Ruby Pie

This seems like a good afternoon tea to drink while helping my mom decorate the tree, a little extra boost of caffeine for holiday spirit! The smell is pretty intense, lots of strawberries and a tart fruity undertone. There is also a hint of cookies and malt, so that makes it a bit like pie. Speaking of cookies, I read somewhere that gluten is not water soluble, so in theory as long as I don’t eat them they shouldn’t hurt me? Not sure…but I am hoping just a little bit won’t cause any problems. It smells to good to not try!

I have learned that my new tiny little teapot is in fact a TARDIS because wow, it holds so much more than it looks like it should. Enough for my mom and me to each have a small cup (and not small like my tiny gongfu cups, like teacup size) so that is fun. Also this tea smells really good! I love rhubarb and strawberry pie, but for some dumb reason I am allergic to rhubarb, but I was informed by Stacy that there is not actual rhubarb in here, so I was super excited to try it. Yay for tea that smells and tastes like things I enjoy but can’t actually eat :P

The taste is alright, at first I was not really wowed, but as it cooled I found I enjoyed it more. There is definitely a taste of strawberries, rhubarb, crust, and a bit of spice, just something was lacking for me. Not really sure what, could be my mood…could be anything. Glad I got to try it though!

Thanks to Stephanie, I finally get to try this tea. It smells like strawberries, in pie form even. I like the added graham crackers. Certainly smells like there is a pie in my tea mug. The flavour is berry, but I think I taste the hibiscus too. Makes for a good berry tea, but I’m not getting much pie… the cracker seems kinda hidden.

This seems like something that would be good iced, so I’ll try that too.

Oh yeah this is a favourite. I gave my BFF her teas tonight, and made us a pot of this to share while she cleaned the frogs and I dealt with whatever it was I was doing.

I’m drinking the second steep right now, actually.

We both really REALLY like this tea. I highly recommend it. I love the slight tartness, the strawberry, the custard. Yum.

(3 min for first steep, 4 min for the second)

Backlog time. Apparently the middle of the night Saturday/Sunday morning is my gongfu session/Steepster sweet spot.

Another tea from the lovely Virginia! I fear that I got lost in the tea and forgot to thank her for all the Butiki teas she sent me, but if you’ve read a review by me of a Butiki tea lately, she’s the facilitator :).

So this tea is dark brown with chunks of dried strawberry and graham cracker-type things. It smells all sweet strawberry and brews up a reddish brown. The taste is all sweet strawberry with a tart kicker, smoothed out by vanilla. Unfortunately, I don’t taste any graham-ness to suggest the crust, but if you like strawberry rhubarb, this tea will bring you joy.

Every time I open the bag, I want to shove whatever’s in there in my mouth and eat it. I steeped it for 5 minutes after seeing someone else’s comment that it brought out the flavours and YES, it’s true! Revelation!

I’ve seen so many good stuff about this tea on my dash (if that’s what it’s called? Dash or feed or… I don’t even know) and it got me excited to try this tea! It’s… okay. It had a really nice dry leaf smell, but its brightness got a bit.. murky and dull in a way? I like how there’s little bunny grahams in here hehe, so that’s probably what gave this tea a bit of umph, but not enough to go head over heels for.

It’s good, but not great. Thanks NayLynn for the chance to try it, and giving me enough for a few cups, but I don’t think this is a tea I’ll go out and purchase.

T&C TTB#16: Okay, this is great. This was another I have never ordered because I figured it wouldn’t be my thing. I don’t really get any chocolate chip bunny taste here, but it is easily one of the best strawberry blacks I’ve had. I do notice the hibiscus but not in a bad way and there is a little bit of pie crust in the background. It’s a little bit dry as it cools off. I don’t get much cinnamon either and I’m not sure what rhubarb tastes like. My grandma made strawberry-rhubarb pies every spring but I never ate any. I liked the plain strawberry ones too much to branch out. :) This one goes on my shopping list for the next Butiki order.

I’m having one of those days… You know, where you think your tea cup is a gaiwan, so you dump your tea into your wet cup, only to realize you have to quickly scoop it out into your infuser basket with your clumsy fingers…all while working as quickly as possible, so as to not affect the outcome of the brewed tea….

Well, I was also distracted by a man in the school field behind my house as my kettle was coming to a boil… He had been hanging out there, playing with his dog for quite awhile…which is all good. But then when it came time to leave, his goal was to get his four legged friend into the backpack carry-on so that he could ride his bike home….and doggy was not looking pleased about this arrangement. It was hilarious, and vexing in a way (because, I’m sorry, that’s just humiliating to that poor dog….)…. So, perhaps that’s why I was distracted…

But, I wasn’t going to let anything distract me from this tea once it was ready.
Oh my…. I love this one.
Thanks so much, Marzipan, for sending it my way!!!
I get the steamy jam that’s bubbled up around the edges of the crust (I always go for that gooey looking piece…), I get the buttery pastry dusted with sanding sugar, I get the cooked strawberries and rhubarb….. I get the WHOLE PIE.
I just want to gobble it up and then ask for seconds (and eat it with my hands, like keychange said was perfectly acceptable)….
This is getting added to my “buy this as soon as you can afford it, and keep it on hand forever after” list….

Sorry dog in backpack… I no longer care about you…I have pie in a teacup.

The second of the Butiki teas I pulled out to try, and oh my goodness is this amazing! My search for a brilliant pie tea is offiicially over. The dry leaf smells wonderful — fruity, tart deliciousness. Brewed, it’s even better. The first thing I can taste is a strawberry and rhubard, with a perfect depth and tartness. It’s just like pie filling. Not too sweet, not too savoury, just…bam! After the initial fruitiness comes the cinnamon, and then a buttery, baked flavour that is just dead-on pie crust. How can something that tastes so much like fruit pie actually not be fruit pie? The assam base is really good here, adding a maltiness and a sweetness that somehow underline the whole thing. Sil and Butiki did really well with this one — I’m convinced it’s tea heaven! A definite repurchase once I’m done with this bag.

I think I am on the fence on this one. I like it parts of it, but I am not sure about others. I love the rhubarb and the strawberry along with the vanilla undertones. I absolutely think of a fruit pie when I am drinking it. However, there is a little bit of astringency in the base tea that I am not crazy about. I think I need to play with it a little bit and see if I can bring out the top notes and mellow the base.

For now, I am not going to rate this tea, I think I need to drink a few more cups before I make a final decision.