1146 Tasting Notes

Stacy sent this as a sample with one of my previous Butiki orders. Thanks!

This tea is quite nice. The first steep is heavily spinachy, with a touch of sweetness and a smooth, buttery mouthfeel. There’s a pleasant apricot note that comes out at the end of the sip. Citrus notes really pop out in the second steep, leaving a minty fresh aftertaste. I didn’t feel up to a third steep, but I suspect this tea would take it well.

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75
drank Imperial Label by Kusmi Tea
1146 tasting notes

I abandoned this mug after making it and learned that this tea is actually better cold than hot. The citrus flavor really comes out and makes for a nice, refreshing drink. Good for summer, but also a nice accompaniment to a Mediterranean meal any time of year.

Thanks for the taste, oOTeaOo!

EDIT: This yields a nice second steep.

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80
drank Sweet Cinnamon Puerh by Verdant Tea
1146 tasting notes

I got this from BrewTEAlly Sweet‘s stash sale. I really enjoyed it as a full-bodied cinnamon tea that held up easily to 3 steeps. I didn’t pick up on the tulsi at all :( I really enjoyed this, but I’m not sure if it would make it into the regular rotation.

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70

Thanks to whatshesaid for the sample!

I liked this more than I expected to. I am not a big fan of coconut flavor, but the coconut in this tea is very natural and well complemented by the creaminess. The base tea also comes through nicely. I got two good steeps out of it, with the second revealing greater depth and complexity. This won’t go on my shopping list, but I would recommend it to coconut fans.

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94
drank Almond Biscotti by Della Terra Teas
1146 tasting notes

I’m having this as my breakfast tea this morning. I actually fainted at work yesterday in the middle of presenting something. It was mortifying. Now I’m dreading the fallout and don’t really want to go in. But since I have no choice about that, I decided to fortify myself with one of my favorite teas. I accidentally steeped it at 180 instead of 165, but it still came out wonderful. Dead on flavor. Not too sweet or artificial tasting. Soothing and invigorating at the same time. All around a great cuppa.

This is the end of my sample from BrewTEAlly Sweet (thanks!), but it’s not a sipdown because I picked up two ounces during the Black Friday sale.

ifjuly

oh my gosh, that sounds scary and ugh. i’m glad you’re ok though. i used to faint all the time as a teenager in the most embarrassing places—once in the girls locker room while taking a shower after gym class!!—and it sucks.

Kaylee

Thanks. I think the biggest damage was to my pride (luckily?). Work turned out to be much less humiliating than I feared :)

My sympathies for the constant fainting in high school! As if being a teenager isn’t already hard enough. Hopefully your use of the past tense means you’re not just passing out all over the place anymore.

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56
drank Rooibos Chai by Harney & Sons
1146 tasting notes

Meh. I was hoping for a more chai-like experience. The flavor here is just straight rooibos with a strong clove oil element. Oh well. Luckily I only had the one sachet.

CelebriTEA

Oh, I love cloves…this sounds like I might like it :-)

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99

Hanukkah tea for the eighth night of Hanukkah! Actually, I’ve been drinking it all holiday, but I was waiting to reach my 200th note to post about it. This tea was my 100th tasting note, too, so you can tell it’s really something special.

I have had so much trouble getting away from the apple-cinnamon aspect of this. I do love that flavor, but I’ve been wanting to tease out the brothy flavor too. Adding salt somehow wasn’t doing the trick. Finally I just added salt right into the steeper while I was brewing and boy howdy did that do it. Potato-y, savory goodness. Of course now that I’ve succeeded in my effort and thoroughly enjoyed a brothy cup, I want a sweet one! Mmm, with sufganiyot (fried jelly donuts). Yup, that’s totally what I’m having next.

Happy Hanukkah!

Lariel of Lórien

I want to try that on so much.

Stephanie

Tasty tea… happy Hanukkah!

Kaylee

Lariel – I meant it when I offered to send you a bit. Just PM me your address!

Stephanie – thank you!

Lariel of Lórien

Thank you! I think you need to follow me first. ;)

JustJames

=0) happy hannukha. did you make some latkes?

Kaylee

Thanks. Even better – I got other people to make them and all I had to do was eat. Being a terrible cook has its benefits :)

JustJames

LOLOLOLOLOLOL. that is even better!

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94
drank Anji Bai Cha by Butiki Teas
1146 tasting notes

This. Is. Amazing. Stacy included this as a sample in my last order and it kind of languished in my cupboard for a while. I chose it tonight on a lark – I was initially planning to have an oolong. I’m SO glad that I had this instead. Ok, enough gushing. On to the actual tasting note.

This tea is so delicate and smooth. The first steep is sweet and sort of wet grassy. The end of the sip is definitely floral. I did not pick up on any of the tart cherry notes.

I did a second steep at 180 F. I didn’t time it but the steep was about 6 minutes. Fantastic. This bark note came out, in perfect balance with a green pea note. The finish is a little bit tart on this steep. The aftertaste builds to almost a maraschino cherry flavor. I’m not a huge fan of cherry anything, but this is really working for me.

I wish I had tried this sooner – now that I’ve placed my Black Friday orders, I won’t be placing any additional orders for quite some time. :-(

Preparation
165 °F / 73 °C 4 min, 0 sec
Stephanie

YAY! love this one :D

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94
drank Alice's Blend by Alice's Tea Cup
1146 tasting notes

Alas, I both underleafed and oversteeped this morning. Not by much, but enough to be noticeable. It’s a bit weak and a bit astringent. I usually go for just under boiling temp, but tried 180° F today. It really brought out the rose flavor wonderfully. So not a total loss, just not perfect. Still one of my favorite teas!

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80
drank Fuding Silver Needle by Butiki Teas
1146 tasting notes

Thanks for the sample with my order, Stacy!

The long, fuzzy needles are so cool looking. I agree with tigress_al that this is a very light tasting tea. On the first steep, I picked up floral and green bean notes. It doesn’t taste weak per se, but it’s too light for my taste. The second steep is better for me – thicker mouthfeel, stronger green bean note that I’m strangely enjoying. I think I might just prefer more robust flavor in my straight teas – perhaps a longer initial steep would have been good.

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Bio

she/her

Geek and nerd (shoutout to GeekSteep). Still trying to get a handle on this whole work/life balance while ALSO succeeding at work thing. I have some chronic illnesses that make that harder. Tea is my respite.

Favorite tea types, in order:
oolongs
green
herbal
white
yellow

Don’t drink:
black
pu’erh

A sampling of tea shops I like:
Te Company
Calabash
Volition
Tea Thoughts
Harney & Sons
Yunomi
Teavivre

RIP Butiki

Website

https://www.instagram.com/try...

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