60 Tasting Notes
This tea is truly magical! Extremely well blended! I actually had to check back at the ingredients since I was no longer sure that it was vegan, but of course it was. I saw something on Steepster a while ago written by a representative of a tea company about how blending tea was not some magical art. I strongly disagree with that statement. Very good blends, like this tea are art. I believe it is very easy to tell when love, creativity, and time have been committed to the creation of a tea. I know that is how I used to blend teas and still do for myself and I can tell the same type of care from some other tea companies.
Today was such a completely awful day. I knew I needed something extra special to comfort me. So, I decided to mix a portion of my Premium Taiwanese Assam with Whispering Pine’s Imperial Gold Bud Dian Hong and add some pure ground vanilla. This hit the spot perfectly. It was sweet, creamy, malty, chocolatey, caramely and vanillay goodness. This cup did not make it long since I couldn’t stop drinking it. I’m crossing my fingers that the rest of the day is just a bit better.
Hope the day improves and that tomorrow is completely the opposite.
Thank you yyz & Amariel!! :)
Having a delicious cup of this now, while I’m working on posting a garage sale on our website. This tea is so amazing. It’s tasting very powered sugary today. I’m really wondering how this would taste mixed with our PTA. I bet it would be delicious. I never got around to it but I always wanted to do a Butiki Breakfast Blend with this tea, PTA, and our Mi Xian Black. I think I will make a blend for myself.
Kaylee-Absolutely. Here is a pic: http://s1094.photobucket.com/user/butikiteas/media/Garage%20Sale/BigThermos_zps46319c9e.jpg.html?o=9 Still interested? Send me your zip code. If I remember correctly, shipping probably wouldn’t be too bad. I saved one for myself. They are great. I use them at parties and potlucks.
Sil-Let me know ASAP if you would like a first crack at the necklaces. Will be posting them today but can hold one for you if you are interested.
Gosh, I love this tea! Yums! Perfectly cocoa and caramel notes for my mood! Merry KwanzaaChristmasDiwaliHanukkahSolsticeFestivusNewYearsAndAnyOtherHolidayIMayHaveForgotten Everyone! Yay! :)
Mike-No problem, don’t worry I saved quite a bit for myself. Unfortunately, those teas were some of the first to go. We have already lost over 2/3 of our teas.
That Glenburn Estate Green looks great…looks like you still have some of that, right? :)
Oh my yum! Out of all of the new teas, this is my absolute favorite. It is just so unique and autumny. The squash is very present and sweet, like a roasted squash and the cinnamon is sweet and slightly spicy, while the soft vanilla adds warmth. It literally feels like autumn in a cup. It’s just one of those teas that you take a sip and then another and before you know it the tea is gone. Unfortunately, we don’t have much of this since I purchased the smallest amount of flavoring but I’m thinking I might pick up more because I have a feeling that everyone will like this one.
Excellent tea!
Please do pick up some more this tea is so delicious! :)
Taking a nice 10 minute break before I go back to the craziness! I picked up a really fantastic pumpkin scone this morning. This is delicious and has the perfect amount of pumpkin and spice and goes perfect with the Crimson Horizon. Crimson Horizon is my go to tea when I’m feeling exhausted and I don’t want guayusa. It gives me some extra zip.
Looks like we should have all of last Monday’s orders out by the end of tomorrow! Woot! That’s 2 days ahead of what I anticipated. I’m hoping this week and next will be moving much faster since we should have more help and I’m hoping that by the end of next Friday that we catch up to 1-2 day processing times. That would be great and would give me some time to work on the new blends.
Aw rats… I was hoping it was from a small chain or something similar… Sankyu though!
mmmmmm….crimson horizon…. wonderful choice any day. :)
Ahhhhh, finally getting to enjoy PTA again. I missed it so much! Sometimes it is really nice to have a long break from one of your favorite teas just so that you appreciate it again when it’s back. Malty, caramely, chocolaty awesomeness!
I’ve been doing a lot of experimenting with tea cocktails lately. So far, the reviews from friends have been very good. I’ve also been testing out cocktails against each other to see which ones are favored. The Hello Sweetie teatini is just a huge success. For anyone that is interested in the recipe, here’s a link: http://butikiteas.blogspot.com/2014/08/butiki-after-hours-hello-sweetie-teatini.html.
Last weekend I tested out the Red Queen martini and Lemon French Macaron martini. The Red Queen martini had an espresso vodka and plain vodka and had a mostly espresso flavor with strawberry at the end. This was a huge success with espresso and coffee fans. The Lemon French Martini had Frangelico and plain vodka. The combo of the lemon and fragelico (hazelnut liquor) was similar to a chocolate cake shot but more just like birthday cake. Everyone seemed to love that even people who were not fans of citrus. This one was pretty complex.
Oooh what about Red Queen with Bailey’s or Kahlua? I know what I’m brewing tomorrow…
Those sound delicious! If you try them, let us know how it goes. :)
I made teatinis for guests yesterday and this tea with Kettle One Vodka was a huge success! I made 8oz of tea and doubled the amount of tea I would normally use plus I added 2 tablespoons of brown crystal sugar while it was steeping. Then added vodka and ice until the shaker was full and shook it. Made about 3 martinis. It came out amazing. It had the perfect sweetness with burned caramel notes, black tea, and the coconut and banana flavors. The vodka was hardly noticeable. The martinis were a huge hit! Will definitely have to come up with a recipe.
