Thurbo Darjeeling

Sipdown.

Still not my favourite, but I really appreciate CrowKettle going halfsies on the sampler pack with me. :)

A nice light tea to have while I’m waiting for my stew to finish cooking.

Ok, this morning, I need Thurbo as in turbo, propeller, fast fuse, or what have you. Just give me energy please. This tea will hopefully help me stay grounded, as I have big plans!

I like this Thurbo, another tasty Darjeeling from Butiki. It’s a little spicy and astringent, lots of muscatel. All these big flavours peak for me at second infusion which is the best one in my opinion. Later, it gets a little woodsy.

Although my favourite Darj from Butiki remains Castleton Moonlight, I still feel this one is an excellent pick me up!

I have a special day planned with a very special friend of mine today. Having had serious health issues for several months now, it’s my first attempt at a real outing with a friend and though I am quite anxious about the whole thing, I am beyond excited…this means I am doing better :-)

I haven’t slept all night but that’s ok, I’m used to it and I know I can still manage to have a good time. What we have planned doesn’t require acute intellectual abilities anyways, lol:

1)Breakfast at our favourite restaurant
2)short girly shopping session – only shoes and tea are on the list
3)talk some more and have some tea in the afternoon

She is such a good caring friend, I know that no matter how I feel today, she’ll be there for me. She doesn’t know, but I have prepared a little tea gift for her. I took a giant mug and filled it with a bunch of tea samples from tea merchants she never tried (she only knows DavidsTea!)

Hope she likes it!

This is the last type left from the Butiki Darjeeling sampler I split with OMGsrsly. It’s the last because it’s the one I originally cared for the least.

My taste buds seem to have done a complete reversal, or maybe I’m finally acquiring a taste for Darjeeling teas, as I’m really loving this today. I’d like to think I’m maturing, and that it has nothing to do with the fact that Della Terra’s monstrous Pineapple Upside Down Cake sat in this same steeper cup just last night. That’s totally not why the veggie hay notes taste so honeyed today.

The spiced wood, the wispy hay, and the tart fruity notes are all this tea’s own though, and they make for a great flavor profile!

I REALLY enjoyed this today. I savored 2 steeps, one before and one after lunch. I could see myself getting into darjeelings! Despite my head cold I got lots of sweet grassy, flowery, hay like flavor from both steeps. Somehow it tasted like a sunny autumn meadow in a cup!

Thanks very much teamore for including this bonus sample in our swap :D

Sample Sipdown! (158) – Will my cupboard ever get under 100? At least I’ve got mostly everything in – there’s maybe just 1-2 swap packages out there and 0 orders.

So I am definitely getting the muscatel in this, and a lot of the fruity notes too. I don’t quite “get” Darjeelings yet as I don’t think I’d want this everyday, but I like it. It’s sweet, and hearty. There’s also grassy notes too. I keep thinking plum, but I don’t know if that’s supposed to be there. But yeah, plums wrapped in sweet grass/hay, with a touch of astringency – that’s this tea!

I’ll have to resteep it just to confirm this.

This is very grassy and slightly astringent – pleasantly so, in my opinion. Not my favorite Darjeeling, but still an enjoyable cup. Thanks for letting me try this one, Teamore!

Smells: sweet and earthy like freshly mown grass.

Taste: mellow and earthy, like hay and dirt.

Personal note: this tea marks the point at which I have begun to favour unflavoured tea, and I have ceased to add sugar.

I was afraid this might end up being a big cup of blandness considering how long I’ve had most of my Butiki collection, but after checking my order history it looks like I’ve only had this one for a year. Which is still not great, but better than it could be.

It didn’t smell all that strong while steeping (1.5 tsp, ~250ml of 90C water), but sipping revealed fruity, hay-like, and pleasantly musty flavors, and I started noticing some floral notes as it cooled. It had a lingering aftertaste of berries which I enjoyed, though I’m not sure whether that was entirely from the tea or if the apple-rosemary scone I was munching on had anything to do with it.

I’ve never properly gotten into Darjeelings, but I really liked this one! It reminded me of some kind of oolong, which certainly didn’t hurt.

Thank you to Marzipan for supplying me with this wonderful brew!

I bought under the premises of amazement and experience. I came into the “interweb tea loop” a little late to fully experience this companies products. I heard ravings from near and far about this company, and once I decided to check them out, they had already been closed. I was distraught over the news and to the thought of me not being able to experience their products. Luckily, I had a tea friend come to my rescue! I find it incredibly amazing that even after a company closes and shuts down their tea is still circulated around and raved about. I am a Darjeeling lover and saw this and knew that I needed to swoop.

Anyways, onward to the review of this merchandise miracle. I opened this small black bag to peek inside at my discovery. The small leaves are a variety of browns and ambers with little green shards. The scent of these dried leaves is something amazing. I always love Darjeeling tea most for their aroma. I am hit with the light atmosphere of a vineyard. I can hint at white grapes, ivy, and stone fruit. I dropped these valley scented leaves into my Tetsubin and began my steeping. The vineyard scent carried outwards and developed into a more grassy tone. The aroma inside my tea room was of late summer when everything had begun drying and becoming hot. I poured the golden liquor into my glassware. The initial sip is one that is sweet and succulent. The light honey notes blend with a “farmlike” sensation. It has a strong undertone of dried Ivy. I have enjoyed this tea and will be using it as my everyday black. I’m happy to have experienced it, i’m glad that I can do my part to keep the company living on.

So this tea was pretty good. It tasted more like a green tea than a black, but was sweet and grassy tasting. I’ve steeped it three times so far, and the second steep was the best tasting so far. I’ll probably keep going with it to see how the flavor evolves. I really prefer straight black teas that taste like black teas though, so I’ll probably end up trading this away to someone who will appreciate it more.