1711 Tasting Notes

I got a Butiki order in yesterday and I’m doing tasting flights to see if there are any that I feel I need to stock up on. I’d hate to find out that I LOVE one only to have it be gone forever.

There was a strange taste on the lip of my mug. I’m a little concerned that my dishwasher isn’t rinsing well enough and am worried it may taint the taste of my tea! Anyways… I smell coconut! And something else, but I’m not sure what. Wow, this is strange! (I do enjoy strange) I’m getting fruity flavors on the tip of my tongue and a more savory feeling on the back! I totally get how this is like a perfume with base mid and high notes. Adding sugar amps up the fruit and takes away a little of the savory, but it doesn’t change the tea drastically or bring out hidden flavors. I might be getting a little pineapple at the end? The flavors merge together so well that it is hard to pick them out on their own. And hot hay is listed as a flavor in the description! I know what hay would be like, but I have no idea what hot hay would be. Sounds like I need to do a little more living outdoors! Now as it cools I feel like there is grape in the beginning. This is really interesting! I’d love to try it cold and see what flavors pop out then!

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 3 min, 30 sec
Kittenna

I’m pretty much resigned to the fact that by the time I try any of the new teas, they’ll be sold out, so I just have what I ordered. Haha. I got my big order of previous favourites in earlier.

Dustin

I wish I could be happy with what I already have, but I have such a terrible hoarding instinct and there are one or two that I need a little more of. Just so I don’t have to rip the bandaid off quite as soon with saying goodbye.

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drank Butterscotch Pudding by Butiki Teas
1711 tasting notes

OMG, I need to wait for my tea to cool before I eagerly start chugging it! I’m getting a pretty nice light butterscotch flavor in this. Very well balanced and good without sugar BUT, I’m going to try a little sugar anyways to see what it does! Tastes kinda the same with a sweetness on the end. I think I prefer this without sugar. I’m really enjoying this, but I don’t think it is a stock up and hoard choice for me since there are other butterscotch teas out there that I also enjoy. (the bar for stock up and hoard is pretty freakin high at this point btw) :)

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 3 min, 30 sec
Ost

what other butterscotch teas would you recommend?

Dustin

Tealux and Art of Tea both have ones that may be the same tea. I think there is another brand that has it as well. It has got to be a tea that multiple companies are buying from a bigger distributor, unlike Butiki who flavors teas themselves and comes up with custom blends.

Kittenna

I know which tea you’re talking about, Dustin, and I’ve had it from at least two vendors (Tealux and someone else). It’s pretty yum.

Dustin

It’s kinda cool when you can find a tea that you like sold by multiple companies, but it is also kind of a bummer that they are buying from the same source and acting like it’s their creation. I guess I have mixed feelings on it!

Kittenna

I mostly find it irritating, although it’s sometimes helpful when you realize something is available locally and not just via expensive international shipping! It really ticks me off when things are marketed as their own blends, though. I don’t like lies.

Dustin

Yeah, the lying part gets me too. I find that as I get older I have less and less tolerance for BS.

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drank White Chocolate by Butiki Teas
1711 tasting notes

Taiwanese assam? I don’t think I have ever met these long twisty leaves before! It has a creaminess to it and something else I can’t put my finger on. It is almost floral, but only a tiny bit. There were a few white chocolate chips in my infuser, but I didn’t see any sugar bits which were probably hanging out at the bottom of the bag. Once I add a little sugar I can pick out some white chocolate at the end of the sip, but it isn’t a super bold taste for me. What really shines through for me is the tea base which is pretty tasty. I might try leafing a little heavier on the next cup and giving the bag a little upside down shake.
I dumped out the steeped leaves in my hand to check them out and found a couple chips that hadn’t melted away. They tasted good which was the floral taste I’m getting. I don’t know how my brain registers white chocolate as floral! Lately I have been steeping at 205 when teas say to use boiling and I may have gone wrong with that choice for this tea. I have some adjustments to make for next time!

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 3 min, 0 sec
tea-sipper

Never had Taiwanese Assam before?!?

Dustin

Not that I know of. I tend to favor dessert blends and have only started to appreciate and explore unflavored teas.

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drank Carol by Lupicia
1711 tasting notes

Huh, strawberry! I thought I was smelling cherry. The first few sips seemed a little bitter. I can smell the similarity with their other strawberry teas and it has that particular base flavor like their Cookies and Sweet Potato. I think I get a little rose in the aftertaste. When I add sugar, the strawberry really comes out. The creaminess is really nice on the end with the strawberry. I like this, but not enough to run out and buy when I have so much else.

I do appreciate the sample in the Lupicia newsletter!