That’s my kind of tea-party!!!
I think this sounds soooo goood. I bet it’d be good with rum or bourbon instead of vodka as well, might pair nicely with the coconut.
Oh man, this is hitting the spot right now. The nice thing about this CTC is that it is quite a bit more forgiving than most CTCs that I’ve had. I know I overleafed but it really doesn’t taste that way and in the past I certainly let the time go for 2min+ without repercussions. Some days you just need a nice CTC to push you out of exhaustion. The bready notes are especially present but I love how the chocolate notes peak through. Sometimes when a cup of tea is just perfect, I tend to let out a sigh. I notice this mostly with the Premium Taiwanese Assam but I definitely sighed when I had this cup.
I’m finally starting to catch up on some emails and random work that has been put off because of the sale. It feels good to have finally gotten every single order out and to be mostly caught up on other orders. During the sale we discontinued Strawberry Oolong & Premium Chai. Unfortunately, we also ran out of our Khongea Golden Tips. Khongea decided not to sell the golden tips this year which means that we have to rework Ruby Pie and Malty Irish Breakfast. I think this time around we will be making the Ruby Pie gluten-free, that way we will have only gluten-free products.
So, I have been thinking about Black Friday through Cyber Monday. I know it is months away but it is really important to prep in advance since it is so crazy. We typically do sales all 4 days. Each day is like our Birthday Bash with the buy certain level and get a certain amount in free tea. Plus each day there are special bonuses like buy $60 in tea and get a new exclusive tea or something like that. We also run contests. I’m trying to figure out if this year we should change the format to gaining a percentage off of the order instead. I waver back and forth. The percentage off would mean we would have to refund every order which would be a pain. This is because we use PayPal as our shopping cart which doesn’t allow for promo codes. Unfortunately, we trapped ourselves into this because changing the cart now with over a hundred products would be very time consuming and potentially expensive but it will have to be done at some point. I do like the idea of free teas because it maybe allows someone to splurge a little. Not really sure what would be preferred.
Also, been thinking about doing a Tea of the Week special. It wouldn’t necessarily be every week but at the beginning of a week I would do a blog about a tea, discuss why it is in our collection, take some more detailed pictures, brew it (western, gongfu, and grandpas style) with notes, and maybe answer some questions. Also, we would offer that tea at a discounted rated for the entire week. Not sure if there is any interest in this.
Weighing in late on this one, but I love the tea of the week idea.
I do prefer a percent-off sale model. What if we all lobby PayPal to start allowing coupon codes?
Good to know! :)
Darjeelings are not always my favorite. I’m extraordinarily picky about them. For the last two years, my absolute favorite has been from Giddapahar. While, this estate seems to be a tad greener with their processing, the flavor is just outstanding. The tea is very complex and has wonderful sweet almond notes with peach and blackberry notes. There is just so much going on and quite a variety of flavors, including wood, lemon, hay, earth, and jasmine notes. When I heard that Giddapahar was making a special limited handrolled 2nd flush, I knew I had to jump at the opportunity, especially because they only made 11 kilos worth of this tea. It’s absolutely gorgeous. I was so excited when it arrived, I tore open the package. Wow, the scent was so amazing! The taste profile is very similar to the first flush, except that there is a muscatel flavor and the green-ness is much more toned down. It’s also a much fuller body and the astringency is gone. I’m really enjoying this tea quite a bit. It has a wonderful juicy flavor. Almond, peach, jasmine, and hay notes are the most prominent. There is something else present but I can’t put my finger on it right now. Will definitely have to experiment more on this one. Since this is so limited, when it’s gone it’s gone.
In other news, I’m working on 2 new teas today, a caramel apple Gui Fei and a mimosa puerh (this may or may not be a chai). Normally, I come up with flavors then find a tea for them and modify them from there but these guys I’m working with teas that I really want to flavor and trying to develop flavors for them specifically. I have done this with our Champagne & Rose Cream but it’s not typically how I work.
Cheri-You should have no problem waiting. Since it is a more expensive tea and a Darjeeling (Darjeelings don’t sell fast for us), it should be available for a few months.
Thanks! I’m trying to force myself to reorganize my tea pantry before I order more teas. It’s a mess and I don’t even know what all is in there anymore.
I agree, it is an art. If it is to be a great tea. I mean, if some blender wants to throw a bunch of stuff together without much care, then sure, in that case, it’s not an art. But truly good tea, no…truly fantastic tea, is blended with care, and is sincerely an art.
Plunkybug-I agree! :)
There are companies that have wonderful tea but they just don’t really blend well. It’s a different talent.
That is the first thing that came to mind when i had it. What an amazing blend. This is a first for me to hear that mixing was a taboo. well i will surely continue steeping the mixed flavors . Cheers !
Stacy, come back. We miss you and your teas and your passion for the craft.
Seconded!
A motion has been put on the table. All in favor?
Aye!
I sure miss Butiki. Sipped Three Friends today… almost gone! STILL DELICIOUS.