Butterscotch Potion

Oh wow this is good. This is really good. Amazing even.
What a lovely surprise… as I was having a rather low/crappy day and this just made it so much better!!
I’m noticing an intense butterscotch note all through the sip and aftertaste, along with a slightly astringent white note. Also, it is very sweet, like eating a butterscotch candy. Seriously, I have that aftertaste lingering long after a sip. and now I’m sad that my mug is empty.
First infusion was beyond stellar. I’d rate it 95. Second was predictably weaker and less round in flavour so I’d go with 83… which leaves the true score somewhere in the middle! (since I can’t see a number as I move the slider).
There will be future orders of this. I am so in love, this potion has certainly worked it’s magic on me!

Looks like I’ll be doing some tea-adding in the near future…

Anyhow. This tea! Smells absolutely divine. Much like versions of Coconut Creme from various tea companies, but this doesn’t look like them (there are peppercorns), nor is this supposed to contain coconut. However… it definitely tastes much like it. There is supposed to be cinnamon in here, but I’m not really picking up on it. Mostly I’m tasting a sweet, coconutty white tea. I suppose it could be the butterscotch that’s coming off as coconut… I’m getting a bit of a dark background flavour here though, that I don’t recall tasting with Coconut Creme. And, I feel like the peppercorns are coming through a bit. Similar blend though! I was expecting it to be more like DavidsTea’s Buttercream, which it isn’t (unless my taste buds/memory are misleading me, and that’s what it does taste like, not Coconut Creme!) Which is actually increasingly possible the more I think about it…

Regardless, I like this. A light, sweet, desserty tea. I’m glad I just have a sample though, since it’s pretty similar to something I have in my cupboard!

And thus begins my foray into Tealux’s teas…

ETA: Yep. I still can’t figure out which tea this reminds me of. One of those two. But, there is definitely cinnamon in here (noticeable in the second infusion), which is NOT in either of the other two. It was already obvious that it wasn’t an identical blend to either of the two I mentioned, just has many similarities. Good, though.

“A little weird tasting, but not undrinkable” says TheTeaFairy in her note stuck to the ziploc holding this 2-cup sample. Naturally, I have avoided it and tried all the samples she indicated were her faves. So tonight, after missing again, I thought to myself: self, I bet you will like the ones she hates. So I grabbed the so called weird tasting tea!

Don’t you know it, it’s not weird tasting to me. And it smells like butterscotch indeed. I did add honey because it wasn’t sweet enough for me. It smells faintly of chamomile but luckily it doesn’t taste like chamomile. It almost tastes milky too, I wonder which ingredient does that.

I wouldn’t call this an amazing cup — my goodness, I’d have to read my notes and find which teas I thought were amazing because lately I have found them all to be missing something. Maybe it’s me. I know it is. I haven’t been in the mood.

Great light amber colour on this, not astringent at 3 minutes with 190F water. It’s not a bad tea. I wouldn’t rush out and buy it or anything, despite the alluring name. Thanks again to the generous TheTeaFairy who sent me so much tea I’m still working my way through it.

This tea is really interesting. Definitely not what I expected, but still good.

When I first smelled the dry leaf, I totally noticed the peppercorns, but it was a little butterscotchy. I thought, what a weird tea!

I steeped some up today. I actually resteeped it too.

The package recommended 194 degrees for 3-4 minutes, but that didn’t match up with how I thought a white tea should be brewed, so I did my first steep at 140 degrees for 2 minutes. This resulted in a slightly weak cup, with the dominant flavor being peppercorn. I could taste a little cinnamon too, but to me, it was like they were trying to make butterscotch flavor with a combination of other flavors and it didn’t quite make it. Not sure if they actual put butterscotch flavoring in, but it does say there is added flavoring.

The resteep was different. I decided to go with the package directions, and it resulted in stronger flavor, and a darker brew. What was interesting was I got a lot more cinnamon and the peppercorn was toned down somewhat.

Still not sure it is really butterscotch, although I may have messed up the flavoring with my first steeping. Overall, it’s pretty good, and warming. Good with a little sweetener to make it more dessert-like. I can imagine this being very cozy when the weather is cold, unlike today. Ha!

I’ll freely admit that I bought this one because of the name. Butterscotch Potion. It just sounds so rich and decadent. I really like the smell of it, both dry and steeped. It does smell of butterscotch.

Taste-wise, it’s not as rich tasting as I expected it to be, but that could be operator error. I steeped it at 80C instead of the 90C that was recommended, mainly because I’d rather have a weak tea than an astringent one. I’ll try re-steeping at 90C later and see if that makes a difference.

It does remind me of some coconut white teas I’ve had, but there is that definite butterscotch taste that makes it unique. I was worried that the peppercorns would give it too much of a bite, but all of the flavours blend smoothly. I’ll buy this one again if/when I make another Tealux order (I have a LOT of tea to go through first. I wish some of my friends were tea obsessed so I could swap or split orders with them).

Another tea I’ve had for awhile and enjoyed many times but forgot to review. The brew temperature from Tealux says 194F. That seems just way too high for a white tea and I’ve been brewing closer to the 175F. Definitely has a smooth butterscotch flavour. The peppercorn is very faint and I only seemed to notice it when the tea cooled down more. It is just enough to add to the tea but not ruin the overall flavour. I’m not as experienced as some others on Steepster noticing the different notes but am working on it.

that’s great

Recovering from the Beer Circus and front row madness of a Gogol Bordello show last night, I hadn’t had tea all day. Made a pot for the house tonight.

Strong butterscotch aroma to the dry leaf that when brewed is stronger smelling than in taste. The brewed tea in general is so mellow and with a light mouthfeel that I though it might be a tisane. It’s pleasant though with modest cinnamon and a tinge of fruity, spicy pink peppercorn, neither of which lingers. Those flavors help to temper the sweetness of the butterscotch aroma. The base white tea is a mix of large broken leaf, stray silver needles and plenty of long stems. It doesn’t really contribute much flavor, maybe light hay. I still like what this blend has to offer. More of a calming evening sipper than what I thought would be a dessert tea. It’s nice this evening now that the hangover of last night’s debauchery has passed and the winds have ushered in the clouds that might bring the first rain of the season.

Thanks, Mastress Alita for the gift. I was waiting for the right time to drink this one. And I got your envelope <3

Tea box tea! I usually add milk to butterscotch teas, but this one doesn’t need it. The flavoring works really well with the white tea. The primary flavor is a light butterscotch. This is really nice, but it’s best warm. Nice and buttery.

Discovery TTB #11

Peppercorns in a butterscotch tea? I had to try this one just because I was so intrigued by the appearance of the dry leaf! It had a sweet butterscotch aroma when brewed, but the flavor was mostly the white tea base (which I don’t mind at all, since I love white tea!) with subtle hints of butterscotch, cinnamon, and pepper. Kind of an odd combination, but somehow it works pretty well! I don’t think this is something I’d reach for often, but I’m glad to have sampled it.