Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Tea Description:
A wake-you-up Indian Breakfast tea with a round mouthfeel, light astringency, amazing malt and nut character and even some notes of baker’s chocolate. And of course the main feature: nutmeg with the taste of cream. Simply put, this tea tastes like Christmas. Sweeten the pot if you want something more decadent and a taste of orange.
Learn more about subscribing to Amoda’s Monthly Tea Tasting Box here.
Taster’s Review:
This month’s Tea Tasting Box from Amoda Tea is a little different from the boxes that I receive the other months of the year. How? Because this year, Amoda worked with Stacy at Butiki Teas to create three custom blends JUST for Amoda Tea … just for this month’s box! (You can read more about that here.)
This Nutmeg Cream from Butiki Teas is the first tea that I’m sampling from the assortment of three new and exciting teas that we were sent in this month’s box. Here are the ingredients:
Khongea Golden Tippy Assam, Organic Sourenee Second Flush Dinjoye Assam, Organic Kundaly, Organic Calendula, Organic Nutmeg, Organic Natural Flavoring (Vegan).
What an unusual and delicious cuppa this is! It tastes unlike any tea that I’ve ever tasted. I love that nutmeg is featured prominently in this blend, and I love how the natural nutty notes of the tea accentuate the nutty, earthy flavors of the spice. It’s warm but not spicy. As the description above suggests – this simply tastes like Christmas. More specifically, it reminds me of the flavors that are coming out of the kitchen during the holiday season like freshly baked cookies as well as other sweet treats and warmly spiced beverages.
The black tea is rich and offers a very solid background of flavor. It’s a very full-flavored, well-rounded taste that fills the palate with the robust taste of black tea, with notes of earth and caramel-y undertones. It has that sweet, bake-y sort of flavor that I like in a breakfast blend type of tea. There is a strong malty note to this as well, and it melds beautifully with the nutmeg and cream notes.
This is really so, so good. THANK YOU to Amoda Tea for such a lovely holiday gift to your subscribers. At first, I was a little disappointed that there wasn’t a product information sheet like I’ve found in my previous boxes, but, the flavor of just this tea makes up for no product sheet. I’m so glad that you chose Butiki Teas for your holiday box this year, because this is the best box thus far!
With Open Eyes Green Tea Blend from Butiki Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Butiki Teas
Tea Description:
With Open Eyes pairs our premium Hangzhou Dragon Well with the flavor of fresh picked strawberries, soothing ginger, and subtle buttery toffee. The chestnut, damp moss, and marine notes of the Hangzhou Dragon Well mingle with and compliment the strawberry, ginger, and toffee notes. Adding a little bit of brown crystal sugar will enhance the strawberry and toffee notes while subduing the ginger notes.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Yummy! This tea is really awesome! With Open Eyes Green Tea Blend from Butiki Teas is a sweet, nutty Dragon Well tea combined with the flavor of strawberry, ginger, and toffee to create a really unique and deliciously flavored blend!
What I’m noticing immediately with this blend is that the ginger is not overpowering. It is a very subtle warmth that I’m getting from the ginger here, just enough spice to keep things interesting but not enough for it to come off as fiery or spicy.
The Dragon Well is sweet and nutty with notes of vegetation. The strawberry notes are really delightful Sweet with just a hint of berry tart. The strawberry in this cup reminds me a lot of the strawberries you’ll experience “mid-season” … when they’re at their sweetest peak.
And then there is the buttery toffee! Oh my goodness! I would not have thought of combining ginger and strawberry with the flavor of toffee – but it works so well together. The toffee adds a little bit of sweetness and buttery creaminess to the cup and these notes marry so well with the natural nutty tones of the Dragon Well.
The flavors all meld so beautifully together, creating a very unified taste that it almost tastes as though they are one flavor rather than several individual notes. Everything is subtly flavored and well balanced to create a very seamless tasting experience. Another awesome tea from Butiki Teas!
