First note for this tea – and it’s also a sipdown!

The tea vendor offers two steeping temperatures with this tea – lower if you want a more buttery flavour, higher if you want a more bold/robust flavour.

I went with the lower temperature – 90C for about 2 minutes, 2 tsp per 8 oz. Since I made a big mug, I used up the whole sample I got last year.

I agree with the vendor that the taste was very buttery and somewhat floral. There was definitely a feeling of richness in the back of my mouth reminiscent of butterscotch or caramel – like Werthers Original candies.

However, the tea was not sweet. It wasn’t quite tart or sour or floral, but the flavour that did result is hard to describe, mixed as it was with the butter at the back of my mouth. I think this tea would have been absolutely lovely with some sugar and cream, but I always rush with my tea in the morning, since I have to leave the house by 7:20. Not very conducive to savouring and sipping.

I doubt this would be a restock. But I’m glad I got to get a sipdown in, even as the GCTTB4 sits there on my table!

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 2 min, 0 sec 4 tsp 16 OZ / 473 ML

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Bio

Updated March 2016:

I’m a writer and editor who’s fallen in love with loose-leaf tea. I’ve also set up a site for tea reviews at http://www.booksandtea.ca – an excellent excuse to keep on buying and trying new blends. There will always be more to discover!

In the meantime, since joining Steepster in January 2014, I’ve gotten a pretty good handle on my likes and dislikes

Likes: Raw/Sheng pu’erh, sobacha, fruit flavours, masala chais, jasmine, mint, citrus, ginger, Ceylons, Chinese blacks, rooibos.

Dislikes (or at least generally disinclined towards): Hibiscus, rosehip, chamomile, licorice, lavender, really vegetal green teas, shu/ripe pu’erh.

Things I generally decide on a case-by-case basis: Oolong, white teas.

Still need to do my research on: matcha

I rarely score teas anymore, but if I do, here’s the system I follow:

100-85: A winner!
84-70: Pretty good. This is a nice, everyday kind of tea.
69-60: Decent, but not up to snuff.
59-50: Not great. Better treated as an experiment.
49-0: I didn’t like this, and I’m going to avoid it in the future. Blech.

Location

Toronto, ON, Canada

Website

http://www.booksandtea.ca

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