Sansia Black

Triple sipdown! I’m on fire. This was starting to show its age so it was a good idea to focus on it rather than letting it sit. Not long ago I was at around 110, so to now be down to 92 is pretty awesome.

Mmm, I do like Taiwanese blacks. I steeped this in a pyrex measuring cup so I could pour it into my travel tumbler. :) 3g of tea, 8oz boiling water, first steeping a little over 3min, second steeping 5min, mixed together.

Medium, bread-y maltiness. Honey sweetness. Dried fruits – raisins, prunes? Tasty. :)

Method:
~3tsp/10oz
Preboiling
First steep: 2min
Second steep: 3min

The first steep is very fruity and bright with notes of stone fruit, raisins, honey, and a heavy malt/caramel aftertaste. Most of what I taste here is fruit. It’s tart and has this bitter-nut-skin quality to it that’s not overly bitter or unpleasant. I don’t think I’ve ever eaten chestnut or had many things flavored like it, but it reminds me very much of SOT’s Candied Chestnut, so I suppose that’s the flavor I’m having trouble naming. There’s a hint of sourdough as well. The second steep also contains notes of chestnut, honey, and plums, though it is comparatively light. Slight caramel aftertaste, not much in the way of malt or chocolate. I will try the recommended 3:30 steep next time to see if I can coax a deeper and maltier flavor profile.

Enjoyed this one! Can’t write a detailed note as it was a couple days ago and I think I’m confusing the flavour profiles of a few different teas, but I definitely enjoyed it, and I seem to recall thinking it was along the same lines as PTA, though not as good (AKA raisiny, etc.). Quite happy with the purchase, though.

Sipdown (110)!

Celebratory Butiki sipdown because I quit Dollarama!

This was in my timolino, and unfortunately at a weirded luke warm temperature by the time I got to it, but still I thought it tasted very good. Like a lot of the straight blacks I’ve had recently, it was really naturally sweet with a wide range of fruitier notes, and then a bit of a caramel/honey quality to it. Looking at what others have written, I can see how baked bread notes could have been in there too, maybe more a French Bread with more sweetness to it?

I wanted to resteep, but tre tossed out the leaves I had sitting on the dishwasher in the strainer during a cleaning spree while I was out. Oh well. I am really happy I had the chance to try it! So thank you muchly VariaTea!.

Caramel, honey, silky, smooth, malty. Those leafhoppers are geniuses, I tell ya.

There may have to be yet another order before the dreaded end time.

Lewis & Clark Traveling Teabox – Tea #17
Somehow I haven’t tried any of the Butiki teas in the teabox! This is one of the special ones that I have only seen Butiki selling – the long, dark, dusty, twisty leaves. The flavors are unsweetened chocolate and very bready. My note was erased so I can’t remember…. and it was also very wine like dry. I don’t know why I keep comparing tea to wine… tea is MY wine! This is very good however I love the caramel notes that even the non-caramel Taiwanese assam seems to have. This one seems like the grown up version of that. The second steep seemed to have that oversteeped woodchip flavor, but I still enjoyed it.
Steep #1 // 2 tsps // just boiled // 3 1/2 min
Steep #2 // just boiled // 4- 41/2 min

I’ve liked the Taiwanese black teas I’ve tried so far, and I’ve been getting along quite well with Butiki’s leafhopper teas also. On the strength of these, I requested a sample of this one with my last Butiki order. I’m drinking it at work today, and it is DE-LIC-IOUS. I followed the recommended parameters, and gave this one 3.5 minutes in boiling water. The liquor is a golden brown, and smells sweet and malty.

To taste, it’s wonderfully bready. I’m talking fresh baked bread right out of the oven. It’s also highly malty, with all the sweetness that entails, with a note of caramel in the smoothness of the aftertaste. I can also pick up on the oak and plum notes mentioned in the description — they add a slightly savoury twist to an otherwise sweet cup, and end each sip beautifully, lingering a little on the palate. The star flavour here for me, though, is the initial hit of bread. It’s so clear and intense, it’s actually making me feel hungry! Definitely one I’ll be picking up with my next Butiki order!

I bought this from Ost in her stash sale, thanks dear! I can’t help myself when it comes to Taiwanese black teas, or Butiki teas in general. The leaves of this tea are much smaller than the other Taiwanese teas I’ve had from Stacy, I imagine because this one is a different varietal (not Assam?). They do have a similar look – jet black and twisty. Dry scent is sweet and fruity, maybe plums along with other dried fruits.

Whoa, when brewed this tea smells very dark and fruity with a touch of molasses. The taste is also mostly fruit to me, but in a dark and syrupy concentrated way. I can definitely taste plums/prunes along with some other dried fruits. The fruit is accented by a mixture of deep, rich molasses and a bit of lighter honey with a little bit of a floral note. I can taste a slight yeasty tang that reminds me of sourdough bread, and it definitely adds a bit of interest.

Overall, this is a nice enough tea, but I think it’s my least favorite of Stacy’s Taiwanese blacks so far.

I think maybe I’m acquiring a taste for “those” black teas. The ones with that odd mix of musky-woody-smoke. . . flavors that I am so sensitive to that I notice them even when no one else does. Or, maybe it could be that me and the leaf hoppers are starting to get along. But probably not. I still don’t like overly honey-flavored oolongs. Perhaps it is the blend of musky wood with honey that turns into something entirely different that I find palatable.

I’m not in love with the tea, but I think it could grow on me. I’m tentatively rating is as 85, but will reconsider after my taste buds complete this confusing time of transition.