When I first opened this package, I definitely could smell the apples, but I also got a scent of something that I didn’t like, which I am guessing is the clove. I don’t really like the smell of cloves. This is my first guayusa, so I wasn’t sure what the smell was until I read this tea contained clove powder. The tea is steeping right now, and I wanted to write this down quickly before I tasted it. I am not sure if I will like this based on the smell. It is almost done steeping.
The pot is done steeping. This definitely smells like a light, spicy cider. However, I can still smell the clove, which does not make me optimistic about this tea.
I waited for my mug to cool a little bit before tasting it. I can taste a light apple note and a whole lot of spice. Maybe I am just hypersensitive to clove, but it almost seems a bit overpowering to me. Like I said, I get a light apple note, and then I feel like that gets overpowered by the clove, which is the taste that remains in my mouth.
Seeing as I do not like cloves and that is the primary taste I am getting, I am going to rate this tea half way between the yellow face with the slanted mouth and the face with the smile. That is how I feel about it. I will definitely finish my mug, but compared to the other teas I have from Butiki, this is my least favorite so far.
If you are someone that enjoys cloves, you will probably really like this tea!
I would just like to note that I removed my rating from this tea. After thinking about it, I’m not sure it is fair for me to rate this tea poorly. Had I read the description more carefully, I would have known it contained cloves. I didn’t want my rating to bring down the overall rating of the tea.