110 Tasting Notes

95

1 tbsp in 16oz + 1 tsp sugar

Really loved drinking this while teaching today. Like I said previously, I am not “into” flavored tea, but this one and Butiki’s almond just have such a natural and subtle flavor, that I just love them and will certainly make them staples.

Last time I thought of pancakes when I drank this, but today I thought of butter pecan (soy) ice cream. My favorite flavor!

Preparation
170 °F / 76 °C 4 min, 0 sec

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85

1 heaping tsp in 6oz. (This was about 1/3 of my 7g sample, so approx 2.3g)

The dry leaf wasn’t as golden as the Adagio Yunnan Gold that I used to drink like crazy, but the taste was very similar. That classic Yunnan flavor. Very nice version… smooth with barely any astringency. A great morning cup!

I have a sample from Adagio coming, since that was the tea I used to drink so much, I want to try it side-by-side and see what I discover.

(I did a 2nd steeping which was good too although less flavorful.)

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 2 min, 0 sec

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85

2 tsp in 8 oz

This is obviously the style of oolong that I’ve been looking for. Quite oxidized, but no “roasted” flavor. It is a finer version of the basic “Formosa Oolong” teas I used to drink. This is what I love to drink in the afternoon!

It is slightly more astringent than I like, but in every other way, I love this tea… A great, comforting flavor.

I will have to experiment with brewing and also try some more steeps. I went with 2 tsp for 8 oz this time (that was exactly half of my 7g sample, so 3.5g) and the longer brewing time. Next time, I will try the same amount but at just 2 minutes.

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 3 min, 0 sec
Lala

Happy to hear you finally found the tea that you were looking for.

Mercuryhime

I’m a big fan of steeping with cooler than recommended temps since I’m sensitive to potential harsh flavors in tea. Perhaps you might try that too. :)

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85
drank Gui Fei Oolong by Butiki Teas
110 tasting notes

2 tsp / 16 oz

Really enjoying this today. I swear so many things must impact the way one tastes tea, because every time I drink this, it’s different.

Today, I’m enjoying the lightness and very slight astringency of this tea. I note a roasted quality, but only very lightly. It’s really the style of oolong I like… medium oxidation, not too roasted. It has that natural sweetness similar to the taste of Wild Taiwanese Black and Mi Xian Black but in a lighter, crisper version.

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 4 min, 0 sec
looseTman

Have you tried 1 tsp per 6 oz? In the world of tea, a “cup” is typically a 6 oz teacup. Per Upton Tea Importers: “…industry standard of 2¼ grams per 6-ounce cup.”

And because loose tea varies is size and can be quite long, measuring with a teaspoon may not always provide 2¼ grams:
https://secure.uptontea.com/shopcart/information/INFOscaleUse.asp

Do you have a fast reading tea thermometer such as:
http://www.davidstea.com/thermometer-and-timer?&TF=3B9DBE9A142D&DEID
When I measure 6 oz of rapidly boiling water & pour into into a room-temperature mug, this thermometer shows the temperature quickly drops to 181*F. For a higher temp. I have to reheat the mug in a microwave.

Butiki Teas

looseTman-We use 8oz to equal a cup. I know that the tea industry tends to favor 6 oz though it really does vary from company to company. The reason we chose 8oz is because 8oz does equal 1 cup in measurement so its less confusing and because US customers tend to prefer larger amounts of tea. Our recommendations on our bags do specify the ounces used. I taste each tea with a variety of brewing instructions using standard kitchen measuring spoons and choose what I think would be the most palatable for the average person. We sometimes have gongfu instructions but I feel most people who use eastern style brewing already have their own brewing preference.

Butiki Teas

Rachel-When we get more of the Taiwanese Wild Mountain Black back in stock, I’m also going to be picking up an Oriental Beauty around the same time and will do a “I Love Leafhoppers” sampler set.

