Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Butiki Teas
Tea Description:
Our Potato Pancakes & Applesauce tea pairs our buttery Organic Huangshan Mao Feng with generous potato pieces and crisp apple chips. Plain, this tea is thick with potato notes up front followed by apple and cinnamon notes with some buttery notes that peak through at the end. As the tea is repeatedly sipped the buttery quality will become more apparent. The weighty body adds to both the potato and applesauce feel. Since this tea is on the lighter side, we recommend drinking this tea at a warmer temperature. For stronger potato notes we recommend adding a very small amount of salt; however, this may diminish the applesauce notes. For a sweeter applesauce, we recommend adding a tiny bit of sugar; however, this may reduce the potato notes.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Wow! This Potato Pancakes & Applesauce Green Tea from Butiki Teas (part of their holiday series in observation of Hanukkah) has to be one of the most unique tasting teas I’ve yet to encounter! I figured it would be when I requested a sample of it with my order, however, I still find myself in AWE of how truly unusual this tea is. Unusual, yes. Unique, certainly. But it’s also really good!
I can’t say that I’ve ever tasted the combination of potato pancakes and applesauce before. I’ve had these two foods separately, but never together. Until now, that is, as I sip this tea. And I really can taste both the potato and the apple in this. Yes, that’s weird, but it’s weird in the yummiest way imaginable.
The green tea base is light and smooth. I note no bitterness or astringency here. Just a crisp taste. It doesn’t even taste overly vegetative or grassy. Really, the strongest “vegetable” note that I taste here is that of the potato, and that tastes somewhat thick and starchy. It’s not a heavy flavor though. I suppose if I wanted the potato to taste stronger, I could have added a pinch of salt like the above description suggests, however, I didn’t want to obscure the apple notes so I decided to go without salt or sweetener here and just experience this tea without additions.
There is a buttery creaminess to this as well, and this melds beautifully with the potato. The apple is delicate and sweet. The cinnamon accentuates the apple nicely without bombarding the blend with a strong cinnamon presence. The cinnamon is added at just the right amount here, because it doesn’t taste distinctly “cinnamon-y” … instead, it makes the apple taste like applesauce, which is exactly what I think Stacy at Butiki Teas was going for (since the name of the tea is Potato Pancakes & Applesauce).
I love it when I find a tea like this: one that delivers exactly what is promised in the name, even if the name seems a little crazy! And yes, the idea of a green tea that tastes of potato pancake and applesauce does sound a little crazy (maybe even more than a little crazy), but again, that’s a crazy in a very delicious way.
Well done!
Winter Fire Guayusa Blend from Butiki Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Guayusa
Where to Buy: Butiki Teas
Tea Description:
Spice things up with our Winter Fire guayusa. We started out with a generous amount of cinnamon then ground up some whole chilies and added a touch of cayenne to our guayusa base. The result is a cinnamon flavor that packs some heat with a smooth molasses undertone. This guayusa works well without sugar; however, add a little sugar for a flavor that resembles red hot candy.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Wow! This Winter Fire Guayusa Blend from Butiki Teas has got some SERIOUS kick to it! I doubt anyone could accuse this tisane of wimping out – it brings the heat, and then turns it up … way up! If this winter weather has left you feeling cold, just brew yourself a cup of this tisane and it will warm you right up!
But, as the description suggests, there is a smooth molasses undertone to it too. Once your palate gets past that striking heat, there are some really delightful flavors to explore.
The fiery heat from the cayenne, chilies and cinnamon sort of mask the coffee-ish flavors of the guayusa at first, but as I continue to sip on this, I start to notice those coffee notes. There is a sweet, molasses-like flavor to the cup as well.
The prominent flavors are – quite obviously – the spices of this tisane. It’s a little jarring at first, just how spicy this is, but, once your mouth begins to get used to the heat, you’ll find you’re able to explore the other notes and you’ll find that there’s more to this than just the spice.
Those who can’t handle spicy-hot … this is not a tisane for you. This is for those who like it hot!
Traditional Plum Pudding Flavored Oolong Tea from Butiki Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Butiki Teas
Tea Description:
This tea follows a more traditional form of plum pudding. Plum pudding is cake-like treat that is soaked with liquor, spiced and contains dried fruits and citrus peels. This plum tea has notes of rum, spice, brown sugar, orange peel, and a slight hint of custard. We went very light on the spice and orange peel but added it for a touch of depth and authenticity. This delicious plum, rum, and a touch of spice tea utilizes our Nilgiri Frost Oolong for a weighty body and a hint of sweetness. While tasty on its own, this tea pops with a tiny amount of brown crystal sugar.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Yummy! This Traditional Plum Pudding Flavored Oolong Tea from Butiki Teas is really a festive treat.
