So, I’ll be honest when I grabbed this one I was definitely 100% hoping it would be comparable to Butiki’s Watermelon Xylophone blend which was so beloved here on Steepster, and which was a personal favourite of mine as well.
Now – I didn’t expect it to be the same. That would just been too high of an expectation to put on this tea, and Anne in general. However, similar? That would have been great!
You know what though? When I cracked open the fresh bag of this one, the smell was EXACTLY like the fresh, soft and slightly creamy watermelon notes in Butiki’s fantastic blend! I could close me eyes, take a BIG whiff and I swear it would be indistinguishable. I was suddenly infinitely more excited about this tea…
The taste of the steeped tea is actually fairly similar too – the watermelon notes in this tea and Butiki’s feel like they could be the exact same thing, though considering my last experiences with Butiki’s blend were finishing off some very old leaf this blend has a lot more freshness to it, in regard to flavour. It’s not just watermelon though, and I think it’s important to remember that – because if you go into drinking this tea expecting an exact Butiki replicate you’ll be disappointed. The flavour of papaya is definitely present, and while I often consider papaya to be a very mild/weak flavour I think it’s just as strong as the sweet, juicy watermelon notes. I think the pairing works well though, and it gives it this really light, unimposing tropical spin.
Another difference is that the white base for this tea isn’t just silver needle – so it’s a little less delicate than a Silver Needle base would have been. More of as assertive hay flavour, for sure. Still really pleasant though! Has a soft cream to it, and some peachy elements.
Overall, I like this one a lot! I think it does satisfy the part of me that was just looking for a Butiki replacement, but it’s also a great stand alone tea blend too. I’m very glad I took the gamble and got a larger size of this one.
