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A friend of mine from overseas was in town, a friend whom I hoard all things coconut for: snacks, candies, body cream, and now tea. The DTs person helping me said that she preferred this one over DT’s Coconut Oolong, which I had gifted my friend with when she was last in town and then DTs discontinued that blend and it was gone when I stopped in to buy more. So, I picked this one up for the hoarding stash for my friend instead and then, somewhere at home, I mislaid the tea.

In the meantime, miraculously, Coconut Oolong reappeared in DTs stores again, so I bought a mountain of it and gave it with all my hoarded coconut somethings to my friend during our many outings in town when she was here.

I love it when friends from overseas visit. It always feels like I am on vacation in my own city when they are here and I am seeing the world with their fresh eyes.

Right then, so today I found this tea.

It’s ok. Just ok.

With DTs multi-fruit blends, it’s always tricky as to how much leaf to add. Not enough and it might be low on flavour and weak on actual tea. Too much and depending on just what imitation flavours are at work, you might be cooking up a cup of synthetic and/or super-sweet mouthfuls. Tricky thing.

I decided on a generous teaspoon full. The first cup was a big nope. Oil slick on the surface of the steeped tea. Some sort of bitter imitation flavour going on. I only managed to get through the first cup because I had some bittersweet chocolate with roasted almonds handy.

The second steep was ok. The imitation flavour and bitterness was mostly gone. Coconutty flavour, but then, there was some sort of not quite natural aftertaste.

And it’s a good thing I just came across the tea today. I would have been embarrassed to have gifted someone with it.

I might try it with less leaf next time. Or more bittersweet chocolate on standby.

It has only been a relatively short time that I’ve been drinking and commenting on tea. I have found it remarkable that others find a kaleidoscope of flavours in what might seem to be a straight up green. Anyway, I am getting there, slowly, slowly.

I was a bit surprised at how crushed up the leaf is, so I read other reviews and sure enough, that’s just the way it is.

At first sip, I noted a hint of jasmine, but then, it disappeared, so I suspect the scent of another tea must have wandered into this sample. I have been rather slow in getting to this envelope. The past couple of months have been all over the place. Even that is a slight understatement.

Anyway, so, I do detect the slightest bit of corn here. But, vague. I honestly wouldn’t taste it if I weren’t seeking it out.

There’s a bit of grassiness too. And as others have noted, the tea gets even more smooth as it cools. And a bit of astringency too, even though I steeped it very briefly at a cooler temperature.

I think this may be the very first green tea I’ve had from India: Flowery Orange Pekoe grade, grown in Nilgiri, to be exact.

I can’t really tell you in which way this particular tea differs from a Chinese tea as there are so many variations. I will research this a bit. Thankfully, I have enough to sip another couple of cups.

Thanks, tigress_al, for letting me sample some of the glory that was Butiki.

Well then, now that my tastebuds have gotten used to the dark roast intensity of this particular oolong, as opposed to the light floral oolongs I have been drinking lately, I am very much enjoying the complexities of this one.

In the first and second steeps, plum and prune notes emerge with the slightest bit of ashiness and depth. Lovely.

I am so grateful for the brightness and breeze today and so far, lack of humidity. Glorious, glorious.

It’s going to be a slow day, hopefully slowly and gently accomplishing one or two, or a few even, postponed tasks.

Raising my rating to illustrate my newfound tea joy .

Ouf! Strong oolong, especially so after all the light and easy floral milk oolongs I’ve been drinking lately. In the first steep, the flavour is almost black tea saved by the hint of oolong in the aftertaste.

Kind of works for me on this day though. Had an intensely flavoured meal in Korean town on this lovely sunny summer day, if you ignore the earlier humidity. A frisky tea is a good way to follow up.

To be continued tomorrow.

Drank this the other day, but put off noting it as I didn’t have time to enter it into the database and so on.

Enjoyable cup, but then, there was an unpleasant taste emerging at the tail end of the sip. Possibly the dreaded liquorice root. Or perhaps the ashwaghanda which I have taken for medicinal value, but never in tea form.

I wasn’t paying attention to the healing properties of the tea, but I hope to remember to do so in the cup of leaf or so that I have left.

All this talk of milk oolong took me there. Tasty. Creamy and thick and sweet condensed milk and fruity oolong. I am enjoying it even more with all this milk oolong preamble.

The second steep seems to be far more buttery than the first, but just as sweet.

The green oolong tastes come up more as it cools.

Lovely cantaloupe and melon cream indulgence. Smooth, smooth. The green tea base is barely barely there. Just a lovely tea.

Thank you, Sil. I am really enjoying this one.

Yum. The past few days, I’ve been drinking straight green teas and needed a bit of a change. I am enjoying this lime marshmallow happening today. I will be sad to see my tiny bag end.

I woke up feeling great. You know that conquer the world feeling?

Yeah, that one. Since I’ve been ill the past few years, I don’t get that feeling very often. The first year or two, almost never, so waking up feeling that everything is magnificent and all things are possible is just wow for me. Really wow. Such immense gratitude for these moments.

One of the first things on my agenda today is to spread the joy and that means to initiate a surprise for someone. I love surprises, big or small. And because it is a surprise, that’s all I am going to say about that.

I have always loved the idea of this tea: hazelnut brittle, caramel. Truly, what is not to love?

That said, it is a tricky one. I find I need to be careful to not add too much leaf or the mineral element overwhelms.

This cup is all hazelnut brittle and mineral. Really enjoying my first steep today. I wonder what the next one will bring.

I hope everyone’s day and tea is glorious.
Spread the joy, people.

Woke up with a massive killer migraine. In mulling over all potential causes, the final possibility was not having drunk enough tea. Ah, maybe that’s it.

I bought this tea at the tea festival here at the end of January. The first several times I had this, I really quite enjoyed it: classic genmaicha. Today, however, I dipped further into the bag, so my dry leaf was far more powder tea and far less roasted rice. Then, despite aiming for a very brief steep, my steeper clicky thing got stuck and didn’t drain properly or quickly enough, resulting in a far longer than optimal steep. So, today, the tea is too strong and a bit bitter. Not the tea’s fault.

My migraine seems to be slowly subsiding. I hope. If so, despite the bitterness, it’s a win.

I will refrain from rating.

Later in the day reflection…
I think I had used far too much leaf when I made this tea today, owing to the fact that it was mostly tea powder and few rice grains. That and the prolonged steeping time resulted in a poor-ish first cup. However, steeping two and three were lovely.