1991 Da Ye Aged Oolong Tea from Butiki Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Butiki Teas
Tea Description:
Our 1991 Da Ye Aged Oolong is a 22 year old spring harvested tea from Nantou, Taiwan. This rare tea is oxidized between 20-30% and charcoal roasted. Da Ye Oolong is uncommon today since this tea has a lower production volume. Our 1991 Da Ye Aged Oolong is sweeter and creamier than our 2003 Reserve Four Season Oolong. Notes of roasted chestnut, bark, fresh butter, honey suckle, and cinnamon can be detected. Due to the age of this tea, some mineral notes may also be detected. This tea has a silky mouth feel and is sweet and buttery.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I haven’t had a lot of experiences with aged Oolong teas, but I have tried a few and I have fallen in love with the depth of flavor that I enjoy with an aged Oolong, and this 1991 Da Ye Aged Oolong Tea from Butiki Teas might just be one of the very best that I’ve tried yet.
I prepared this tea the way I typically prepare an Oolong – in my gaiwan! First, I do a quick “rinse” of the leaves by steeping the leaves for 15 seconds in hot water and then straining the tea and discarding it. Then I steeped the first infusion for 45 seconds, and added 15 seconds to each subsequent infusion.
I combined the first two infusions into one cup for my first cup of this aged Oolong. This first cup I would describe as “raw” in that it had a somewhat earthy taste to it. Notes of wood … but not so much of a charcoal-y note. The chestnut flavor was just starting to develop in this first cup, as was the notes of sweet butter. It was a little lighter in flavor than the subsequent cups, but, it still was really quite enjoyable. I didn’t really notice much of the spice notes that were suggested in the above description, nor any of the floral notes.
My second cup (infusions 3 & 4) was absolutely delightful. I could really taste the roasted chestnut here. It tastes like freshly roasted chestnuts! Notes of wood and butter, with a slight caramel-y undertone that melds in a really unique and delicious way with the charcoal notes which are now really coming through nicely. The aforementioned earthy tones are still there but they have subsided quite a bit, filling out the background rather than standing in the forefront.
The third cup (infusions 5 & 6) was a little lighter than the second, but not quite as light as the first. I still taste the charcoal notes, and some mineral notes are starting to emerge now. I am also tasting the cinnamon notes that the description mentioned. This cinnamon note lingers in the aftertaste. It’s quite interesting! Still nutty, although not quite as distinctly “roasted chestnut.” Also emerging now are more of the floral tones, but they still remain part of the background for the most part, so if you’re one who avoids Oolong teas because you find them too flowery, this one would definitely be more to your liking, I think.
The second cup was definitely my favorite of the three … but the third cup was also really delightful so I do recommend taking this tea through it’s many flavorful infusions to enjoy the most of this tea exploration. I’m really glad I decided to try this tea! What a wonderfully memorable tea it is!
Organic Oriental Beauty Oolong Tea from Butiki Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Butiki Teas
Tea Description:
Our Oriental Beauty is organic and utilizes the Chin Xin oolong varietal. Originating from Hungshan in the Anhui province of China, this oolong is crafted by tea master Shan Zhen Chen. Our Oriental Beauty is made from young shoots and is heavily fermented (60-70%), heavily withered (13-25%), and lightly roasted. This gorgeous tea contains leaves that vary in color, including: silver, gold, forest, auburn, cocoa, and charcoal colors. Rich honey notes linger and mingle with apricot, macadamia nut, and orchid notes. Some pastry-like notes are present and pairs well with the sweetness of this oolong, which provides a flavor somewhat reminiscent of funnel cake.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
The first note I noticed with my first sip of this Organic Oriental Beauty Oolong Tea from Butiki Teas was the orchid. How lovely! After experiencing the orchid, I discovered a strong peach-y/apricot-y flavor. These notes were so sweet and nectar-like that I could almost feel the fruit pulp! It amazes me how the pure tea leaf so perfectly captures the essence of the fruit.