I can’t say that I’ve ever tasted plum pudding, but, I can taste each of the elements that is promised in the description above. I taste the plum and the rum notes, and there is this smooth creaminess to it that is very custard-like. It is sweet and gently spiced in such a way that it tastes very holiday-ish. And the subtle notes of orange brighten the cup.
The base tea used here is Butiki Teas’ Nilgiri Frost Oolong, and because of the natural citrus and bourbon notes, I think that it was an ideal choice for this blend. It melds seamlessly with the flavors, accentuating them to bring out the most from those flavors.
I’m REALLY glad that I tried this tea. I took my first few sips of the tea without any sweetener, and it’s really good like that, but, I found that the tea really came to life after I added a little bit of turbinado sugar to the cup. Delicious hot, but if you happen to walk away from the cup for little while and return to a cooled cup – its still yummy. This tea gets two very enthusiastic thumbs up from me.
Champagne Cider Honeybush Blend from Butiki Teas
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Honeybush
Tisane Description:
A champagne cider cocktail for the day after the holiday party. Apple is the undercurrent of this fantastic flavour combination that really does taste like champagne. Add in spiced apples, hints of orange and a touch of natural sweetness and you get this incredibly unique tea.
Learn more about subscribing to Amoda’s Monthly Tea Tasting Box here.
Taster’s Review:
This Champagne Cider Honeybush Blend from Butiki Teas is really delicious. Of course, I certainly didn’t doubt that it would be, given the success that I’ve had with Butiki Teas’ blends. Stacy at Butiki Teas knows what she’s doing – she’s brilliant!
I don’t know that I’m tasting a lot of champagne here, but I can definitely smell the champagne in both the dry leaf and the brewed tisane. The flavor of the champagne is a little more difficult to discern, but I do pick up on the champagne-like taste when I slurp to aerate the liquid as I take a sip.
But I do taste the fruit! The orange, which can sometimes be an overly-prominent flavor in a tea or tisane, is instead a subtle note here. The apple is sweet and equally matched with the level of orange flavor. These fruit notes are softer flavors to mimic a “mulled” champagne cider.
And then we have the spices. The spices are also on the subtle side. I taste the notes of cinnamon and clove, but neither is overpowering the cup. Everything stays nicely balanced, even the cinnamon which can often be a selfish spice and take over. It doesn’t do that here, it stays gently warm … softly spiced.
I’m not typically all that excited about tisanes. That is to say, I’d rather drink a camellia sinensis tea than an herbal tisane like this honeybush blend. But, I do like this quite a bit. Butiki Teas really knocked this one out of the park!
Eggnog & Pralines Green Tea Blend from Butiki Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Tea Description:
The mellow green teas in this blend are the perfect base for a light version of a glass of eggnog and praline cookies. This tea is creamy, sweet, light and refreshing all at the sametime. Lightly roasted pecans mingle with the vegetal note of the green tea that we are glad wasn’t covered up. Dare we say it – this tea tastes just fantastic sweetened up.
Learn more about subscribing to Amoda’s Monthly Tea Tasting Box here.
Taster’s Review:
Have I mentioned how much I LOVE that Amoda Tea treated their subscribers with three unique Butiki Teas for their Christmas tea box? Every month, Amoda Tea sends me an exciting collection of three tea samples, and I’m very happy to receive each and every box – some boxes are more thrilling than others! – but this box just may be my favorite thus far.
And that’s because all three teas in this box are not only from one of my favorite tea companies – Butiki Teas – but each of the teas have been created exclusively for Amoda Tea for this box. You can’t get these teas anywhere else! How seriously awesome is that?
This Eggnog & Pralines Green Tea Blend from Butiki Teas is the second tea in my special Holiday box that I’m trying. And it’s amazingly good. That, of course, comes as no surprise, because Butiki Teas blends their teas to please the palate – and they succeed every time. I can’t recall a time when I’ve been really disappointed by a tea from them. Again, some teas are better than others, but even those that are not my favorites, I can usually find something worthwhile to enjoy about those teas.
The green teas used in this blend are organic Mao Jian and Glenburn Estate green teas. The flavor of the green tea shines through nicely here, with notes of sweetness and a slight vegetal tone. There is a buttery note that melds harmoniously with the eggnog notes. Very creamy!
The flavors add a hint of custard-y flavor that’s sweet and luscious. The praline notes are a little less distinct, but they’re there and just as the description suggests, it’s a little “cookie-ish.” I drank this tea with just a little bit of turbinado sugar to pump up the volume of the flavors. It’s delicious without the sweetener, but, with a half a teaspoon of raw sugar, the notes of praline really POP!
With this tea, you don’t need to leave milk and cookies out for Santa – just a cup of this tea! It’s a perfect treat!