Grapefruit Dragon

Thank you Sil for this sample.

Night one of being alone is going well so far. I watched a few films to pass the time whilst drinking my milky, sweet teas for comfort and I’m now at the point where the last thing I want to drink is milk. My stomach agrees with me. So for the last hour now I have been thinking of having a pot of fruity green tea, something light and maybe sweet but something I will overall enjoy. So to my tea drawers I go and open my green tea drawer and with a little routing around I came upon this sample. I remember having a sample of this this tea as a gift from Butiki when I placed my first order with them but gave it away instead of trying it myself. Reason being that grapefruit is not one of my favourite fruits.

Well this review is long over due and I regret giving the sample away. At least now I can have some tea closure and see what I have been missing.

In raw form it sweet and citrus (waxy citrus) with grassy notes. Very pleasant and it reminds me of my Grapefruit Body Butter from The Body Shop.

Once steeped the tea liquid is yellow in colour with a sour and very sharp grapefruit aroma. Very natural and pure.

Sweet, buttery, sour, perfumey, green and refreshing. Those are my first things I noticed about this tea as I drink the first small cup of this down. It also starts off quite strong but quickly softens to create a delicate and beautiful array of flavours in the after taste.

Cup two reveals a more grassy taste over time and softens the grapefruit even more. And despite being perfumey it’s not dry or harsh in any way, in fact it’s the exact opposite.

After a while the flavours blend together and it’s hard to differentiate them but you are left with one beautiful cup of tea.

So this is what I missed by giving away that sample. A huge mistake on my part, I just hope whoever received it likes it as much as I do (sorry cannot remember whom I sent this to).

Thank you Stacy and Butiki Teas for this very delightful creation – absolutely wonderful! Also, a huge appreciation for you helping me out with this gaiwan. I’m really loving it and this was the tea of choice to celebrate this new teaware treasure.

These terrific Anhui Organic Dragon Well leaves with poppy-red colored safflower petals are just as pleasing to the eyes, as the tea is to the palate. Let me confess first – I LOVE grapefruit! So the obvious is understood immediately, when you find that this tea duplicates with great intensity the characteristics of grapefruit. This understandable would not be enticing to anyone opposed to this type of fruit, but for those that enjoy a delightful citrusy treat – look no further!

There is almost every single phase that you would expect of the real fruit. You will find mellow tartness, then a refreshing and cleansing sweetness. The flavor stays consistent even after multiple infusions.

This is a great anytime tea and I’m pretty sure that it would be a very nice chilled tea as well. I may have to try this in the near future. Until then, I will see how many infusions this tea can deliver! Very nice!

This was a sample from my last Butiki order – thank you so much Stacy!

I took it to work with me for some reason – I don’t know why, exactly, because I don’t really have adequate brewing conditions at work. See: generic hot water heater, styrofoam cups. And a flavored green, no less? Clearly I’m ready for that 4 day vacation heading my way starting Thursday morning.

I have to say though, it wasn’t bad. I got the grassy green of a dragon well (besides sencha, that’s my favorite green) and then that acidic citrus note of the grapefruit. It was very light and fresh tasting, and above all, it tasted like what it was supposed to!

I liked this more as it cooled off, and was kind of bummed I didn’t get to try it iced. Even though generally I don’t drink iced greens, I think this would work that way. I can only imagine how tasty it will be when I can fully control every aspect of the steeping process!

1.05 tablespoons for 375 ml of water

The grapefruit and green tea aroma compliment each other nicely. There’s a savoury spice note (almost like an indian spice) in the aroma as well.

The flavour has the broth-y feel of a dragonwell. The grapefruit flavour is present right from the beginning of the sip. The grapefruit and green tea flavours compliment each other very nicely. There is a tartness present from the grapefruit flavour in the middle of the sip but it compliments the taste profile very well. I am getting the strong grassy note of the green tea mostly in the aftertaste. The savoury note from the aroma seems to be faintly present, latched on to the beginning of the dragonwell taste. Buttery mouth-feel.

