Buttered Rum (Organic)

This tea smells absolutely amazing and I was very excited to try it! It definitely disappointed though… I found there to be quite a bitter aftertaste which ruined what would otherwise have been an excellent tea. Maker error perhaps? I will have to try again soon…

Wow. Forgot I bought this one. I added some brown sugar before the hot water adn it was great. Lots of flavour. Strange that it tastes like Rum with none in it. You can taste all the elements in it. I am not a huge coconut fan and this was great even with the taste of coconut.

And I only got a 50g bag but it was so filled I think this will last me awhile. Can’t wait to throw a little rum in it on a cold winter night. This is defiantely a keeper.

Another sample from Shmiracles. I think I will have to buy more of this.

One of the things I love about coconut in teas is that it doesn’t take much to make the flavor sing. And, the coconut implies a fattiness that mellows out the flavor texture of the tea leaves, much like adding milk.

After a few sips, I added a bit of dark rum, sugar, and milk. Delish! Will keep this in mind for wintery night treats.

Steeped this one smells just like buttered rum to me. A bit sweet, with vanilla, and caramel.
At first this one tastes mostly black tea and coconut, then as you swallow it slowly turns into vanilla. Mmmm the vanilla taste is amazing! Then as you swallow the vanilla flavour turns into caramel, and a bit of a peppery flavour. The after taste is buttered rum. So good! Loving this tea :)

This was pretty yummy, all that’s left of my sample… I ate it with my breakfast custard long John and it was so good with it. Very vanilla and smooth, and like rum candy but not in that too sweet way. Definitely makes up for the disappointing Goji Pop cup I had first. I thought it could be the water making the Goji Pop taste metallicky but the Buttered Rum came out well. This goes on my list of potential teas to buy next order.

My first sniff of this tea brewed revealed buttery tones, but I swear the dry leaves smelled like chocolate. Strange. Each sip is quite bland, forgettable even, but once I forget I start noticing a buttery aftertaste. Adding more sugar than I normally use speeds up the arrival of the butter, but it’s still pretty mellow and I’d like to have a mouth full of flavor instead. I feel like the flavor is a little more pronounced as it cools, but still not as strong as I like. I see that there is coconut in it, but it seems the coconut has somehow been coaxed into tasting more like butter than it’s normal self. Power of name suggestion or some sort of coconut wizardry? You decide!

The tea wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t amazing either. Guess that leaves it in the gray area of moderately good.

Brewed: 1 tbsp of tea brewed loose in 2-cup pot with freshly boiled water.

First cup: Brewed for 5 minutes
The flavour has a bit of a dry quality to it, I think it’s between the coconut flakes and the vanilla… though I think (in mentally comparing it to DAVIDsTEA’s old Irish Cream tea) I can pick out the flavour (or at least the astringency) of the cornflowers.

Second cup: Same steep, approx 25 minutes brewed.
The flavours are stronger, though it doesn’t seem bitter-oversteeped. That being said I added milk to it after a few sips anyway. The addition gave it a rather smooth quality, and definitely brought out the butter part of the “buttered rum”.

Third cup: Resteep (a few hours later), approx 10 minutes brewed
Tastes rather watered down. Drinkable, but not something I’d really go after. So, more of a one-steep wonder. (I may try adding a black teabag to the resteep next time and see if that adds enough body while still letting a hint of flavour come through….)

Fourth cup: Same resteep, longer brewing time
Flavour stronger now (thankfully), but still not quite right with me. Still a little astringent, and coconut seems very predominant.

My overall impression: Not bad. Not great — I prefer teas that can steep better the second time, and while the flavour certainly wasn’t unappealing, it wasn’t something I would go out of my way for either. This isn’t surprising though, I’m generally not one for coconut when given the choice, or alcoholic beverages for that matter (though as with everything, there are exceptions….) I’ve also heard that this goes really well with some sugar. I’ll try that again, and may adjust my ratings/feelings if I find it better that way. But still, not bad overall.

My rating: B- 72%. Certainly passable, but not something I’d go out of my way for. May be far better enjoyed by a more rum-loving audience than I.

One of my all-time favourites! The smell kind of bothered me at first for some reason, but once I got past that and took a sip, I was hooked. It’s sweet, but not too sweet. Yummmmmmmmmy

Day 49 of my 101 days of tea. A leftover from my advent calendar — dumped the entire container into my 2-cupper.

Yummm. Was NOT expecting to like the tea as much as I do. There’s a real buttery aftertaste to this tea, and a little nutty as well. There’s a bit of a bitter or sour note which I’m pretty sure is the cornflowers — not in an oversteeped kind of way, but more… enhansing the flavour.

Tried it with milk the second time while eating a bit of pecan pie — the sweetness definitely enhanses the flavour! That being said, it’s quite nice straight as well.

Sipping on some of this piping hot with a little splash of baileys is exactly what I needed on this rainy cold afternoon. Very fitting for fall.