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 3 min, 0 sec

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Wow, I actually get to be the first to write a tasting note on this tea?! Rad!

Waffles?! Seriously?! How do you get waffles into tea?! I clearly taste waffles in this tea! My mind is a little blown. At the beginning of the sip I get waffles. It isn’t until the aftertaste that I’m picking up on the raspberry, but I can’t pick out the chocolate. Maybe it is blending in to create a base note type flavor. This is all without sugar. When I add sugar, it changes a bit. I get raspberry first, then the waffle joins and finally I get the chocolate mingling with the fruit. Adding cream changes it again! I get a slight tartness like what raspberries have with almost a grassy edge, but it’s like the tartness without the flavor I was getting before. The chocolate is muted again, coming out at the back of the sip right behind the waffle that also peeks through at the end. This tea is such a trip! I’m loving the decaf aspect since I desperately want to drink tea in the evening, but sleep is a pretty important thing in my life too. This tea is really well done. Even the Butiki teas that I have tried that I wasn’t wowed by were really well crafted and balanced.

If you can, give this tea a go before it’s gone!

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 4 min, 0 sec
Stephanie

I drank this one tonight too. I will have to try sweetening it next time! :)

Ost

Oh my word-I forget how much I love the word rad! No one ever uses it anymore…that one needs to come back around :P

Daddyselephant

…I misread “Adding cream changes” as “Adding cream cheese” and I was so SO CONFUSED

…and a little impressed by your ingenuity.

Dustin

I haven’t used the word rad in a long time, it just kinda came out. I bet it is going to make a comeback soon.

Ha! Now I’ll have to try cream cheese in my next cup! I love misreading things.

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drank Lemon French Macaron by Butiki Teas
1711 tasting notes

Wow! Just wow! This tea has an amazing lemon flavor! It’s like the crisp flavor you get from the peel of the lemon. That is the first thing I taste, then a creamy taste joins in a little later in the sip. It is a very macaroon flavor of lemon and it is hard to describe other than that. Adding sugar doesn’t seem to do much for this tea. I might like this better than lemon chiffon which has been the best tasting lemon tea I have had.

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 3 min, 0 sec

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drank Smoked Maple Banana by Butiki Teas
1711 tasting notes

I think I’m really liking this tea… which is really good because like a fool I mistakenly bought two ounces of this when I meant to buy one and only one ounce of Dusted Nutmeg, which I meant to buy two of. But enough of how I can’t even get my tea order straight…

I took a few sips before adding sugar and I could taste a really nice smoky flavor, but not much else. Once I added sugar, the banana and maple popped out. First thing I taste is smoky banana, then the smoke gives way to banana, then that gives way to maple with a little smoke lingering in the aftertaste. I love smoked things and I love banana flavoring, but I never thought to put the two together! Now I’m contemplating starting my smoker and trying to smoke slices of maple glazed bananas. This tea is really comforting and is helping me let go of the casting mistake I made in class today. Maybe my subconscious knew better when I was placing this order because I suspect this is going to be a tea that is hard to let go of!

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 1 min, 30 sec

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drank Blue Earl Grey Decaf by Zhi Tea
1711 tasting notes

I am really enjoying this as a decaf option! I can taste the bergamot, but I swear I’m tasting lavender as well. It tastes like a toned down version of their Violet Femme which is a super strong lavender EG that is also quite delicious. A little cream and sugar is making this a very nice evening dessert like cup.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 3 min, 0 sec

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drank Traktir by Kusmi Tea
1711 tasting notes

I thought I was in the mood for this tea, but I think I have to REALLY be in the mood for this tea. Not quite hitting the spot today. It is citrusy, smokey and earthy at the same time, which is a really nice and broad spectrum of flavors. I walked away from this cup and found it quite nice cold too when I cam back to it… but I’m still in the mood for something else today. But what?! I’m paralyzed by choice!

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 3 min, 0 sec
boychik

i have unopened tin of this.

Dustin

Have you tried it before?

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Having this again WAY too late in the day. I couldn’t resist. We’ll see if I regret it come bed time! Third steep FTW again! Third is my favorite cup. It’s like this tea gives it all it’s got on the third steep and is done. It gave out on the fourth steep the other day, but I’ll try again with this serving anyways.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 3 min, 0 sec

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Bio

My name is Dustin and I like tea.

I’m an added flavor kind of tea fan, but have had a growing appreciation for plain. I want my tea to remind me of cookies and cakes with coconut and almond slices with a hint of chocolate drizzled on top. I want dancing ponies and flying monkeys shooting off fireworks! And no hibiscus. Hibiscus is the devil.

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BA, CA, US

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https://www.instagram.com/dre...

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