I was born and raised in New York City, but spent enough time in India to consider both places my home. That’s one thing you should know about me. Another thing you should know about me is that mango is one of my favourite things on this planet.
So. When I was little, we used to go to India a lot during the winter, because Mum and I always had long winter holidays (she was a teacher). One year, we decided to go during the summer for whatever reason, and that was one of the most memorable visits of my life. I had never experienced a proper monsoon season before, and it was incredible! Okay, yes, it was a tad inconvenient that your clothes are never dry, no matter what, for two months; the constant dampness can feel a little icky. But the way the rain transforms the landscape, wow, it’s just beautiful. I really wanted to take some video (I was obsessed with my camcorder around that time), but there was no way for me to keep it dry, so I just have my memories.
Anyway. My uncle was really thrilled that we were there during the summer. Do you know, he exclaimed, that we have over 40 varieties of mango? And I’m going to get them for you. And he took his shopping bag and marched out of the house. He didn’t exactly return with 40 varieties, but he did find quite a few during his short expedition around our Bombay neighbourhood. There were little ones that you eat regularly, there were fibrous ones and non-fibrous ones, and there were even huge ones the size of a papaya that were so juicy that you consumed them by sticking in a straw and simply squishing the mango as you drank. And I’m sure you can guess what happened next. Yes, exactly: I ate them all.
The next morning, I was brushing my teeth and I glanced up at the mirror. I’m not given to surprised exclamations, and wasn’t even at that age, so first my eyes got wide as saucers, and then I burst out laughing, and then I ran off to find my mum. You see, I was orange. It wasn’t until years later that I learned about the science behind that in school; at the time, I was just thrilled that I was orange all over. My uncle, who has the deepest dimples you’ve ever seen and laughs like Ernie from Sesame Street, burst into his typical khee-khee-khee-khee laughter when he saw me, which only set me off again. Mum, mind you, was less than amused, and wouldn’t let me eat any more mangos.
Thus endeth my best mango story. Now I reckon we should talk about this tea, eh? =)
Monosyllabic summary: Wow.
Somehow, Butiki Teas have made a vegan rooibos blend smell and taste like mango lassi. As far as I’m concerned, Stacy is some sort of magician. The fragrance and flavour are spot-on, not just for the mango flavour, but for mango lassi. There is no chemical note to the mango, it smells and tastes like either the fruit or a candy (sometimes like one, sometimes like the other), but natural in both cases. I don’t have any complaints about this one. The only thing I want to try next time is adding a bit of milk to bring out that creaminess even more.
I only have an ounce of this, so it must have been a freebie with one of my orders, during one of Butiki Teas’ “free ounce of your choice” promotions. I must reorder it so I can guzzle this without guilt, and with the reassurance that there’s more in the cupboard.
Tea amount: 1.5 tsp/~7g
Water amount: 6oz/~175mL
Additives: 1 tsp/~4.75g Demerara sugar
Mum, by the way, liked the tea, but neither smelled nor tasted mango lassi. Considering she has sharp senses while I often feel like mine are quite dull, I don’t understand how that’s possible, but there y’go. So in spite of my enthusiasm and conviction, I have to add that your mileage may vary.
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Loved the story, Nik. It reminded me of a story my grandpa told me once: he very much wanted to get into the air force in WW2, but his eyesite was bad. Someone told him carrots would help his eyes, so he proceeded to eat so many over the next few day that he turned orange. :)
Yes! lol! Oh, that cracks me up, such a sweet story.
Great story! Wow, what a compliment! :)
I have been desperately wanting to try this tea since I heard about it just a few days ago! Great review, Nik!
Nik I LOVED your story!!! Please write more like this one!!! And I know about more mango’s just living for a short time in Puerto Rico where there are apple mango’s, pear mango’s, mango’s with all sorts of different flavors and sizes. Who knew?!
Thanks, everybody! Oh, Bonnie, I wish I had fun stories to share all the time like you do! But I will try and share more as I think of them. =)
Great story, Nik!!
I also love mangos, plain, in salads with avocado, and also in a bowl, drizzled with coconut milk & crystallized ginger…yum. Now I wish I would have included some of the Mango Lassi tea in my latest Butiki Order!
Namaste Nik! You and Sita must be kindred spirits when it comes to mangoes. I love mango lassi as a treat when we eat Indian out. Nothing quite like the heat of India is there? I’ll have to pick some of this up for Sita to try.
Great review.
Serenity, I’m going to need to add that to my list of pies to try! The list now contains two: the mango pie and the one that started it all, Terri’s vegan chocolate one. Thanks for the link! =)
Terri, thanks! I’ve never had it drizzled with coconut milk and crystallized ginger, that sounds quite good. Jason, thanks for the kind words, hope Sita ends up liking this as much as I do.
There’s an awesome dessert they serve at a local Thai restaurant called Halohalo, which is a bowl of sweet coconut milk with little cubes of coconut milk jello floating around, jackfruit, different kind of coconut & other mysterious, but delicious, things in it. I’ve made my own version that includes mango, young coconut flesh (after I drilled holes to drink the juice…I have a drill bit dedicated for coconuts), etc.
Then there’s that awesome mango sticky rice dessert…
Nik I love this tea cause I’m with you on it. T only disturbing thing for me is that its hot. However I did try cold brewing it and its uh not as awesome as the hot brew. So yeah. Lol
Terri, Halohalo sounds amazing, I’m definitely going to have to look that up!