Rachel J

looseTman, Yes I know all about Upton’s instructions, haha! I used to order ALL my tea from them. I have a great thermometer I always use to check the temp. For this tea, I followed Butiki’s instructions. With other companies, the tea doesn’t always come out best with their instructions, but Stacy at Butiki has done a fantastic job. With her teas, I completely trust the instructions. :)

Stacy! Yes, that will be awesome. I am drinking Teavivre’s Oriental Beauty right now, and it is great, though speaking of brewing instructions, I’m going to try a shorter steep next time.

looseTman

Hi Stacy,
I always start by reading the brewing recommendations on the tea package. However, I’ve not yet had the pleasure of tasting your teas. Please note that I prefaced my comments with a question: “Have you tried 1 tsp per 6 oz?” And that I also said typically not always: “In the world of tea, a “cup” is typically a 6 oz teacup.”

My comments were only intended to offer assistance to Rachel’s tasting remark about brewing variability. I have no doubt that you’ll be able to answer all her questions. I’ve read many excellent comments about you and Butiki Teas on Steepster.

looseTman

Rachel, I read your tea tasting remark about brewing variability in an open forum and thought you were asking for possible solutions. I now see that was not the case.

Butiki Teas

looseTman-I hope my previous comment didn’t come off poorly. Rereading what I wrote the tone doesn’t come off how I meant it to. Sorry about that.

Rachel-Glad you found an oolong you like.

Rachel J

No problem, looseTman! With some teas, I have had trouble getting the brew just right, but with this one, when I say it tastes different every time, I think it’s just because of me… something unrelated to brewing variability. :)

Thanks for the comments!

Rachel J

Stacy, just wondering, do you think all Bai Hao’s get leaf-hoppers? Are some grown with pesticides? I wonder if that’s the difference between a good Bai Hao and a mediocre “Formosa Oolong”… Hmmm…

Butiki Teas

Rachel-The special character of Oriental Beauty is the flavor that comes from the leafhoppers biting the leaves and the plants healing. All Oriental Beauty teas should be leafhopper bitten. You would certainly be able to tell taste wise if they were not. I bet some companies choose not to mention the leafhoppers since it might turn away some customers knowing there are insects biting them. Formosa means Taiwan and was what the Portuguese named Taiwan. At one point all teas from Taiwan were called formosas. Certainly an Oriental Beauty could be called a formosa oolong.

Rachel J

Thanks for the info!

Butiki Teas

Rachel-You’re welcome. I saw your other question about Gui Fei and didn’t want to answer in that thread since you were addressing the question to another company but thought I might answer here since I didn’t want to step on any toes. All Gui Fei should be leafhopper bitten. This is a really new style of tea (1999) and came about after farms were abandoned due to an earthquake. Gui Fei uses the same cultivar that Dong Ding uses (Qing Xin) and is made using Dong Ding processing techniques.

Rachel J

Thanks, Stacy! I don’t remember asking about Gui Fei anywhere else! Appreciate this info, though. There is so much to learn, and I find it all quite fascinating.

Butiki Teas

No problem. It was in your oolong thread, posted 12 days ago but I just happened upon it today. Absolutely, and with tea the more I learn the more I realize that there is so much more to learn.

looseTman

Stacy. Thanks, that’s very kind of you. No problem – tone is frequently challenging in written communications for both the sender & receiver since it lacks the important nonverbal cues we all rely upon in our daily interpersonal communications.

I agree the word “cup” is frequently ambiguous when discussing tea. We’ve all been taught there’s 8 oz. in a cup since elementary school. But, the tea industry tradition has been 6 oz for a very long time. Specifying TEAcup / 6 oz. or 8 oz. should help.

I also agree that “US customers tend to prefer larger amounts of tea.” Thus, it would be very helpful if the US tea trade would come to a new consensus increasing the single-serving size of tea to reflect current tea consumption. However, tea is a global commodity. Would the rest of the world agree?

Butiki Teas

looseTman-I definitely need to pay more attention to that. Recently, I have had a bad habit of not even reviewing what I write due to the volume of emails that I respond to everyday. That is something I need to work on.

In some ways using 8oz as our standard for measurement hurts us because that means we claim less servings per ounce of tea since we do specify how many cups each ounce should provide. I like to use it since I feel its more accurate to our average customer, though 12oz is probably more accurate. I like 8oz also because I feel like it also might be less confusing to someone who is new to tea. We skip the whole “cup” issue and just say by how many ounces of water is needed. Especially, since there are a few teas that we only recommend eastern brewing for.

