All the licorice. I like all the licorice, sure! The first time I tried a cup of this I went in a little cocky and realized I had possibly reached my licorice limit. It is SUPER licoricey and I didn’t quite know what to make of it. For my second cup, I’m approaching it will a little more caution. When I smell the tea dry, I’m getting mostly rootbeer! When I sip, I get the same. I’m always intrigued but wary of warm rootbeer flavored drinks. It is like a push/pull sort of reaction, yet I gladly give them a go when I come across another. After a few sips I added a little sugar which gave it a fuller taste and after a few more I added a touch of milk. At first the milk seemed to nuke a lot of the flavor, but as I continue to sip I realize it just took the intensity down a bit. I’m now able to pick out clove and possibly cardamon in the aftertaste. It is a strange sort of tea! I have had a few really creative Butiki blends puzzle me like this before. It is like I don’t know what to make of them, so I poke them and jump back to wait and see if they leap at me. When they continue to sit and stare at me unamused I creep a little closer and poke again. I guess it is a cat with toy approach I’m taking with this tea? Anyways, enough of my weird narrative. I’ll be back to poke at this tea again to figure out if we play well together!
Update: Second steeping was better than the 1st IMO and was great with just a bit of sweetener. I may try a shorter initial steep next time.
Third steep was good. Fourth still has a lot going for it. Alright, I’m impressed!