Along with the aftertaste, my tongue is getting that tingly feeling that I would get from eating an actual grapefruit.

Second infusion at 3 minutes.

Fourth infusion at 4 minutes. Mostly dragonwell flavour. Still retains a buttery mouth-feel. Grapefruit flavour still present in the background. Still a pleasing experience. Getting a bit of a white tea taste as the cup cools.

Thanks to Sil for sharing some of this with me!

This is nice and buttery, and a little juicy. I made this brew hot, and it was a little too tart, so I added a small bit of sugar and as it cooled, that seemed to help. It’s probably not something I would drink all the time, but it seemed to help with the spice from these adzuki bean crisps a friend gave me, smoky sweet chili flavour…tasty, but spicy. I have enough for one more steeping, so it will be nice to see how it plays when I don’t want to cut spiciness. I would have thought it would be good as a cold brew, but OMGsrsly did not care for it that way, and I respect her opinion. Sooo, I dunno….

Anyways, I am glad it is just a small sample, and I am grateful to have been able to try it, so thanks for the sample CrowKettle.

Okay, so this is interesting. I’m drinking this on the same day as Butiki’s Creamy Eggnog, and as I smelled this sample in the bag, I was struck by how very similar they appeared to my nose. There’s one note that’s very present and dominant to me and that sort of drowns out everything else. I think this might be the safflower, as this is the one ingredient that seems to overlap between the two teas.

I like it, but after having had the eggnog tea so recently, this just seems like that same tea, but without the creaminess that made that appealing to me. I get no grapefruit at all. Nothing even remotely resembling citrus, even. And seeing as I just had the grapefruit tea that potentially renders all other grapefruit teas obsolete, namely Grapefruit Green by Lupicia (reviewed here: http://steepster.com/clareborn/posts/199758) this review seems particularly badly timed.

So sorry, little dragon, you went down quite smoothly, but you’re just not for me.

[From my Butiki order to Santa Clara, October 2013.]
[Sample polished off in Rome, January 2014.]

Loose
Appearance: large longjing leaf., bits of bright safflower
Aroma when Dry: yellow grapefruit
After water is first poured: light yellow grapefruit
At end of first steep: tart, juicy white grapefruit
Tea liquor:
At end of first steep: clear
Staple? possible summer staple
Preferred time of day: any
Taste:
At first ?: grapefruit zest, cream textured close
As it cools?:tea lightens, bean notes surface, veggie textures linger
Additives used (milk, honey, sugar etc)? No
Lingers? Yes, fuzzy, velvety citrus notes

Second Steep (4min):
At first: grapefruit sour tang
As it cools?: gets very heavy bean, cloying vegital notes

good morning!! i am in a dangerously CRAZY good mood today! i wanna punch the world with glee! and gobble up art with a shovel! and neck with anybody who feels the same!

this is a sprightly cup!
i will have more!
thank you Sil!
thank you world!
thank you universe!
for creating tea!

Well, I’m not sure what I can add to these tasting notes that others haven’t already said…apparently I was of the last to try this one on Steepster! teehee…anyhow…

Thanks Stacy for this one! It’s greatly appreciated!!!!

This is a fabulous twist on a “dragon”. I think it’s wonderful! The grapefruit is PERFECT!!! I don’t know why more companies don’t do a flavored “dragon”!!!!

LOVE this!

Backlog!! I swear I wrote a note for this, but it was during the Steepster blackouts so it must have been eaten. Oh well.
Anyhow, hullo grapefruit! Yep, it’s all there. That tangy citrus note, the bitter aftertaste, and that delicious rindy aroma! The citrus plays well on the green tea, picking up on the sweet dragonwell mid note. A tad bit harsh on the tongue.
This was yummy. Not something I’d crave often though. Mucho thanks to Sil for sharing!