Butiki Teas

With its semi-oxidized leaves, this oolong tea captures the essence of the tea plant, resulting in a smooth and mellow brew with a lingering finish.

“This oolong tea strikes a perfect balance between the freshness of green tea and the depth of black tea, offering a complex and nuanced flavor profile.”

I tried it hot first and it was good (and strong) but oh my goodness, I made it into an iced latte and it was even better!
Adding the vegan cream took away the bitterness and when it cooled, the sweetness came out.
The one thing about Butiki, you are always guaranteed a second steep and it’s always just as good if not better than the first.
This tea is old and it STILL retains a lot of flavour. Now that’s a quality tea!
Ohhhhh how I miss this tea company!

So, a funny thing, when I reviewed PISTACHIO Horizon, I had originally confused it with this one. When I noticed my error, I corrected it.
Now onto PRALINE Horizon. I have to say that these two teas aren’t just similar in name but also in flavour. Pretty close in taste but I like this one just a titch more. It’s nuttier than the other and I really enjoy that nuance.
Excellent quality. To think, these teas are considered old now but I’ve stored them well and they still taste great, as strong as ever with that hallmark quality of re-steepability that I have come to know Butiki for.
Such a shame that they went out of business, it really was such a great tea-house and couldn’t have had a nicer person running it (Stacy.)

Delicious floral, smooth green. Refreshing!

Mellow, wonderful green tea with tasting notes of buttered spinach. I was lucky to find I still had some!

This quite literally tastes like warm cinnamon bread! No complaints with the overall impression of this tea, I feel like it’s spot on!
Y’all know that I’m not a fan of black tea, however, this one’s base (albeit a little bitter and astringent) still manages to come-off smoothly at the same time. This black tea is palatable enough for me and that’s saying something!
You get a very bready flavour with a hit of mild, realistic cinnamon and a smokey aftertaste. Comfort in a cup!
After all this time, it’s possible that my tea is weaker now, thanks to hoarding as much as I could before Butiki closed its doors for good, (being weaker not necessarily a bad thing for this one, considering my distaste for black tea.)
Like most of Stacy’s tea blends, re-steeps beautifully.

A rare Butiki sample from Michelle!  THANKS SO MUCH.  I don’t think I ever had the chance to try this one… would probably have appreciated it more now than then anyway.  I would have ruined it with my disastrous steeping parameters back then.  I was a little worried this is a ripe mixed with a raw puerh and what that might do with already shaky, temperamental sheng. But I shouldn’t have worried! The leaves are quite large and some of them twiggy, so I wasn’t really expecting a rich, dark puerh.  The first and second steeps taste like smoky BBQ spices.  There is a very clear, mineral quality that somehow also tastes like autumn leaves.  The brew color reminds me of autumn leaves as well. The third steep is very smooth.  A light, unique puerh.  I was expecting it to get bitter quickly because of that bit of sheng, but it really didn’t get to that point. Even that fourth steep wasn’t at all bitter, but lost some of the BBQ.  I really appreciate being able to try another Butiki tea well past Butiki’s time!  (Still sobbing over Butiki — there will never be another.)
Steep #1 // 1 1/3 teaspoons in a full mug // 26 minutes after boiling // 1 minute steep
Steep #2 // 20 minutes after boiling // 1 min
Steep #3 // 10 min after boiling // 1 min
Steep #4 //  2 min after boiling // 3-4 min

Pulled from TTB 2022, shared by Inkling.

Oh goodness, I was so excited to see something from Butiki when I opened the tea box! I started drinking tea the year that Butiki closed, and I wish I had known about them at the time so that I could buy some of their blends before they were gone forever. I keep hoping one day they’ll reopen. I suppose I’ll keep dreaming.

I’ve been waiting for a good day to try this. I wanted to be able to take my time and have several cups all day long. Today’s the day! I started with a 15-second rinse, followed by a short rest, then 20-second steeps (following a note from Tealizzy). The first cup is a bit light and smells like cinnamon stick and dark chocolate. The second cup is much, much darker. It amazes me that such short steeps can bring about such a dark brew. Will continue on as long as my body will let me – the caffeine from the first cup alone had me feeling buzzy, but I shall press ever onward.

This was (obviously) shared with me quite a while ago and I have never written a note.  It’s from Greenteafairy!  Thank you!  I think it was Not New by the time I tried it, so I was never really inspired to write a note… the flavor isn’t as spectacular as I’d expect a Butiki flavor to be, even older.  But I would definitely guess this was root beer in a blind taste test. Now that I’m trying it again, there is more flavor than I remember, even the second steep. It’s distinctly root beer. I wish there was more of an ice cream quality to it though.  And the honeybush is an interesting base for Butiki – I don’t think it was used very often.  So I guess it’s impressive that this has any flavor left at all.  It’s almost gone!
Steep #1 // 1 1/2 teaspoons // 30 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 3 min

Please take any review that I do on black tea with a grain of salt because I truly do not enjoy many black teas.
This one is masterfully blended and high quality as is evidenced by the fact that I was able to get 4 steeps out of it which is phenomenal by any stretch of the imagination. It’s remarkably smooth for a black tea and only has a hint of bitterness. I do detect a slightly fruity aftertaste which seems dark and resinous in nature. I’m thinking that it must be the plum. It has an earthy, malty quality that is pretty pronounced but calms down to perfection by the second steep.
Per usual, when I drink black tea, the first cup is generally a tad strong for me and this offering was no exception. Cup 2, 3 nd 4 were quite nice.
This tea would never be a first pick for me but then again, no black tea would be unless I added almond milk and sugar (which I only reserve for my coffee.) With that being said, it’s head and shoulders above most tea offerings nowadays and even though my tea leaves are older, they still pack a solid punch to the credit of the expert craftsmanship that once was, Butiki Teas.

This tea gets points for not only taste but also for performance. Really, it’s a “super tea” in the way that you can re-steep it (I’m on my 4th re-steep now and I’m confident that I will get a 5th out of it) and it manages to hang onto every drop of flavour wthout fail. Call me “super impressed!” Haha
The taste is good on every steep but the first steep was my least fave, only because it’s so strong and I prefer a lighter tasting brew but for most people, this is hardly a draw-back. Fruity, nutty, cakey, what more could you want?!
Stacy really was a master with her teas!

Finished up an old sample. Pretty decent. Bit astringent. But enjoyable this evening.

I am still trying to get through old teas and samples. I have a lot still.