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My first experience with this tea was probably 7 years ago, by now. At the time, I was working at a local gift store, and they would often hire international students to practice their English. We often had Japanese students as that was one of the colleges the shop partnered with, and plus, we get tons of Japanese tourists. So win win for all. Anyways, the first of these students I worked with, right when I started, was a sweet girl named Yuka. We only worked a short time together, but when she left, she gave me a mini tin of this tea. And while I was a tea fan way back then, and before that, brewing green tea at home was never my strong suit. I was fortunate to have some green teas that were very forgiving, though genmai cha was a favourite, and I drank that the most (and it was fairly forgiving). When I made this tea, I wanted to love it. I wanted to enjoy it, but I didn’t. I can’t remember truly what I disliked about this tea back then, but it was probably that it was bitter, and thus (retrospectively) user error. I seem to think that the cherry flavour was not that prominent either. Whatever it was, it kept me away from buying it for a LONG time. Til today, in fact. I was talking with one of the girls at the shop and she did confirm that it can be a finicky tea, and overbrew very easily. She suggested no more than 2 minutes to steep. I smelled it in the tin, that was filled to the brim. Ahhh, sooo good! I just had to try it again, and hope that with my gained skills and experience over the years, but more importantly, my variable temp kettle and kitchen timer, would give me success this time.

So, I decided to make this (from the 5 new green teas I got today) when I got home. I chose this one because I had my first wheatgrass shot, and anticipated it being awful (it was) I had a chaser prepared. My chaser was pomegranate juice. Then this tea. I set the temp on my kettle to 180F (it only measures in F) though it might have cooled off a little more as it took a few minutes before I actually poured the water into my mug and infuser. I let it steep for 2 minutes, and added a little bit of organic cane sugar. Oh sweet cherry! Though the sourness is just at the back of my throat after I sip. I found it got fruitier after it cooled a little more. This one seems like it will cold brew well. Looking forward to warmer weather to do that.

So, I am very glad I decided to try this one again. I am sure I will enjoy the rest of my mini tin…though I know a few people who will likely be getting some in their next tea box from me. :)

This is the second tea from A Quarter to Tea that I have tried so far. This was a sample, whereas the other was a regular bag. At first sip, I was like, “oh no, it’s a bit astringent…I should have added milk as I had originally thought to” but then as it cooled a little, I got a really smooth and warm caramel tea. It almost reminded me of Butiki’s Caramel Vanilla Assam, only the chestnut was a bit warmer with the caramel than the vanilla. I’ve got just one serving left, so I might try a wee bit with milk to see how it holds up, before adding it to the whole brew. I worry it might overpower this milder tea, but on the other hand, it might make this more decadent. Wishing I hadn’t waited so long to order, as this is pretty much gone now.

This was my first tea to try from this company. I used a little over a teaspoon, and found it to be very mild. The instructions say to use 1-2 teaspoons, so next time I will try 2 teaspoons. I did get a little spiced buttery feel, but not much on the vanilla or pear. Hoping the increase in leaf will bust out a bit more flavour.

This was sent to me by a friend, along with an awesome haul of hair products she was desperate to get rid of, in exchange for me sending her teas to try (as she is getting ion tea more now since she stopped drinking coffee as much). She listed the few she had from this local merchant (to her), and most had ingredients I could not do, but I picked this one and two others to try, even though this is a rooibos. She had said this one was not as woody as some, and she is right. There is , iirc, a wee bit of hibiscus in this blend, but it’s actually ok, and used very very moderately. I’d have to say it was actually quite tasty, though I did add milk to it, which I think helped cut out some of they woody aspect of the rooibos. I don’t think she is on Steepster yet, just lurking for now, but once she gets my package o tea, she’ll have quite enough to enter into a cupboard and make notes on.

So yeah, rooibos and hibiscus in this one, and I actually like it! It just goes to show that sometimes you have to step out of your comfort zone to try something new every now and again. Thanks Tara!

This was the only one I think I wanted to try from the new collection. So, it tastes pretty good, but the most I can taste are the spices…the ginger is dominant. I can barely taste the fruits. I’ll probably get more of this. But I will have to be watchful of the SA because she tried to give me 18g when I asked for 10g.

Backlog…I had this two days in a row, just one steep each, but each steep was the same leaves. I could not remember if this was a pu erh or a black, but upon tasting, I got really lovely thick and chocolatey notes, with a little bit of spice. It was really a pleasure to drink, and I need to try some in my gaiwan at some point. Though my gaiwan is so tiny that it hardly bears making anything in it because I only have the teeny weeny cups (3) or a regular tea cup size (and it would take like 2-3 steeps of the gaiwan to fill the tea cup). I think I need to find a drinking vessel somewhere in the middle, though I might just get a new gaiwan…I had no idea it was so small when I got it…but it is super cute and I love the design.

Anyway, many thanks to OMGsrsly for sharing this with me. It is really spectacular!

Shae sent me some of this because it is on my wish list and something that she ordered…only she didn’t realize my wish list includes things I want to reorder at some point, and this is one of them. Only I have not had any in simply AGES, so it was refreshing to be able to try some again at long last, and yep, it’s still a pretty fantastic tea, albeit a little more artificial tasting than I remember it being…either it has been rebounded/reformulated or my taste buds have changed to some of their teas. I do still really like this one, and I should keep like 25-50g on hand, as it is a nice evening tea since it is caffeine free, and especially comforting at this time of year when we are being blasted with gusty winds and rain…

Many thanks again to Shae for sharing this with me and reminding me how much I like it.

Sipdown…I think this came from Delirium Frogs? I was happy to try another Butiki Tea…and I seem to recall this one being compared to the one that came in the Amoda Christmas box a few years ago. I can’t recall how this compares, but I think it is pretty similar.

I think this one had a nice balance of green tea, with cream and spice. I will say that I did not like it as much as it got cooler. It became a little more bland. I’m really happy to have tried this.

Sipdown…this tea smells amazing. Sadly, it does fall a little short on taste. It’s not bad, and I might look at getting more, but it is not a priority.

I was sent two bags of this tea to try from Shae…she remembered that I liked honeybush, and sent this my way. The orange is a little bit creamsicle, but I’m ok with that. I did end up adding milk at the end, which added to the creamsicle-ness.

I have one more bag. I may have it, or I may pass it on to a friend…not sure yet. But I like it. I probably would not get more, because it is not that different than something I can get locally.