Educational TTB 2

The leaves are green, but they have little hairs on them like a lot of whites do. Cool.

The liquor is somewhat floral, almost sweet. I like this one quite a bit. It’s almost creamy, which is really nice.

My boss’s boss came by a little bit ago to ask me a question, and then she asked me about all the little packets of green something all over my desk. “It’s just tea. Really. Look a little closer.” It was kinda funny.

The dry leaves are beautifully rolled. I felt they unfurled quite well in the hot water.

This tea tastes very hay-ish to me, reminding me of a white. It’s a very nice flavor, and as it cools I like it more, actually. It seems to be getting a little more green in flavor as it cools. Interesting.

This tea is worth a resteep to see what happens….

On the resteep, the leaves finished opening (they were mostly open before, but now they all seem opened) and the taste is still quite nice. I enjoyed this one.

I picked this tea over the other Chinese Bi Luo Chun because the processed leaves look less identical and mechanically processed.

The tea is okay. Slightly grassy but not as much as I hoped it would be. The aroma of the steeped leaves is very fresh and green.

The dry leaves are a really neat color, almost purply brown. After steeping, they have a bit of a dark green look to them, with flecks of lighter and darker browns mixed in.

I wasn’t expecting to like this tea.

And I like it.

It’s fruity, but not really. Woody, but not quite. I don’t think I’d drink this all the time, but I’m not going to say no.

I will probably call it quits on the darjeeling teas with this one, though. It was a lot of fun while it lasted, but I’m ready to move on.

This one is also nice but no muscat flavor. Ah well. #4 was my favorite of these, but I can see that I would enjoy a second flush darjeeling, which was the point of this whole experiment.

Oh, and I overfilled my little cup again with this one. Oops! And even though I just filled their fountain, one of the cats was licking up where I dripped the tea when I went back to wipe it up. Too funny.

This is fruitier than the others have been. It’s still not quite muscat grape, but it’s getting closer. I really wish I could have tried these when they were fresh. I probably would have enjoyed them a lot more.

It’s got that something that the some of those first flushes had that I can’t identify. There’s something there. I don’t know. It’s frustrating to not be able to figure out what it is, exactly, but I like it.

I’m really starting to like this tea.

Expanding horizons. I like that. I like that I’m experimenting and learning about new teas. Thanks again, Stacy for doing this box. I know it was a way for you to get rid of a bunch of extra teas, but I’m learning a lot, and I’ve only just barely hit the tip of the iceberg.

You’ll laugh at me when I tell you that I made this up and I’ve been working and I completely forgot I was taste testing a new tea, so I wasn’t paying attention to it, I was just drinking it.

It’s not blowing me out of the water, but it’s nice. It’s definitely on the positive side of drinkable. This is the best of the 2nd flush ones I’ve had so far. It’s closer to that muscatel flavor people keep saying these have, but it’s not quite what I expected it to be. This is a tea I would definitely drink if offered to me. I prefer the first flush, but I would not say no to the second flush.

And I completely overfilled my little glass that I’m using, and I dripped hot water everywhere. (I’m at home now, and I carried the full glass from the kitchen where I filled it to the front room where I’m working remotely, and ass the leaves were expanding, more and more hot water was dripping out. Fortunately, I only got a little bit on me, none on the cats.)

So I’m not as sure about this one. It was okay, but not outstanding. I wonder if it’s just because it’s basically a year old? I don’t know. I’m going to go ahead and give a couple of more of the second flush a try.

I didn’t really get that muscat flavor, and I do really like muscat grapes. They’re really tasty. Ah well.

The dry leaf looked pretty brown, with a few greener ones thrown in. As soon as I added water, though, they all started looking greener. By the time I pulled them out, mostly green with a few slightly light brown ones. Interesting.

This one has that green flavor, but not as strong as some of the others. It seems to have more of that whatever it is that I tasted in #3, and less of the green. I like it, but not as much. #3 and #5 were my favorites.

As I added the water to the dry leaves, this beautiful green scent drifted up and teased my nose. The dry leaves were somewhat disappointing to look at, looking somewhat more brown, but still green. I dunno. The scent once I added the water has me hopeful.

A sip. Spinachy again, but much more muted than #5 was. I think I like this one better though, for some reason. It has something else about it, and my brain is stumped trying to come up with what it is. It’s quite tasty.

Yeah, that cup went way too fast. It’s really nice. I enjoyed it. I’m so happy for the chance to try all these different kinds of tea, and find something new I never thought I would enjoy. Stacy from Butiki Teas, this has been a wonderful opportunity. Thank you so much for doing this.

So far this one is my least favorite of the three I’ve tried. It just doesn’t seem to have quite the pop to the flavor that the others did. It’s nice, but it isn’t as green tasting or as alive on my tongue. Ah well.

I ran out of time over the weekend, after diving in head first, all of my plans of tea drinking my days away didn’t happen. So I grabbed the bag of darjeelings and brought it to work with me.

I love how green and vegetal this one smells when I pulled the leaves from the liquor. I really like this one. I’m really glad I decided to try these, because, YAY! I’ve found another kind of tea I like a lot.

This one is much more green than the other. Spinachy. It’s incredibly tasty and flavorful.

