Oooh, Kittenna sent me another tea on my shopping list! Woot!! And this is my first Butiki tea; I’m so excited! I feel like I say that about every tea. Tea tasting is just a bundle of excitement for me, what can I say?
The leaves are really neat looking. Tightly twisted, spindly, curled black and gold leaves. Time to brew it up and see what it tastes like!
Wow, this brewed up really light! It’s a very light golden color. I haven’t liked Kenyan teas in the past, but this one is different. It does have that slight aroma and taste that I don’t know how to describe but that I recognize as Kenyan. But it’s not off-putting like I usually find it. It’s good!
Like the liquor color, the taste is light. That’s not to say flavorless. There’s lots of flavor. It’s just a light, subdued cup of tea with mild astringency. No bitterness though. The description says cocoa and milk chocolate notes. I’m not getting any of those. I can imagine a pear undertone, but I’m not sure how much is truly in the cup vs in my imagination.
The second steep for 4.5 minutes brewed up much darker. Now it’s a reddish amber color. The flavor is pretty much the same, except maybe a bit less astringent. I’m not overwhelmed by awesomeness, but this was a fun tea to try. Thanks again Kittenna for sending me a sample!
Best enjoyed without additions. In fact, it didn’t even occur to me as an option.