Pineapple Cilantro Cream

Backlog:

This is one that I ordered out of sheer curiosity. Pineapple and Cilantro? What a really … unusual and unique combination. And I like to consider myself unusual and unique … so, I had to try it.

Everything is very well-balanced in this blend. I taste the notes of cilantro, pineapple and cream pretty equally. The white tea is crisp and refreshing.

Here is my full-length review: http://sororiteasisters.com/2013/07/13/pineapple-cilantro-cream-white-tea-blend-from-butiki-teas/

I got this in a swap. I really don’t get a ton of pineapple flavor, but I do get a subtle cilantro which is a refreshing surprise in a tea. I like this, I don’t LOVE it, I don’t think I’ll order my own bag but I will certainly enjoy the rest of the sample to the fullest!

I was disappointed with this one – probably because I had it at the same time as the Cantaloupe and Cream which just blew me away. It was good, but not exceptional and that was likely because I’m not so into cilantro.

Butiki has so many great teas that it’s better for my wallet this way.

I hope whatshesaid enjoys the rest of this!

I’m sleepy and going to take a short nap right away, so I really don’t want to write out a long note for this one; but it’s the other blend I just finished packing up for akgrowngirl and so I took advantage of having it out of the closet to make a cup.

I’ll just leave it at “the name perfectly captures the flavour – in a good way” and “it’s very well balanced”. And now for some sleep…

Tea #8 from Traveling Tea Box C

I have to admit, I’m a bit of a cilantro fiend. Love the stuff. In fact, I made a batch of pico de gallo only last weekend! When I saw the pineapple and cilantro combination, I have to admit I was more than a little intrigued.

Dry, this blend looks fantastic and fresh. I can’t pick up any pineapple from the smell, but the white tea and a little hint of the cilantro peeks through.

As soon as this steeped up, I could tell I made a mistake in the preparation. I usually add 2tsp of raw sugar to my teas (well, everything except the unflavored greens) but this… wowza. That’s a lot of in-your-face sweetness!

At this point, I’m only getting pineapple. Little to none of the white tea flavors are coming out, and definitely no cilantro. I tried a re-steep, to see if I could find a better balance, but I think this might be a single-steeper.

While it was very much pineapple, it was a sweet way to wind up the day’s tea drinking. I want to be able to pass on as much of this as possible, so I don’t think I’ll be making another cup. It was fun to try, though!

A warm and muggy day leans me towards the fruity teas that I have with me. I’m not usually a fan of pineapple but I am a Butiki fan and I’m going to ignore the harsh, sharp pineapple teas I have had before and focus on what this tea could be like. Like the taste buds of the innocent, a complete un-expecting of what I’m about to experience. … I hope you understand my rambling.

A sniff of the raw blend reveals a sweet and fresh floral pineapple scent. Very delicious smelling and with a hint of cream. Stronger than I was expecting but it just smells so very nice.

The raw blend has a few small small pieces of pineapple amongst the leaves and just for the record there are also a few twig like pieces which I believe to be from the Bai Mu Dan.

So far it has exceeded my expectations in scent and appearance… so what about taste?

A few minutes later

The tea is golden yellow in colour with the same sweet and creamy floral pineapple scent as it’s raw form. Perhaps a little stronger once steeped.

Flavour is sweet, creamy, herby (cilantro?), floral and smooth. That herbal taste is growing stronger but it’s something I’m starting to like more and more. It’s very different as to how I thought it would taste. It’s pineapple but not pineapple, it’s not sharp, tart, sour and doesn’t make my lips tingle but in the after taste I would definitely say it’s pineapple. Perhaps a little soapy with the pineapple but minimally so.

It’s also very smooth like velvet and sweet like mild honey. The Bai Mu Dan adds a wonderful light floral balance to the blend of flavours.

Overall I like it. I would buy it and drink more of it. Honestly though it’s a hard tea for me to rate, I’m thinking there might be too much cilantro to be perfect for my taste but then I think other flavours would be lost without it. A nice little unique blend.

(My rough rating at this time would be 8/10. Shall rate another time, I have more at home).

I got distracted by a patient asking me a question in the waiting area as I was filling my cup and I put cold water in my mug instead of hot. I dunked my tea ball in before I noticed that the mug wasn’t warm. I ended up cold-steeping it for 45 minutes. Pretty weak this way. I taste pineapple and definitely cilantro. It’s a little bitter for my tastes.

Thanks, Shelley_Lorraine for this tea!

EDIT:
Hot-steeped it after drinking the cold steep. Less bitter, less cilantro, more pineapple and creamier. I like it better this way, but still probably not going to be a favorite of mine.

thank you stacy for my sample. i have no problem admitting that i chose this sample as a test, lol. pineapple cilantro cream? sounds lovely… but how would one bring such an unusual blend to fruition? understand that my motives came not at all from maliciousness… stacy of butiki teas has been declared the very best in flavoured teas to me. not by one or two of my steepster friends, but by all of them! imagine the skill sets of one woman being the common point of people all over the planet with disparate tea tastes and backgrounds… lovely! thus, as i perused the butiki website trying to narrow my millions of choices down to three i looked not only at the teas that appealed to me, but also for a single one that i felt would be challenging to execute. this is it!

how do you blend a summer flavour like pineapple, most frequently paired with tropical compliments like coconut, with an asian flavour (that i equate with awesome peanut sauce over noodles) like cilantro without tasting like a take out tea from noodle box? a challenge… that ms. lim met head on.

the bai mudan base has no astringency. it is light and sweet and was an inspired choice for this blend. the pineapple is not overpowering and does not have an overripe flavour. interestingly enough it has a vague roasted flavour to it. the cilantro is subtle, but clear… but it has an unexpected effect: it cools the tongue!

this is the truest summer blend i’ve ever tasted. it is refreshing and light without a hint of bitterness or acid.

brilliant….. just think! this was only the first sample, and i haven’t even started into my order proper!

thank you again, stacy!

This one is from VariaTEA; thank you so much! This is the Butiki blend I’ve been wanting to try the most. Weird as it sounds, my favorite pizza is pineapple with cilantro. They’re a great mix.

I followed the instructions exactly on this cup because I wanted to make sure I got the best possible tea out of it, and I’m not disappointed. This is the most pineapple-y tea I’ve ever had the pleasure of drinking. It has the perfect balance of tart and sweet. There’s also a green earthiness identifiable as cilantro, although I do wish that was just a little stronger (what can I say, it’s my favorite herb!). The whole thing is smooth and well-blended and it has a long-lasting sweet aftertaste. Delicious! Sadly this is a sipdown but I will most definitely grab more when I can.

ETA: This only gets better as it cools. I’ll have to see how it does iced someday.

This tea is fascinating. I’ve never had a tea with cilantro, or much of anything with cilantro really.

The pineapple is there, but is much more subtle than some teas with pineapple. I’m guessing this is the cilantro balancing it out. It’s actually quite nice. Sometimes I find pineapple to be a bit sharp in teas and this tea has created a perfect balance of ingredients so nothing is too overpowering.

Overall a nice creamy pineapple taste. Yum!

The second steep is less flavourful but still tasty. I’m going to cold brew some of this to see how it turns out.

Update: Definitely prefer this one hot. It’s refreshing cold but I’m getting much more of a cilantro than pineapple taste.