By the end it seemed a touch bitter, but it didn’t detract from my enjoyment of this tea.

Okay, this is the first time I’ve had darjeeling. I am surprised to see how green the first flush is.

Wow.

Okay, I like this. I’m going to have to try all of these first flushes.

The aroma reminds me of some of the whites I’ve had.

this tea is kind of floral, without really being floral. It’s quite different than I expected. It looks like it could be a green, but it tastes more like a white, without that effervesce that whites often have (and I just love.)

I like it.

I didn’t even know about this whole first flush thing. I had to Google the differences between the flushes. And now I will have to try the other first flushes, or at least another one of these, because I liked this one that much.

Butiki Educational Box #2

I decided to try this one after sniffing all four of the Kenya Orthodox blacks. It was between this one and #1 and this one had more left, so I figured I’d leave the other for someone else….unless I really like this one, and then I’ll go ahead and try all four. Crazier things have happened.

Well, I don’t think I’ll be trying all four.

My teeth are starting to feel funny. I only get this after drinking black teas. What is that?

It’s okay. I feel like there’s a depth this tea is missing, though. I don’t know. It’s got a nice aroma, and as it cools it’s starting to taste better to be, but still like it’s missing something. An oomph that just isn’t there.

It’s funny, though, because this is reminding me of a nice Scotch in a strange sort of way. I like the single malts that are peaty and malty and smoky. This isn’t smoky, and it’s malty but not too much so, but it is making me think scotch.

But the more it cools and the more I drink this, the more I like it. I still am not overwhelmed enough to want to try the others. Ah well.

Butiki Educational Box #2

The dry leaves are long and curly and dark. That’s something I like about black teas, how pretty the dry leaves can be. After steeping, the leaves smell really nice, like rich dark chocolate. They’re all loosened up, but some are still curly. It’s really cool.

The aroma kind of reminds me of those dark chocolate orange slices. I don’t know why.

Flavor-wise, this tea is what I wish the Assam had been. It’s malty and a little creamy, and kind of…well, orange is all I can think of, mostly because of the aroma. It’s not really orange, though. I hate when I can’t describe what things taste like, but I know it’s pretty nice.

Probably not something I’d drink all the time, but I would drink it for sure if someone offered it to me.

I’m going to add a little milk to this one to see what it does that way because there’s something coming out in it as it cools that I don’t like as much.

Hmmm…it was okay, and it did cover up whatever it was that I didn’t like, but well, I think I liked it better without. Well, it was worth a try.

Butiki Educational Box #2

The dry leaves are really pretty again, multiple colors, a few that look like a green or white, mostly black, all curly and really pretty.

I think maybe I should have steeped this one longer. I’m not sure. It’s got a lighter flavor than I would have expected. I’m not sure how I feel about this one. It’s just kind of meh.

Butiki Educational Box #2

This tea is much better than the Assam I just had. The aroma isn’t as amazing, but it’s still pretty nice. The taste, though, is much more pleasant to me. I still don’t know that I would drink this on a regular basis.

This one seems almost fruity to me. I’m not sure if that’s right, but I think that’s what I’m getting. Much less astringent and bitter than the last.

Plus, I love the way the dry leaves look. Beautiful. A light brown, and a dark brown, both curly.

Okay, on to the next of these blacks……

Deep roasted nutty flavor with
Bread notes

This is wonderful when steeped for 3 minutes,
but even better (JMHO) when steeped up to 4 1/2 minutes or so
It never becomes bitter or astringent…simply deeper flavor.

It reminds me of Soba Cha Deep Roast without the overwhelming sweetness
or the sweet aroma…I cannot say this has an aroma after steeping
dry it smells lightly green/vegetal

I wish I could keep this and order more….Love it ♡

I am not sure if I underleafed this or ir it is so mild that I am unable
to discern any particular flavors…I may try again later.

The tea has no particular fragrance dry or otherwise.
The liquor has a bit of an oily substance to it that gives it a rather
silky texture to the mouthful.
A touch of stevia brings out a very slight fruity flavor.

The smell of this tea is very non-descript…simply tea.
A moderately woody tea with light fruity and nutty notes and
a moderate astringency without bitterness.
I throughly enjoyed this tea.

Burnt-sugar aroma is different but pleasing. The flavor is very unusual, and I’m having a hard time coming up with descriptors. Sort of a combination of wood and caramel, but not similar to either. Plus, of course, the burnt sugar. Very powerful taste and finish. After a few sips, a straw component appeared as well. Every sip is different; I have a feeling I’ve missed out by steeping this western-style.

I rated this highly because I’m a sucker for complexity. I’m still undecided as to how much I like the flavors."

Thanks to Stacy at Butiki Tea for putting this box together

I lost track of time so over-steeped this a bit. It is delicious, with good body, and grassy flavors with vegetable undercurrents. Taste transitions smoothly into a long, fairly powerful finish. The primary characteristic of this tea is the full, rich mouth-feel. The flavors are nice, but don’t hold my interest as much as some other teas.

Slightly fruity aroma. Tastes slightly sweet. Good fruity taste and finish. I wish I could be more specific. It made me think of apples and pears, but tasted like neither. The more I drank this the more I liked it. I wish there were more.

Thanks to Stacy at Butiki Tea for putting this box together