit itself. The dry tea smells like candied tamarinds, and I get a vague taste/scent recollection that doesn’t really place me in a specific time or place; nonetheless, it’s familiar.

As was the case with strawberry oolong, also from Butiki, the flavour perfectly follows the scent. However, and as I have come to expect from these teas, the flavour is very subtle. It doesn’t lack in personality, but it’s so unassertive it would disappear in a lineup. In the, ‘A Chorus Line’ of teas, then, it would be a case of a very early, ‘Hey, you over there! Yes, you, you with the perfect technique and breathtaking beauty. Get off the stage, willya!’.

I was frustrated by this at first, considering various manners in which to tease more flavour out of these teas, but after my small break from writing tasting notes, I’ve come to appreciate their understated quality far more.

The base tea itself has a leafy, earthy roundness to it that intermingles very pleasantly with the tamarind notes, and I was happy to find there’s just a slight hint of sourness, which is perfectly balanced out by the other flavours.

[From my Butiki order to Santa Clara, October 2013.]

I’m counting this as a sample sipdown!
I requested a sample of this in my most recent order from Butiki. I particularly enjoyed it sweetened, but it probably won’t be something I’ll order, as the Guranse is rough on my stomach. But I do like the almost fizzy soda quality of it, & the flavor combo is awesome!