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Stacy sent this as a sample with one of my previous Butiki orders. Thanks!

This tea is quite nice. The first steep is heavily spinachy, with a touch of sweetness and a smooth, buttery mouthfeel. There’s a pleasant apricot note that comes out at the end of the sip. Citrus notes really pop out in the second steep, leaving a minty fresh aftertaste. I didn’t feel up to a third steep, but I suspect this tea would take it well.

I abandoned this mug after making it and learned that this tea is actually better cold than hot. The citrus flavor really comes out and makes for a nice, refreshing drink. Good for summer, but also a nice accompaniment to a Mediterranean meal any time of year.

Thanks for the taste, oOTeaOo!

EDIT: This yields a nice second steep.

I got this from BrewTEAlly Sweet‘s stash sale. I really enjoyed it as a full-bodied cinnamon tea that held up easily to 3 steeps. I didn’t pick up on the tulsi at all :( I really enjoyed this, but I’m not sure if it would make it into the regular rotation.

Thanks to whatshesaid for the sample!

I liked this more than I expected to. I am not a big fan of coconut flavor, but the coconut in this tea is very natural and well complemented by the creaminess. The base tea also comes through nicely. I got two good steeps out of it, with the second revealing greater depth and complexity. This won’t go on my shopping list, but I would recommend it to coconut fans.

I’m having this as my breakfast tea this morning. I actually fainted at work yesterday in the middle of presenting something. It was mortifying. Now I’m dreading the fallout and don’t really want to go in. But since I have no choice about that, I decided to fortify myself with one of my favorite teas. I accidentally steeped it at 180 instead of 165, but it still came out wonderful. Dead on flavor. Not too sweet or artificial tasting. Soothing and invigorating at the same time. All around a great cuppa.

This is the end of my sample from BrewTEAlly Sweet (thanks!), but it’s not a sipdown because I picked up two ounces during the Black Friday sale.

Meh. I was hoping for a more chai-like experience. The flavor here is just straight rooibos with a strong clove oil element. Oh well. Luckily I only had the one sachet.

Hanukkah tea for the eighth night of Hanukkah! Actually, I’ve been drinking it all holiday, but I was waiting to reach my 200th note to post about it. This tea was my 100th tasting note, too, so you can tell it’s really something special.

I have had so much trouble getting away from the apple-cinnamon aspect of this. I do love that flavor, but I’ve been wanting to tease out the brothy flavor too. Adding salt somehow wasn’t doing the trick. Finally I just added salt right into the steeper while I was brewing and boy howdy did that do it. Potato-y, savory goodness. Of course now that I’ve succeeded in my effort and thoroughly enjoyed a brothy cup, I want a sweet one! Mmm, with sufganiyot (fried jelly donuts). Yup, that’s totally what I’m having next.

Happy Hanukkah!

This. Is. Amazing. Stacy included this as a sample in my last order and it kind of languished in my cupboard for a while. I chose it tonight on a lark – I was initially planning to have an oolong. I’m SO glad that I had this instead. Ok, enough gushing. On to the actual tasting note.

This tea is so delicate and smooth. The first steep is sweet and sort of wet grassy. The end of the sip is definitely floral. I did not pick up on any of the tart cherry notes.

I did a second steep at 180 F. I didn’t time it but the steep was about 6 minutes. Fantastic. This bark note came out, in perfect balance with a green pea note. The finish is a little bit tart on this steep. The aftertaste builds to almost a maraschino cherry flavor. I’m not a huge fan of cherry anything, but this is really working for me.

I wish I had tried this sooner – now that I’ve placed my Black Friday orders, I won’t be placing any additional orders for quite some time. :-(

Alas, I both underleafed and oversteeped this morning. Not by much, but enough to be noticeable. It’s a bit weak and a bit astringent. I usually go for just under boiling temp, but tried 180° F today. It really brought out the rose flavor wonderfully. So not a total loss, just not perfect. Still one of my favorite teas!

Thanks for the sample with my order, Stacy!

The long, fuzzy needles are so cool looking. I agree with tigress_al that this is a very light tasting tea. On the first steep, I picked up floral and green bean notes. It doesn’t taste weak per se, but it’s too light for my taste. The second steep is better for me – thicker mouthfeel, stronger green bean note that I’m strangely enjoying. I think I might just prefer more robust flavor in my straight teas – perhaps a longer initial steep would have been good.