83
drank Fu Shou Shan by Butiki Teas
4169 tasting notes

This was one from the mystery box. Two ounces of this one leaves it pretty pricy! I didn’t really want to follow Butiki’s brewing instructions with this one since I’m used to using boiling water/ short steep times on oolongs these days. But I’ll try it their way and then my way another day. Should I mention I’ve been using a Finum basket I bought from Butiki! I love having two brew baskets so I can leave tea in both and not worry about cramming a second tea in one of the infusers that only holds a teaspoon. Before it was tough to figure out a second tea to have because it needed room for more than one teaspoon.

Steep #1 // 1 1/2 tsp // 25 min after boiling // 3 min steep
The dry leaves have a very fresh sweet scent to them. The flavor to me is very light, like I should have steeped it my way. At least I didn’t make it bitter! The flavor is a little milky, fruity, fresh, buttery, floral — not savory as much. Not as magical as I thought, considering the price.

Steep #2 // 7 min after boiling // 2 min
This cup certainly wasn’t ruined with these parameters, but it doesn’t seem like it was steeped perfectly. There was a hint of too-hot-temp flavor. But otherwise it’s more butter. Seems to be bordering on savory. I wish there was more depth to this one.

Steep #3 // just boiled // 2-3 min
This cup wasn’t ruined either, less oversteeped flavor than the last cup unless you count a little bit of a tanginess. Very tasty, almost addicting. Very buttery, just like the color of the cup. I think this one could keep going for many steeps. It’s a great oolong but not my favorite. If I knew the exact parameters to use for my tastes, it might help. I’ll try it again soon!

Edited to add: Another steep session: Tried again with one teaspoon, and it turned out much different, though I can’t say how. Also very consistent three steeps. There wasn’t any oversteeped flavor, even at boiling.
1 tsp // rinse // pretty close to boiling each time // 1 min // 1 1/2 min // 3 min

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Bio

Hi! I love tea and trying new ones – it adds a bit of variety to my day! Books, music, TV & movies are my thing… and tea, of course.

Some of my favorite tea shops (still operating):
birdandblendtea.com
teavivre.com
52teas.com
svtea.com
whisperingpinestea.com
justea.com
harney.com
Dammann Freres
fusionteas.com
Javateaco.com
Lupicia
Octaviatea.com
Davidstea
eco-cha.com
what-cha.com
singleoriginteas.com
teasenz.com
tealyra.com
Mandala
verdanttea.com

Favorite tea shops (RIP):
butikiteas.com
steapshoppe.com
steepcityteas.com
aquartertotea.com
dellaterrateas.com
zentealife.com
angrytearoom.com
theteamerchant.net
joysteaspoon.com
tealiciousllc.com
Rivertea
Specialteas

My icon photo is Richard Mayhew from the graphic novel ‘Neverwhere’ by Neil Gaiman, Mike Carey & Glenn Fabry.

Most of the teas listed in my cupboard are actually sample sizes. I don’t really have 2,000 ounces of tea around here! Many of my teas have only one teaspoon left… maybe two. But I like keeping them in my cupboard list for reference to what I could be sipping. Usually, I write tasting notes once for each tea. I’m still drinking them, just not writing tasting notes each time!

I’m always in search of: Hattialli, Qu Hao black, Jin Jun Mei, teas using marshmallow root.

My dislikes: hibiscus, ginger (unless in chai), turmeric, bee pollen, charcoal type flavors

My ratings:
95-100 – Super awesome deliciousness favorites – cupboard essential
80-95 – Also pretty delicious
65-80 – Pretty good
50-65 – Okay
1-50 – Probably won’t want to sip it again

I’m planning on being a Steepsterer as long as there IS a Steepster, so if you’re not hearing from me, that means something happened to my health… if you know what I mean. (Or as evidenced by the great computer hiatus of 2019, something happened to my computer… I have a dumb phone so can’t access internet on that. As of 12/20/21 my wifi might start getting unreliable.)

Happy sipping!

Location

USA

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