Pineapple Cilantro Cream

This is really good. The pineapple was strong, and there was a very natural tasting sweetness from the cream. I was honestly surprised that I couldn’t taste the cilantro more, and a little disappointed by that. I LOVE cilantro. It does offer an herb aftertaste, a bit of a sharpness, that was really pleasant.

Let me start off by saying that I love cilantro and I use it often in my cooking so I try to keep a bunch of the fresh herb in the fridge as often as possible. Unfortunately the boyfriend-creature HATES it so it usually ends up being used more sparingly than I’d like. Cilantro seems to be one of those all-or-nothing foods, and I think I read somewhere that there might actually be a genetic component to this that makes it taste unpleasant to some people (the boyfriend says it tastes like soap).

Right off the bat the scent intrigues me – faintly fruity and distinctly fresh. It took me awhile to work out what those pink things mixed in were (amaranth petals) which add an attractive touch even if they don’t do anything for the flavour.

I can taste a stronger pineapple flavour than I did in the Flowery Pineapple Oolong. This is both distinctive and authentic and the cilantro works with the tea base to give the tea a fresh, green flavour that leaves a sweet aftertaste. The cream is less of a distinct flavour than it is a smoothness that brings all the elements of the tea together.

Man, I’m kicking myself for waiting so long to try this tea because once I’m done my little bag there’s no more where that came from (and with such a unique flavour there’s no way I’ll find a replacement).

This tea is very attractive: large chunks of what I assume is pineapple among short, flat, green leaves that smell sweetly of cilantro. They brew up a light-greenish yellow. The taste, however, was a bit disappointing for my personal tastes. It was mostly herby (cilantro) and the pineapple was quite hard to find. I guess the lingering sweetness was contributed by the pineapple, but in a blind taste test I wouldn’t be able to identify it. I don’t like very vegetal teas, so I won’t rate this one but I do think it’s well done. The flavors just aren’t to my tastes.

This is my first taste of Butiki….I ordered a few 1/2 ounce bags of different flavors, and while I was most anticipating the watermelon tea, I tried this one first. It’s nice and light, perfect for my post-Saturday afternoon nap tea. I get pineapple favor, a bit of cilantro, and something else I can’t really name. Another sweet fruit note. It gets even tastier as it cools, and would probably be nice on ice.

From the Tea and Cards TTB:

I will admit that the scent the dry leaf gives off is kind of strange, but once you get over it and taste the tea, it is actually quite light and only reminiscent of pineapple. The cilantro works well here. Very good :)

Forgot I had this sample, no idea who sent it to me but it’s another ancient one.

I figured since I’ve had Butiki tea sample sipdowns the last few days, I may as well try this!

I was hesitant on the cilantro aspect…I love to put cilantro in my homemade salsa and chili and soups but I couldn’t see me enjoying it in tea.

Welp, turns out I needn’t have worried because whether due to age, or just SUPER SUBTLE flavoring…this tea tasted like nothing. Hot water with a faint hint of something tart. No creaminess and no cilantro for me.

I know I didn’t underleaf this time, so it must be the age, because though I know Butiki’s flavours are usually soft, this one is nonexistent.

So I won’t rate it!

Enough for another cup in the bag but I will just throw it in the swap pile as a giveaway with a disclaimer , I have no idea how strong this tea is meant to be.

Oh! Ooooooooooh. Huh.
I foolishly took a bite of smoked trout before my first sip, so I’m trying to get through the fishy aftertaste and into the tea. I mostly taste a mild cilantro. I can maybe pick out a little bit of pineapple undertones and this tea is really smooth with a little creaminess on the end. I think I’m having an allergy attack today, so it is a little hard to pick out the nuances of this tea, but I’m enjoying it as much as I can anyways!

Thanks to Marcel Du Champ for this sample!

thank you Marcel Duchamp for swapping! Another Butiki tea to try!

Steep #1 // 25 minutes after boiling // 3 min
The dry blend sure looks interesting! I think I love the scent more than the flavor. This one seems very similar to their pineapple oolong. I think I like the other one better just because I prefer oolong over the white tea (even if it is a bai mu dan). I don’t think there were any pineapple chunks in my infuser though. And the cilantro seemed to be missing. I like the creaminess though.

Steep #2 // 22 minutes after boiling // 4 min
This cup is flavored much the same. Tasty! But I think the deliciousness of Butiki blends might be spoiling me for other Butiki blends! Maybe the sourness of the bai mu dan should offer a contrast to the sweetness of the cream & pineapple, but I also think the butteriness of an oolong supports the cream & pineapple… it’s more cake flavored. I think I’ll make a cake tomorrow…

1st smell: weird and funky but in a fun kind of way.
1st taste: I was kind of expecting bit of a broth taste, due to the smell, but the taste was really mild.

I am undecided on whether I’d want to keep this in my cupboard, that is if I could afford to. When it cooled down, it tasted better in some ways, almost kind of minty…which is weird, because mint and cilantro generally don’t taste anything alike to me. Well guess it’ll have to wait on a final verdict when it gets down to the end of the bag.

I received a few teaspoons of this in a swap with Marcel Duchamp. Thank you!

This is a tea that I have had my eyes on trying for awhile.. The idea of cilantro and pineapple sounds really interesting. By the time this sample reached me though it had taken a bit of a beating. Mr. Postman was not nice to this sample:( I made a large cup of this in hopes I would get to try it hot and cold. It worked. Both hot and cold the fruityness of the tea is the first thing I taste. It is very pleasant and the sweetness of it is at the back of the sip. I get a slight hint of cilantro mixed in. It seems some sips I get a sweet sip and some I get a sip accented with something that seems like the cilantro. As this cools the flavors become a bit more pronounced to me. Unfortunately as this cup cooled it also got a bit bitter. I hope I can blame part of that on the power form that I made this tea from. I dint’ really get the cream portion of this tea, but all in all it was a very enjoyable cup. I think I may have to add a 1/2-1 oz to my next butiki order. I think it would be a fun iced tea this summer.