Butterbeer

Happy Day of Eating Too Much everyone! I have spent my day being crafty (need to make sure my Melted Geek Shop is stocked for the holidays) and drinking teas while rocking out to 80s New Wave. In honor of my geeky inspiration I decided to review a tea that is inspired by a fandom that has been near and dear to my heart for years. I discovered Harry Potter when I was fifteen and the series helped keep magic alive in my heart when I was going through a really rough time in my life, so of course I wanted to try the Butterbeer tea!

Before I go much farther I should say, I have a very distinct idea of what Butterbeer is supposed to taste like in my head, I will try my best to be fair if it doesn’t taste the way I expect it to and review it as a tea and not as a fandom geek out. As a giant nerd this will be hard…I mean, don’t even get me started on a rant about a fandom I am a part of, it never ends well! Butterbeer by 52Teas is made from Black Tea, Licorice Root, Chicory Root, and natural flavors. The aroma is very strongly rootbeer. Pretty much the only thing I am picking up is the aroma of rootbeer, and maybe a hint of creaminess. I have a problem here, I absolutely loathe rootbeer, probably more than I loathe lemongrass which is saying something. So lets try steeping the tea, sometimes I get surprised.

Once steeping the aroma becomes creamier, definitely more like a rootbeer float rather than just soda. There are notes of earthiness from the chicory and also notes of malt and a touch sweet. It smells like a very bright tea. The liquid has notes of oak along with the strong notes of rootbeer and sweet cream. As I pull the cup away from my nose I notice a bit of a bitter root aroma.

Tasting time! I can certainly taste rootbeer, ugh. The tea is creamy and there is a touch of bitterness from the chicory but it is a little too much like rootbeer. Oddly the more I sip on the tea the more it is growing on me, I find that really amusing actually. The tea is naturally sweet, but only mildly, so I think I am going to add a bit of cream and sugar (my favorite way to drink flavored blacks). Ok, that is really tasty, it still has a bit of the rootbeer taste, but now I can taste a bit of malt, some earthiness, and a touch of oak. I don’t hate it, it is not a new favorite tea but it is not as bad as I was expecting it to be with that strong of a rootbeer aroma. However, I do not think it tastes anything like I expect Butterbeer to taste like, so my quest continues.

For blog and photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2013/11/52teas-butterbeer-tea-review.html

Well, I’m sick. Which is why this review is late and very short. It’s perfect timing since I leave for Japan on the 27th :(

This smells and tastes almost exactly like the butterbeer at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Delicious!!

It smells how I would think butter beer would smell and tastes how I would think it would taste! I recommend adding some sugar because it really helps to add to the flavor profile. This tea is awesome! I’m making a batch iced right now and will update to let you know how that tastes.

UPDATE: The Iced tea is delicious! Has more of a root beer taste when iced. But I love root beer and tea, so this is a win for me.

Note: This is an edited version of a review I wrote for one of my Tumblr blogs. After some thought, I changed my mind about my original review and have edited this review to reflect it.

I added: A small spoonful of sugar. (I’m not meant to have much and I couldn’t find the honey.)
Smell (dry): Awful and disgusting, with a flirty tint of something candy-nice. (Note: If you think “rootbeer and butter vapor” it does honestly smell much nicer – it smells quite “good”, actually. Perhaps having a “name” for the scents helps your brain rearrange the scent a bit better.) The scent clung to my hands somehow and smelled even better, which was a large part of what changed my mind about my review.
Smell (brewed): Muted licorice and subtly nasty. (Note: As above, if you smell it with “rootbeer and butter vapor” in mind, it does smell nicer – as long as the tea/water ratio is right. If you don’t smell the rootbeer even when thinking “rootbeer” you may have to add more water.)
Color (brewed): Deep mahogany red/brown.

Taste (plain): An awful lot of nothing, followed by a confusing mixture of licorice and “something else” that approaches nice, but doesn’t quite get there. (I didn’t try the “rootbeer and butter vapor” trick, so all I can give you is this not tricked-out review. Since every time I’ve tried it without “help”, I’ve seriously not liked it, I’m going to skip doing a re-taste on the plain version.) ((Note two: I probably didn’t add enough water to this version either. I don’t think it’s worth it – to me – to try it again without some sort of sweetener, though.))

Taste (sugared): Thinking I might have added too little water, I added a bit of water as well as the sugar. Now I can properly taste the flavors. I’m not sure if the water was what helped or the (really tiny amount of) sugar, but it gives it a bit of a hint of something I can only call “candy nice”. I originally started to label it as “butterscotch”, but I don’t think it smells or tastes anything like it. It does have the sort of creamy taste to the sweetness – perhaps vanilla-ish or cream-ish. I’m curious as to how much honey might add to the flavor.
(Again – the above was written without the “rootbeer and butter vapor” trick.)

