Organic Blue Nettle

I decided to cold brew this one for 24 hours so I’m drinking my results today. This is such an interesting tea and the cold brewing has brought out some nice lemon-y notes in addition to the savory artichoke. So glad I tried it this way!

Before I review this tea, take a good look at the picture of the tea itself. Yes, it is hand rolled and twisted…and the leaves are whole and full of buds. This tea is from Sri Lanka, and Fair Trade…glad to say!

I wondered if my tea friends at Happy Lucky’s Tea House had ever seen tea like this one. I decided to get spiffed up and went on a short trip to Old Town. The first comment when the guys saw the tea was “Which end do you light” …ha..ha…and then “I’ve never seen a tea like that”…followed quickly by a ching of a Gaiwan getting ready for brewing of my offered Blue Nettle Tea.

Only 2 (creatures…sticks…cigars?) of tea are needed for 8oz. / 180F for 3min.
This Green Tea was floral but delicate and the leaves had a scent that was not orchid or any flower we could discribe. We agreed there was a clean sugar taste but not rock sugar. No artichoke or seaweed taste was detected. There was a bit of tannin on when the liquid cooled and a smooth buttery mouthfeel.

What a puzzle this tea was. I gave each of the 3 gents and the owner a sample of my tea. There needs to be more time and discovery but a lot of interest was generated among the group that did the tasting. We all agreed that this tea was something special!
Leave it to Butiki to bring along a new tea adventure!

I would suggest serving this tea in a glass gaiwan or small glass teapot. It is fun to watch.
We commented on how much it looked like a sea creature, a long worm ready to become a butterfly. I can’t wait to take time alone to taste this tea again!

I am in the process of creating a recipe book for my kids for Christmas – my daughter requested this – meals they grew up on many of which I also grew up on. My eyes are crossing and I am beat! Making a recipe book is a real challenge for me as I never measure anything! Still I am over joyed that my daughter asked for something like this and that I can give one to both of them for the holidays! They will of course get other things haha but this will be special! Especially as my son lives in his own place now and my daughter is about to turn 18 this December! Lord the time flies by!

Anyway I needed a break and decided this was the next tea on my Butiki Experience list!
These remind me of Unicorn Horns!
I love unicorns and yes in MY world they do exist! :)

So the first infusion was a little bland, but good, it just was not all there yet and I figured maybe this tea needed it as a rinse so I infused again. The little “horns” are starting to unfurl, they are pretty.

The tea is still light but with a little more depth than before a lemony hue which is very pretty.

Not much aroma … but the flavor is there.

Its different. Bright mouthfeel and juicy.
Slightly buttery but not like other greens by any means.
Vegetal but VERY subtly.
Its strange but some sips have such a POW of flavor while others taste a bit like rain water!
Yes I have sipped rain water back in the day thank you. :)
What a curious tea.
Please don’t take this the wrong way but I swear every great now and then I get an earthy like flavor of soil! Not contaminated yucky soil but fresh clean soil from the woods.
Strange – this isn’t a pu-erh is it? LOL I realize it is a green tea but it is the most unusual green tea I believe I have ever tasted.
I will need to get my hands on some more of this to work with it longer but at least for now I have many steepings left to experiment with!
For now, back to the recipe book and enjoying this tea!

I have been saving this tea that Bonnie sent to me because it is so cool looking that I couldn’t just drink it any old time. I wanted to wind down tonight after doing some more organizing, going grocery shopping, and working a bit at early voting. I am so intrigued by the shape and by the fact that this is a GREEN Ceylon!

There were three rods in the sample and the instructions said to use one or two. I decided to go with one this time and that way I will have two left for a stronger pot if I want it stronger or I can choose to make it with one again and have it twice more.

The package was labeled to steep it for one to two minutes but I see on here that most people are steeping it for three minutes. That almost made me decide to hold my review, but as I read the others I realized that I got pretty much the same impressions, so here goes!

I used my tiny glass pot so I could watch the rod unfurl. I did not fill the pot all the way since I only used one rod, but used only about four ounces of water at a time. The first steep was almost clear and very light in both color and flavor. This reminded me of a white tea, or perhaps Snow Dragon.
Little air bubbles escaped from the rod as it began very slowly to unfurl.

The second steep tasted creamy and very fresh, again the snow melt flavor is there but also light artichoke. Steeps three through six I combined in a pot and sat down with hubby to drink tea and eat Bissingers Chocolates. As my cup sat and cooled, it apparently grew some muscles because one sip went POW! There was a sudden burst of flavor, and immediately the tea went back to being its demure self.

Hubby drank several cups, refilling it himself with no prompting from me. This is becoming a regular thing, as he has grown accustomed to our green and oolong teas sans sugar and milk, and I am delighted!

Thank you, Bonnie, for another special tea treat! Next time I will try two rods for three minutes and see how it changes!

Thank You Bonnie for such a unique, delicious tea experience. I’ve seen this tea before, and it’s almost perfect-such a stylish tea! :))

This Blue Nettle tea reminds me of conical slugs, or vortex cones. The steeping cones floated horizontally on my water, and seemed to be basking in fruity lemons as this light aroma tingled my nose. The wet leaves in glass smelled lightly vegetal & lightly fruity, much like artichokes & lemons; which cooled to a light woody quality often found in black teas! When I picked up a cone [the leaves were unfurled] and inhaled deeply, aromas of tart lemons, artichokes, & dill [perhaps a pickle] surprised my senses! Amazingly, there was a sweet contrast present in the aroma. :))

The cup was a very light ecru color, with light vegetal & lemon aromatics. The tea exhibited a very light, lemon-like, artichoke taste. There was a very smooth & clean aquatic or oceanic quality that I have never experienced before!! I’m not crazy!! Did anyone else experience this?? There was such a smoothness on my palate, but after I swallowed the tea-POP!! BANG!! POW!! The tea recharged on my palate with a mild tartness. That was another first for me, & nothing short of AMAZING! :))

My second cup [7 minutes at 212F] showcased a lemony tart aroma between 4-5 minutes. One cone was still clinging together, so I broke the leaves apart, hoping to achieve more aroma and flavor. There was deeper tart lemon and artichoke aromas, with some sweetness. Wet leaves also gave deeper aromas of lemon, artichoke, dill, and woods. The longer steep brought out light smokey notes as well.

