Usually when reviewing a tea from a company I would pull out my camera and notebook and log it for review on my blog, I am making an exception with this tea since Butiki is going away :( and all of my tea logging stuff is packed up for my trip tomorrow. Since I played packing tetris with my stuff unpacking it would be a giant pain. I hope you all forgive my more freeform rambling today. I was giving a sample of this tea by my tea-bro Lion after making noises about wanting to try it, so thank you for that! The aroma of the really dark curly leaves is really quite rich and sweet, lots of fruity notes going on here with an underlying mineral note as well. I am specifically picking out plum and a hint of peach.
I decided to go gongfu for this one (probably my last until I get to PA) and as the leaves rehydrate themselves I begin to see the purple tones shine through, like the purple of a plum skin. The wet leaves have a slight fruitiness to them, but they are also kinda odd, I am picking up notes of loam and green beans, it is reminding me of something from my childhood that I can feel tickling around at the back of my head, but I cannot put my finger on it. The liquid is sweet and warm, like cooked plums and freshly baked snickerdoodles.
The taste is somewhere between the smell of the leaves and the smell of the liquid. It has a creamy mouth feel with a distinct gently spiced cooked fruit, but there is also a loamy quality and green bean brothiness to it. The finish is a bit sharp, similar to the sharpness I get with a heavily mineral noted Wuyi.
Steep two! Only time for one more before I have to go run last minute errands, including getting new shoes since mine totally fell apart. Bleh. Yum! Second steep is still quite buttery, but it is all fruity plums and mineral with a touch of spice. It is pretty mild though, I fear that as soon as I put the cup down I kinda forget about it, which is tragic. I like it, though I wish there was more there.
I like this one