Sil, you know what? Drinking fruity teas hot totally weirds me out. Every single time, I think to myself that it’s weird, what I’m doing, and that I want to try it cold-brewed or iced and see how it is. Even with the Blueberry Afternoon tea I tried recently, even though I realised that I actually liked it hot, I still had that moment where I was like hmm, this is weird. Except with Mango Lassi. I was so busy nomnomnom’ing after each sip (literally—I think I was starting to get on Mum’s nerves) that I actually didn’t even get a chance to think heeeey, nobody drinks mango lassi hot, this is weird! So that’s another huge point in this blend’s favour. :D
I love the story!
Thank you!
Great story Nik, it makes me want to go out and buy mangoes to eat. Not so many that I turn orange, but maybe one or two…at a time. The best mangoes I’ve ever tried were in Trinidad. They were so juicy that I couldn’t eat them without it running down my arms. I’ve never had the ones that you eat with a straw, but oh yum, that sounds fantastically delicious. Thanks for sharing your story.
Mm mango and mango lassi really are some of life’s treasures…Thank you for this wonderful story!
Nik, it’s a long time now we haven’t see you on steepster, hope everything is ok and to see you back soon
I miss Nik!
I’m gonna go over to FB & tell Nik, “we miss you”
i sent a note to Nik the other day and never heard back…guess life is busy or something
Please tell him I miss him on here too!
MISSING NIK!
me too! I miss his stories
Loved the story, Nik. It reminded me of a story my grandpa told me once: he very much wanted to get into the air force in WW2, but his eyesite was bad. Someone told him carrots would help his eyes, so he proceeded to eat so many over the next few day that he turned orange. :)
Yes! lol! Oh, that cracks me up, such a sweet story.
Great story! Wow, what a compliment! :)
I have been desperately wanting to try this tea since I heard about it just a few days ago! Great review, Nik!
Nik I LOVED your story!!! Please write more like this one!!! And I know about more mango’s just living for a short time in Puerto Rico where there are apple mango’s, pear mango’s, mango’s with all sorts of different flavors and sizes. Who knew?!
Thanks, everybody! Oh, Bonnie, I wish I had fun stories to share all the time like you do! But I will try and share more as I think of them. =)
Two words: Mango. Pie. http://www.holycowvegan.net/2012/11/mango-pie-because-cow-turns-five-only.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+HolyCowVeganRecipes+%28Holy+Cow%21+Vegan+Recipes%29
Great story, Nik!!
I also love mangos, plain, in salads with avocado, and also in a bowl, drizzled with coconut milk & crystallized ginger…yum. Now I wish I would have included some of the Mango Lassi tea in my latest Butiki Order!
Namaste Nik! You and Sita must be kindred spirits when it comes to mangoes. I love mango lassi as a treat when we eat Indian out. Nothing quite like the heat of India is there? I’ll have to pick some of this up for Sita to try.
Great review.
Serenity, I’m going to need to add that to my list of pies to try! The list now contains two: the mango pie and the one that started it all, Terri’s vegan chocolate one. Thanks for the link! =)
Terri, thanks! I’ve never had it drizzled with coconut milk and crystallized ginger, that sounds quite good. Jason, thanks for the kind words, hope Sita ends up liking this as much as I do.
There’s an awesome dessert they serve at a local Thai restaurant called Halohalo, which is a bowl of sweet coconut milk with little cubes of coconut milk jello floating around, jackfruit, different kind of coconut & other mysterious, but delicious, things in it. I’ve made my own version that includes mango, young coconut flesh (after I drilled holes to drink the juice…I have a drill bit dedicated for coconuts), etc.
Then there’s that awesome mango sticky rice dessert…
Nik I love this tea cause I’m with you on it. T only disturbing thing for me is that its hot. However I did try cold brewing it and its uh not as awesome as the hot brew. So yeah. Lol
Terri, Halohalo sounds amazing, I’m definitely going to have to look that up!
Sil, you know what? Drinking fruity teas hot totally weirds me out. Every single time, I think to myself that it’s weird, what I’m doing, and that I want to try it cold-brewed or iced and see how it is. Even with the Blueberry Afternoon tea I tried recently, even though I realised that I actually liked it hot, I still had that moment where I was like hmm, this is weird. Except with Mango Lassi. I was so busy nomnomnom’ing after each sip (literally—I think I was starting to get on Mum’s nerves) that I actually didn’t even get a chance to think heeeey, nobody drinks mango lassi hot, this is weird! So that’s another huge point in this blend’s favour. :D
I love the story!
Thank you!
Great story Nik, it makes me want to go out and buy mangoes to eat. Not so many that I turn orange, but maybe one or two…at a time. The best mangoes I’ve ever tried were in Trinidad. They were so juicy that I couldn’t eat them without it running down my arms. I’ve never had the ones that you eat with a straw, but oh yum, that sounds fantastically delicious. Thanks for sharing your story.
Mm mango and mango lassi really are some of life’s treasures…Thank you for this wonderful story!
Nik, it’s a long time now we haven’t see you on steepster, hope everything is ok and to see you back soon
I miss Nik!
I’m gonna go over to FB & tell Nik, “we miss you”
i sent a note to Nik the other day and never heard back…guess life is busy or something
Please tell him I miss him on here too!
MISSING NIK!
me too! I miss his stories