While still quite light, the cup turned a deeper yellow. Slightly deeper artichoke essence adds sweetness, while a lemon nuance adds acidity to the nose. All of the flavors of the first cup are present [lemons, artichokes, aquatics]-only somewhat deeper in nature. Smooth & clean on my palate, with a more mild kick, void of most of the tart-natured, post swallow flavors I experienced in the first cup.

Nothing but great things can be exclaimed about Blue Nettle! From this teas unique shape, aromatics, & flavors, it is truly one of my supreme, most memorable tea experiences!! :D Thanks again Bonnie. :D

Cupped & Reviewed: Thursday, July 12, 2012.

Thanks Stacy for generously including this as a sample with my order!

I love how this tea looks, all twisted into little snakes, which also make it super easy to measure out! I had a bit of an issue brewing in that I guess the mug I used was a little too big width-wise, so the little snakes in my large infuser basket didn’t quite fit into the water to begin with (but I pushed them in as soon as they softened a bit).

I’m getting a flavour that I would usually classify as metallic and therefore reminiscent of oversteeped greens (or, so I’ve learned, tea leaves that have sat out wet for over a day. Ew.), however it morphs into a sort of pleasant tanginess which changes my view to being intrigued instead of icked out! I wonder if this is that lemon that comes out in cold-brewing?? There’s also a nice tangyish green tea aftertaste, and maybe just a touch of astringency.

So as greens go, it’s a different flavour than I’m used to – there’s a bit of sweetness reminding me of Verdant’s dragonwells, but the vegetal qualities are lacking. I’d have to say though, that although it’s interesting, it’s not a green that really fits my preferences for vegetal/seaweedy/rock sugar.

ETA: Second infusion (twisty leaves completely in-mug) for 3 min at ~177F is definitely better than the first. There’s more flavour, I’m getting a definite sweetness and the flavour is no longer coming off as metallic, though I’m still getting a bit of tanginess, which is interesting! Still not a profile I’d be likely to purchase to drink again, but deserving of a better rating than I initially gave it. Word of warning to potential buyers – make sure the little snakes fit fully in your cup! No brew baskets :)

As an allergy sufferer, I really have to thank Bonnie for this sample! I used to drink (bagged) nettle tea before moving to California as my hay fever would always get the best of me. Well, since I moving away from my adoptive home, I’m in need of some relief – and BAD! The attacks I have in Indiana have hit me like a ton of bricks. An allergist appointment is in the future to receive shots to help me combat the effects of nature.

Anyway, this nettle tea is fantastic! I remember the bagged version never tasting nearly this good – I always had to choke it down! But Butiki’s version is really wonderful. The artichoke taste is really something I can get behind too! Artichokes are kind of expensive here, and I used to eat them all the time in Cally-land. So between helping lessen the effects of allergies and the fond memories of eating artichokes, I think we have a real winner here!

I only used one Blue Nettle cigar for about 3 or 4 ounces and resteeped. Looking forward to Amy oh’s way of cold brewing these bad boys too! This is going to be a daily drink.

Just placed a Butiki order and included the largest package of this offered. Hopefully I can ration out what Bonnie sent me until it arrives! :)

Thank you to Bonnie for this Awesome sample

This tea was Amazing , and I literally said aloud “Wow This tea is really good” !! It was quite shocking to find a green tea with this much flavor. It had a sort of “black tea” component , with hints of a very smooth green tea (No vegetal taste at all ;), and a floral note thrown in for good measure!! It was very smooth and re-steeped over 5 infusions for me, while still retaining it’s “black tea” quality (I’m not usually a fan of Black tea..but this tea was lighter and more floral)! I will be ordering some very soon to enter it in my daily rotation of green teas, along with my Jasmine Dragon Pearls, dragonwell, and genmaicha !!

Thanks Stacy for sending me such a unique sample!

As green teas go, the Blue Nettle is a standout performer. It reminds me of the spinach and artichoke dip that we whip up for football parties, and that is definitely a good thing! Other reviewers have already alluded to the shape that the tea is rolled into, and the glass bodum pot that I used to brew it up let them twirl like a slow motion spinning top. I was a bit worried about how weak the flavor might be because of the faintly pale yellow liquor it had produced after its 3 minutes were up but I guess strength of color and strength of taste don’t necessarily go hand in hand. As tasty as this one is, I can only imagine that it might be hard to source down the line as its popularity grows since it is thankfully one of the fair trade and small farmed teas. I would order and experience it while you can!

I’m always hesitant with green tea. It never fails, I always mess it up. I forgot about this one, while it was steeping, because I’m horrible.
But, my forgetfulness is no match for blue nettle. This tea turned out beautifully. I added a bit of local honey because my throat hurts.
It’s sweet and lemon-y, but hearty and vegital (is that a word? lol).
And, I apologize. I forget who sent me this sample, but it’s VERY much appreciated.