We do tend to cater more towards US and Canadian customers but that is also the vast majority of our customers, especially after the shipping increases from the USPS. Using liquid ounces at all is really geared more towards Americans since the rest of the world uses milliliters (liquid) and grams (dry).

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95
drank Mi Xian Black by Butiki Teas
110 tasting notes

Did an experiment… After using a heaping tablespoon to prepare about 18oz of tea yesterday, I put the used leaves in about 12oz of cold water in a mason jar in the fridge. Tasted it about 12 hours later, and it is a light but very tasty iced tea!

Since I don’t generally get around to trying a second steeping of my black teas on the same day, I think this might be a great way to get more out of the leaves. It was a seriously refreshing beverage!

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95
drank Mi Xian Black by Butiki Teas
110 tasting notes

Some people just don’t get it…

I shared a pot of this with my husband this afternoon. I told him to savor the tea and appreciate its unique flavor. He seemed to like it, but I could not for the life of me get him excited about it. I kept trying to lead him on to say it was amazing and stupendous, and he just kept saying, “it’s good, I like it!”

That’s it. No more tea for him! ;)

Tealizzy

LOL! That sounds like me and my husband. I think he’s getting sick of me shoving a steaming cup under his nose and asking, “Doesn’t that smell good?” :)

Butiki Teas

That sounds like my hubby too.

Mercuryhime

Exactly. My husband only gets teas I’m tired of or don’t like. He can’t tell the difference, I make space for better things, we save money on juice. Everyone wins! I win twice. :)

Rachel J

Hahaha… Excellent. I think I’ll adopt your system.

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90

1 tbsp (a little scant) in 16 oz

Really glad I picked up some of this. I’m not usually one for flavored tea, but based on reviews and the flavors I like, I decided to try this and Butiki’s Maple Pecan Oolong.

The flavoring in this is sooooo pleasant! Subtle but very present. For me, it needed a tsp of sugar (for the 16oz) to complement the flavoring but not because the tea was bitter or astringent at all.

I will have this when I want a comforting cup that’s not too fancy. :)

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 4 min, 0 sec
Terri HarpLady

that’s on my list for my next butiki order!

Rachel J

You will not be disappointed!

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100

1 heaping tbsp in 18 oz

I am SO HAPPY that I got the last ounce of this from Stacy this week. It will be hard to stretch it until more is available.

As I said before… smooth and sweet, like no other tea I’ve tasted. To me, it is a rounder, more luscious tea than the Mi Xian black.

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 4 min, 0 sec
Bonnie

Hmmmm!

Bonnie

Dumb spellchecker changed yummmmm to hummmmmm!

Rachel J

Yummmmm indeed! :)

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95
drank Mi Xian Black by Butiki Teas
110 tasting notes

Ahhh… Received an ounce of this today as well as an ounce of Wild Mountain. Since I’d only had the one cup sample of this before and just had the Wild Mountain the other day, I decided to try this first.

It really is a beautiful tea. So smooth and light but full of flavor. It is similar to the Wild Mountain, but to my very unsophisticated palate, this one seems a bit “brisker”.

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 3 min, 30 sec

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95

1 1/2 tsp in 8oz

Exactly as good as I expected it to be based on the reviews. I found a touch of sugar really enhanced the flavor for me. I’m still not sure I would make a habit out of flavored tea (even one as great-tasting as this one), but I’m really glad I got some of this. What more can I say, it tastes exactly like maple and pecan. Great, now I want pancakes.

Preparation
170 °F / 76 °C 4 min, 0 sec

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Profile

Bio

I happily reside in Park Slope, Brooklyn with my husband, our baby son, and our dog. I teach over 40 piano students per week at my home studio and created “Fundamental Keys”, a classical piano method book and video series.

My husband and I are vegan and have been for about 8 years. We are enjoying bringing up our little one in the vegan tradition!

I went through a major tea phase some years ago (2006-2009) and had quite a collection and tasted hundreds of varieties. Then I went off caffeine when I decided to have a baby, and after he was born I got into a nasty coffee habit. Now I’ve come back to tea, thank goodness. I’m finding my tastes have changed quite a bit since my first go at tea fanaticism. Really enjoying some of the amazing and deliciously complex teas I’ve learned about through Steepster!

Location

Brooklyn

Website

http://about.me/rachelj

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