Caramel Apple

So disappointed. I brewed some up this up yesterday and drank it (review to follow), and when I came home and went to resteep, my infuser was infested with fruit flies :( :( We have a bit of a fruit fly problem at the house right now, and I forgot that since there were fruit chunks in this blend, I needed to put the infuser elsewhere (fridge, cupboard) if I wanted a re-steep… so I had to dump it. The thought of potentially boiling fruit fly larva made me gag. Luckily, I have a bag of this, so I’ll get another shot – gui fei has a lot of life in it, so I know that this should last at least a solid three infusions.

Anyhow, the review. I did try this just in a travel mug – I was desperate for a new flavour, and I still haven’t unpacked all my teas/found them since moving back in May (yes, Raritea, they’re still in the drawers of the dresser you packed for me, haha), so I decided to give this a shot. Don’t regret my decision, although I probably missed out on some flavour nuances – although I caught a hint of apple, I tasted primarily Gui Fei Oolong, and no real caramel to speak of. Of course, since I like the base, I did enjoy the tea, but I was definitely hoping for a bit more caramel apple. I wonder if this tea would work a bit better if the base was only half gui fei, and the rest maybe even PTA? Or perhaps something less dominating.

Either way, no numerical review at this point since travel mugs do not allow a fair assessment of the tea. Looking forward to the next brew of it though, and trying to coax out some more flavour!

Another Butiki sample from the awesome Courtney!

This, unfortunately, is another one of those teas that I just don’t “get”.

I found the predominant flavour to be the roasty Gui Fei Oolong, which I did enjoy but may not repurchase. I’m not sure how much I enjoy the super roasty oolongs.

I’m not really noticing any strong apple or caramel notes. Just a faint hint. I hate when that happens, based on the other reviews I feel like there’s something wrong with my tongue.

Ah well.

More for everyone else!

Thanks again, Courtney!

This smells so good. There’s the caramel, apple, and the floral from the oolong. It makes for a nice, sweet tea to drink while watching Doctor Who

Thanks, Stephanie.

The aroma is so deliciously intoxicating! And the taste.. mm mmm a sweet, roasted, apple caramel goodness. This really is like Autumn in a cup

I am so glad I got some of this tea in my friends birthday order! She doesn’t like caramel, so that means it’s all mine… MINE! :)

Delicious fresh apple plus baked apple. Really subtle caramel sweetness (that I’m sure would come out even more with a touch of sugar).

This is soooo good! I think I can get a bunch of steeps out of the tea, as well. I was surprised when I saw it was a fairly tightly rolled oolong, but now I’m excited because I get even more tea out of my tea. Or something.

Yay!

(Also I made some different tea popsicles. I found a recipe that suggested making a custard with some corn starch and milk and sugar and tea, so I did. Look for notes on that later!)

(1.5 tsp, 10 oz cup)

Sipdown. I am slowly finishing up my Butiki teas.
I enjoyed this one. The flavours meld well together, it is a fairly common flavour combination. This tastes like more of a fall tea for me though.

This was probably the new blend that I was most excited about. Caramel apple tea? Yum! This is a rolled oolong, and the leaves are very dark. I can see a few pieces of dried apple and some tiny red flower petals mixed in with the tea. The dry scent is extremely strong and very caramel apple-y! In this case, it’s definitely a granny smith apple. I can smell the butter in the caramel, too. I noticed that the pellets barely unrolled in the first infusion.

The brewed aroma is very caramel! The apple is still there, but it’s much fainter and less tart, and I can smell a sort of autumn leaf scent that I associate with oxidized oolongs. Yum, the caramel is strong with this one! It’s definitely a darker caramel, similar to burnt sugar. I don’t really get butter like I would expect from real caramel. The apple is much milder than the smell – it’s definitely either a cooked apple or the red delicious variety, more sweet than tart. I am, however, getting a very fresh and crisp pear flavor, I assume from the Gui Fei base. Quite lovely! There is a mild (thank goodness) floral note and an overall sweet honey-like taste from those cute little leafhoppers!

This one is a hit, Stacy! :D

Holy cow, I expected this one to be good but I didn’t expect to be this blown away! WOW!!!!

Seriously best apple tea I’ve ever had. The oolong is PERFECT with it. (note that I am not even a huge oolong fangirl or anything.) I wish I could find the words to describe it…but this is one of those teas that makes us think Stacy is some kind of wizard or something. It’s like the tanginess of the oolong aligns perfectly with the bite that a sweet but also tart apple would have, you know? The caramel is present but not overwhelming and certainly not fakey at ALL. I added no sugar and I’m sure it would elevate this to a dessert worthy treat, though I am perfectly happy without added sugar.

MAGNIFICENT!

Let’s talk about how awesome Stacy is. I allowed myself ONE small order for my birthday because mostly people forgot and it was from stacy because of the red Queen Cupcake and the limited Edition Boracay Breeze. included in the package that i picked up from my tea mule were a couple samples of some of the teas that stacy’s working on. So of course….i came home and have started in on them :) This is the first one i tried – let me tell you, this smells SOOOOOOOOO delicious. The Caramel is really present while the apple is hanging out in the background. I made my other half stick his nose in the cup and his response was…caramel…fruit? smells like a baked good. soooo he couldn’t place the apple but it was close.

Brewing this up – no steeping paramters really so i opted for “oolong” setting on my kettle and let it steep for about 3mins. Initial sips i get caramel! OOLONG! and then apple. it’s roasty oolong, so that’s ok with me. The apple is mostly present in the after taste and currently, the oolong is the dominant flavour. But there is for sure, both apple and caramel here.

not sure how far along stacy is in the process, but i WILL be buying some of this when it comes out because, while i am not a fan of oolongs, i can see how delicious this one is going to be. Thank you Stacy! soo good!