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Third white tea of the day – I’ll have to pick out something else to try after this one. Although, maybe I’ll take a nap first – I think all this tea sipping has put me into a serenely relaxed and sleepy mood.

This blend came to me from RiverTea as part of my prize package for winning their “What would you do for 100g of your favourite tea” contest. First time I smelled it was prior to reading the ingredients list, and I was just so confused by what I was smelling. Don’t get me wrong – it smelled incredibly and sweet and kinda caramel like but there was other stuff too that I just couldn’t put a handle on.

Dry, I got notes of caramel and something floral. There was also something very fruity about the blend, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. It smells incredibly fresh. This is probably one of the weirdest comparisons I’ve used thus far (and only people who play Pokemon will probably get it). But if I had to describe the smell – I’d say it’s bang on for what I imagine the Pokemon move Sweet Scent would smell like. Basically, this gentle kind of breezy aroma with a delicate but full bodied sweetness to it.

I’ve read the ingredients list now – and I can say it sorta makes sense. It’s a very interesting compilation of ingredients and I don’t think I’ve seen or heard of another tea that encompasses this sort of combination (let alone tried one). If I was shopping online, I’m not totally sure if this is something I would have wanted to try for myself but now that I have it and have smelled it, it seems like the perfect blend for me!

I think it’s obvious I’m getting the caramel type smell from the mulberries similar to how I get that out of DAVIDsTEA’s gold rush, and now that I know what they are I totally see how there’s apple and papaya in the blend. Although, it’s not a granny smith or any kind of green apple type smell – it’s that juicy red delicious or gala apple kind of smell! And, the jasmine makes sense too – it’s just weird smelling it alongside caramel or juicy gala apples, so I think that’s part of what threw me in the scent.

For steeping, I used 2 tsp. of leaf in 8 oz. of water, steeped for 4 minutes (the high end of the suggested spectrum) in about 70 degree water – very close to what RiverTea recommends. I should have used a clear mug but instead I just used the dark red one I’ve been using all day – so I can’t really see the colour of the liquor. The smell is very delicate; much more so than in the dry leaf. There’s fragile notes of caramel (mulberries), gala type apple, papaya, and muddled marigold/jasmine. The white tea base is also present in smell, but it’s quite gentle and delicate as well.

In taste, the first thing I noticed was the mulberry/notes of caramel. It was very similar to Gold Rush, but then I was kind of flooded with a whole other group of flavour notes that make the two really different. My immediate thought was actually “Hmm, I bet VariaTea would love to try a cup of this” (probably because of your review on Gold Rush from earlier today). The next thing I noticed was the apple, and then the papaya. In an incredibly gentle and delicate was I was reminded of a candy apple – and yes, a candy apple not a caramel one. Even though there’s caramel notes present, I’m getting sweet candy apple with that rock hard but yummy red coating and then caramel in addition to that. Does that make sense?

The jasmine and other floral aspects are here, but they do a great job of blending in with the other flavour notes so they’re not obvious and instead create a sensory experience with a lot of depth and layers. Definitely not perfumey. This almost feels, to me, as subtly complex and gentle yet powerfully flavourful as many of the Butiki blends I’ve tried. Maple Pecan oolong and Cantaloupe & Cream come to mind (not in similar flavours – but in the way they’re powerful in flavour and have a layered taste profile while not being cloyingly sweet and retaining a gentleness).

I believe it was KittyLovesTea who is the other person (that I know of) who received this blend too, so I’m excited to see her take on in since she’s likely the only other person who’ll have the chance to try it before they launch. I’m really enjoying this cup though – and I’m excited to resteep and see what else I get from the leaves.

I’m happy I had the time today to sit down and review this properly and fully appreciate it!

EDIT: Resteeped, and while this isn’t too bad it hasn’t held up exceptionally well to a resteep which is sorta disappointing. Mostly, I’m getting the apple notes from before and the white tea base. I’m sipping while eating some apple slices with peanut butter, which is enjoyable. Not a bad cup though, just not as good.