Grapefruit Dragon

The smell of the leaves is strong! Like a very juicy grapefruit with a very slight grassy, meadow-like scent. It’s a really powerful smell, so I have this guy separated off from my other tea in fear of him scenting the others.

Brewed, the grapefruit smell tones down a lot and more of the green comes out. It smells to me like a really smooth grapefruit bread might! On the first sip I kind of got that too – almost a baked good sort of taste, reminds me of a very green meadow, creamy and nicely sweet on its own with a light grapefruit aftertaste and tart.

There’s an excellent balance between the Dragonwell and the grapefruit flavor (I was initially a little wary it might be as full-on juice-like as the dry smell was). This feels like a really natural sort of drink – something you’d want by your side whenever you’re surrounded by expansive gardens and greenery.

Sipdown, 197. This sample comes to me thanks to Stephanie!

I had a big meatball sub for late lunch, which influenced my tea choice this afternoon. I didn’t want anything too delicate, so I decided that a citrusy grapefruit would be a good palate cleanser. When the water hit this tea I was immediately somewhat surprised by the aroma that wafted up from the cup… very savory and buttery scented! After steeping the allotted time, it has a definite scent of grapefruit but not just the fruit, also the scent of the peel, the pith, and the leaves. It smells like a grapefruit tree!

The texture on this is really interesting and kind of weird! My mouth has gone kind of tingly. The first flavor I get I slightly buttery dragonwell, followed by a light but authentic grapefruit. Then the savory dragonwell comes back around and gives it a slightly roasted note, almost like a broiled grapefruit, before the numbing sensation takes over my mouth and I taste nothing. The sensation really reminds me of these particular greens we sometimes eat in Madagascar that we call “numb greens” because they numb your mouth when you eat them.

I have to say, my mouth doesn’t tingle or go numb when I eat a grapefruit, unlike apparently some other people who commented on this. I enjoy it other than the odd tingling, which is really strong enough for me that it masks any aftertaste of actual tea. I think I prefer the fresh, sweet greenness of Lupicia’s Grapefruit Green (sencha base) over the buttery, savory dragonwell here.

I’ve never had dragonwell before and this my first grapefruit tea as well.

I was expecting more grapefruit flavour but I get it both on dry leaf and in the liquor while sipping.

As many Butiki green teas, I find it better as it cools. The flavour is much more revealed.Really much more present !
I realize I never tried any BT iced…I think I should.

I really enjoy this one almost cold.

Thank you for sharing Sil !

Ooh, I like this. Grapefruit reminiscent of both the juice and the pith, with a definite tartness to it. For some reason, I was expecting a bit of heat in this too (dragon?) and while I get zero heat, I do have a faintly something-or-other chili/spice feel coming through in my mouth (which I like). While Bamboo-Pomelo tops my charts for grapefruit tea (or similarly flavored fruits), this is pretty darn yummy.

1.5 tsp in 12 oz.

This came to me thanks to QueenOfTarts!

Okay, I love grapefruit, and of course by some twist of fate I can’t eat grapfruit because of certain medications I’m on. And, of course, Fiance eats more grapefruit than is fair, so I’m so glad this is as good as it is and I don’t have to share!

The dry leaf smells subtely of grapefruit and I thought I got the tiniest amount of floral and grass, too. The floral disappears from the wet leaves, but the grapefruit is amped up.

The base is brothy and has that edamame beaniness that I really love about Dragonwell. And the grapefruit flavor is natural and dances across my tongue, and it’s juicy. Like really juicy. Then it gives way to the base and then resurges on the tail end with a tingle and a wave. The tingling on my tongue threw me off a little at first, but it’s that same tingle that comes with eating actual grapefruit.

The creaminess of the base with the flavor of realy grapefruit is so wonderful here. It’s like pairing that was just meant to be.

Unfortunately I drank it down before I could add sugar (oops), but as far as I’m considered it’s just about perfect now.

I’m kind of giddy from this one. It’s magical!

My willpower just caved so hard and I had to place an order. GAAAAAAAAAH.

Backlog:

I’m truly in awe of this tea – truly a treat to drink! The tart taste of the grapefruit and the dragon well base were meant to be together. Love that hit of tartness on the tongue at the end of the sip, yet it has a sweetness to it that just goes perfectly with everything else. Another tea with a beautiful colour when steeped.

Backlog from Monday.

I’ve never tried a grapefruit tea before, so this is one I’ve been interested in for a while. I chose it as a sample with my last Butiki order, purely because I prefer black and rooibos teas to green. In any case, if I like it, I’ll definitely buy more!

Today was a good choice for this, I feel. It might well be the last day of summer, and grapefruit green somehow feels like a summer tea. I let the water cool to about 180, and gave it about 2 and a half minutes.

Brewed, this smells really beautifully, delicately, of grapefruit. It’s augmented perfectly by a slight grassiness from the green base, which complements the sharpness of the grapefruit and seems almost sweet in comparison.

I’d never have believed tea could replicate the flavour of grapefruit to accurately, but there you go. Tasting is believing! Another great sample from Butiki!

Finally, a sipdown!
This one is from a box Sil sent to me quite some time back. I actually drank a whole pot of it, just so I could get a sipdown out of it, cuz Sil liked to send me ridiculous sized tea samples sometimes. I sweetened the last cup, and as I predicted in a previous post, it was transformed from a white grapefruit to a pink grapefruit.

THIS IS flavored green tea of my dreams. One sip and I was hooked. This is a re-order for me.

The grapefruit flavor was a little zingy but also delicate. The aroma was just delightful.

I have tried a few other grapefruit teas but then one is THE WINNER. If you are looking for a grapefruit tea THIS IS THE ONE TO GET!

Yum, yum, yum. I really can’t say enough good things.

Wow. This was the first of the wonderful parcel sent to me by Sil and what a first tasting! I’ve been drooli… I’ve been looking very hard, and very often, at the Butiki teas on offer at the moment, and this was one I didn’t even give a second look to, as I’m just not a big grapefruit fanatic. There wasn’t much smell from the dry leaves, as I oh-so-carefully measured them out, but the first sip had me shaking my head in disbelief about how good the tea I had not been interested in was. The green tea base is amazingly smooth and sweet grassy without being like, well, chewing on your lawn grassy, and the grapefruit flavour went through a variety of interesting notes without hitting a single bitter one. Amazing.

I had to run yesterday after drinking this, which is why I didn’t get a note on it, but I still had time to do three properly appreciated infusions. No way I’d have skimped on tasting tea this good. I’ll be making this again, and sharing this time with my younger daughter, because she’s interested enough to deserve a taste of this too. :P More notes to follow.