I brewed this Oolong tea the way I usually brew an Oolong: in my gaiwan, using short steeps and combining two infusions in one cup. After a quick 15 second rinse, the first infusion was 45 seconds, and then I added 15 seconds to each subsequent infusion. The first two infusions combined produced my first cup, and the second cup was infusions 3 & 4 … and so on. I took this tea through its paces and had five lovely cups of tea (a total of 10 infusions.)
My first cup was very orchid-like. Of the five cups I enjoyed of this Oriental Beauty Oolong, the first cup was the lightest in texture. It felt somewhat thin in comparison to the other cups, but, there was a little bit of soft texture to it. The apricot notes came through after the orchid, and then there was a sweet, honeyed finish.
The second cup was my favorite. It was much more luxurious to sip, the texture was soft and sumptuous, and the apricot notes were prominent. The orchid notes remained a focus with this cup, and hints of the nutty flavors promised in the description start to emerge as well as a distant note of “pastry.” Definitely a yum cup!
The third cup was very much like the second. The orchid notes were a bit softer, and there was a little more astringency with this cup than in the previous two. The nutty tones were a little stronger, as were the buttery pastry notes. The fourth and fifth cups were less floral and more fruity/nutty. The astringency seemed to be strongest in the third cup, with the fourth and fifth cups offering a softer astringency, and a slightly thinner texture than was experienced in the second and third cups.
Overall, this was a truly lovely afternoon spent with this Organic Oriental Beauty Oolong from Butiki Teas, proving once again that this is definitely a company worth exploring. I’ve not yet been disappointed by a tea from this company. This is one of the nicest Oriental Beauty teas I’ve encountered!
Anji Bai Cha Green Tea from Butiki Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Butiki Teas
Tea Description:
Our premium Anji Bai Cha originates from Anji County in Zhejian Province in China and is grown at an elevation of approximately 2,900 feet. One bud and one tender leaf are utilized from the Bai Ye Yi Hao (white leaf #1) varietal to create this truly beautiful jade green tea. Anji Bai Cha translates to “Anji White Tea”. This tea is classified as green tea by process; the name refers to the color of the unprocessed tea leaves which are white and somewhat translucent in the sun. This rare tea has a short harvesting season of one month in the early spring season. Our Anji Bai Cha is sweet and buttery with vegetal notes and has a silky mouth feel. Sweet white corn and green pea notes are prominent with a gentle floral finish. The sweetness remains and lingers long after each sip. Subtle tart cherry notes can also be detected.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This Anji Bai Cha Green Tea from Butiki Teas brews up so LIGHT in color. It’s so pale, in fact, that I questioned whether or not I had put tea in the teapot! The brewed tea is almost as clear and colorless as the water that I poured into the tea kettle.
The flavor is almost as delicate as the color is … but it is beautifully sweet with notes of butter and mild vegetables. The above description suggests corn and green peas … I don’t know if I taste green peas or not (I’m not a fan of peas!) but, I definitely get hints of sweet corn.
I’m also getting the delicate floral finish that is mentioned in the description. I like the way that this starts off sweet, with a smooth texture and a buttered vegetable taste and then as the sip heads into the finish, I notice notes of flower that linger into the aftertaste.
As the tea cools slightly, the flavors begin to emerge a little more. I notice the cherry notes now. It is a sharp, tart note and when it finally did emerge … it took me by surprise. I was like … whoa! What was that? This tea definitely benefits from a couple of minutes cooling time to allow the flavors to come in to focus.
Now I am starting to notice a little more of a green vegetable kind of taste – again, I don’t know if I”d call it green pea because this is not something I eat on any kind of basis – but, I do taste a “green” kind of taste here. It’s crisp and a refreshing contrast to the sweet note of corn. I also note just a hint of a nutty kind of flavor to this.
A very enjoyable cup of tea! I would recommend this one to someone who tends to shy away from green teas because of the strong grassy notes … this is much more subtle in it’s approach. It’s a pleasant, complex cuppa – I like contemplating the complexity of this one. A nice way to spend a chilly evening!