Now that I’m on my second cup, I added a bit more sugar than last time. Obviously, just about any tea will taste nicer with sugar (especially more sugar than the last time you tried it), but I do honestly think that keeping the flavors you’re “supposed” to taste in mind will absolutely help the taste of this tea.

Other comments: Also, being a Harry Potter fan and finding the idea of butterbeer interesting, I had to take the shot at ordering the tea attempt.

I highly recommend that if you don’t like the scent of it, you don’t breathe in as you’re taking your sip. It helps avoid the smell tainting the taste, which is much better than it smells brewed and a million times better than it smells dry. (Or – as I later realize after reading a review on Steepster – if you keep in mind “rootbeer and butter flavor”… But I say that a lot in this review. It’s very interesting how much of a difference in flavor it actually makes to do this.)

Here’s a tip I’ve learned after cup number two (for this review – this is actually my 4th since I purchased it): If it smells really nasty and you’re having trouble with the “rootbeer and butter vapor” trick – add more water. It’s probably not the proper mixture. I think this particular flavor may need a bit less on the tea leaves than other flavors.

Would I buy it again?: I think I would. Initially I said “probably not” because I’d formed an opinion on it based on an incorrectly prepared cup and it not quite living up to what I imagined it would taste like, but I don’t think I really did it justice because I was disappointed.

I’m not a fan of licorice and it seems to require doctoring to make it taste its best. (The first time I had the tea I had to add sugar too. If I can find the honey, I’ll try it with honey. If I had butterscotch, I’d probably try that – just to see what it tasted like.) I don’t taste any of the “butter vapor” they talk about (though I suppose that might be the unidentifiable creamy taste) or the “rootbeer” flavor others on Steepster mention (though now that I’ve seen it mentioned, I do smell it in the steam). ((Even with the “rootbeer and butter vapor” trick I don’t taste either even though I can smell them.))

Would I recommend it?: My review is sort of all over the place, isn’t it? If you know to keep in mind “rootbeer and butter vapor” and the idea of it seems interesting (and I think it might help if you like licorice) – go for it, absolutely!

WOAH. IT TASTES LIKE BUTTERBEER. Seriously, it tastes like root beer. What magic is this? (the magic of essence of root beer, chicory and licorice, perhaps). Really, I loved this. Thanks to Miss B for this, along with the other lovely tea and the chocolate she sent.

Ok. I had actually gotten this tea back in early August along with Sun and Cloud Mist. But just now getting around to reviewing it and wanted to have it a couple of times anyways. Being a HP fan, I had to try this tea. I do like licorice and root beer (Have recently let the occasional root beer by A&W back into my diet.) But unfortunately….I do not like this tea. I plan on trying it cold next, if I like it cold, then I might get more. When I 1st opened the pouch, it smelled odd. Not bad…just odd. My 1st taste (without any sugar/sweetener.) was that it tasted flat. When I tried it the times before, it was with Apriva (Kroger version of Splenda.) so decided to try it with regular sugar. Barely made a dent in the flat taste. So I added more. And more. Finally when I decided to add honey it was drinkable, but I tasted more honey then tea. I don’t want to score this one yet til I try it cold.

Super old sample….going to give the rest to my friend to try.

I made this to bring to the movie theatre, added milk.

I think my “stained” stainless steel travel mug (the one that kind of has taste remnants of all the flavoured teas it has ever contained) may have ruined the taste of this one for me a bit.
It wasn’t very potent or delicious.

I might actually have to try again one time before I give it away!

I don’t consider this a 92 based on my tastes today, so I’m lowering my rating accordingly.

Steep Information:
Amount: 2 tsp
Water: 500ml at 195°F
Tool: Breville One-Touch Tea Maker BTM800XL
Steep Time: 2 minutes
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: root beer barrel candies, ginger
Steeped Tea Smell: toasty, root beer
Flavor: sweet, black tea, root beer, black tea
Body: Medium
Aftertaste: astringent, barky
Liquor: translucent dark red-brown

Not buttery :( I was expecting butterscotch?

Blog: http://amazonv.teatra.de/2013/01/13/52teas-loose-leaf-black-tea-butterbeer/

I like Harry Potter myself, but I had nooo idea what to expect with this tea. I’ve tasted so many variations of butterbeer’s flavor. My favorites seem to incorporate butterscotch flavoring somehow.

Definitely like a buttery root beer. Kind of in between a more modern sweet root beer and the stronger, almost medicinal ye olde stuff. No butterscotch that I can taste, but it’s still a nice take on the beverage.

This was interesting… I’m not sure what I was imagining when I read the Harry Potter books and they’re drinking butterbeer, but this was not it. This was pretty much root beer in tea form. Since I’m not a big root beer fan, this tea didn’t do much for me. It was an experience; I’m glad I tried it. But I’ll probably be passing this tea along.