English Breakfast

I’m starting the day with this tea, mainly to get some caffeine going in my system so that I can leave in an hour to go play a wedding over in Belleville, IL. Like yesterday’s wedding, it’s a pretty basic wedding: I’ll play 30 minutes of classical music, play the entrances for everyone, play a unity candle piece, & the recessional. I love playing at weddings & could probably play one in my sleep! Like yesterday, I’ll spend more time driving than playing, & for that reason, I need caffeine!

I’m starting to get my sense of taste back a little. I can taste sweet, & as of this morning I can taste salt! All the tea I’ve been reviewing has led me to really notice ‘mouthfeel’, & the mouthfeel of this tea is bright & a little on the acidic side. Of course, you might not want to take my word for it, as I’m still getting over being sick, and I’ll give it a more fair review in a few weeks when it comes back into rotation.

I ordered this along with my most recent order … mostly because I was curious, because I seem to focus primarily on the flavored and more unusual teas from Butiki, but, overlook something that seems a little more commonplace even though I acknowledge that certainly not all breakfast blends are created equal and as Stacy at Butiki is brilliant at what she does, I should have known that her breakfast blend would not be something so ordinary.

I LOVE this. It is certainly one of the more robust, thick, hefty English Breakfast blends I’ve come across. I taste the rich malty tones of Assam, the evenness of the Ceylon, the delicious, toasty flavor of the Java tea and the lightness from the Darjeeling helps to keep this tea from being too thick or heavy. It’s got just enough tooth to it to be a really good, solid breakfast blend – better than most out there, to be sure! – but, light enough so that I don’t feel weighed down after I’ve had a cup.

I’ve enjoyed this so much I’m actually on my second cup today.

i have one big second steep of this tea left. it’s sitting at home smack dab in the middle of the counter. waiting for me.
i had it for pre-breakfast tea today too.
i love the blend. milder than some other breakfast teas but very appropriate. somehow it tastes kinda timeless. or it makes me think of timelessness? like how things can sometimes feel connected even if they are miles or years or worlds away?
i’d say that’s the sign of a good cup, wouldn’t you?
thanks for the existential crisis Sil!

I used 0.8 tablespoons of dry leaf for 375ml of water.

This English Breakfast is milder tasting than ones that I’ve tried in the past. It does not have the bright bitter edge that I usually find but there is a little tingle of astringency where that note would usually be placed. I’m getting a sweet caramel note near the end and into the aftertaste. The aftertaste is quite sweet and reminds me of a milky sweetness. Leathery tones near the middle of the sip. A little dull leading into the aftertaste.

Rating: 78

Thank you to Indigobloom and Sil for letting me try this!

Sipdown! Another tea i’m sharing with my parents this weekend. I’m not a big fan of english breakfast teas but this one isn’t bad. There’s a taste in here that i’m not a fan of but i can’t place it today. Overall though a nice enough blend that i think my parents will really enjoy trying!

I manage a pet store. I feel like I needed to add that first because otherwise it makes no sense.
I have made a rule that no one cleans any cages until after their cup of tea/coffee/hard liquor. Okay not hard liquor, that wouldn’t be professional. I broke my rule today and started with the budgies, then I stabbed myself with their swing under my nail. I have now deduced that this day sucks. It doesn’t really, just in some ways. My other half is now gone for the whole summer with Army. The day he gets back he has rehearsal for a wedding he’s best man for, then wedding the next day. Which means I get to see him in September. On the bright side I have FINALLY mastered standard driving! So GET OFF THE SIDEWALKS JEEPMAMA COMIN’ THROUGH!!
Also, I remembered to bring good tea to work, now that I bought a good kettle. So, I’m enjoying this bold, little cuppa. Then I get to show the ferrets whose boss.

Big thanks to SIL for the sample!! I quite like this.
Can definitely taste the darjeeling in there, with a good dose of pleasant astringency. Usually I dislike that sour not but somehow it really works here. It balances out well with the malty Assam. Mmmmmm. This is really good!
My only concern is that it’s a touch too light for my liking.

So, I normally don’t drink black teas at night, however, my very first order from Butiki arrived today, and I couldn’t wait to try it. I decided to make a cup of this around 10pm.

I am relatively new to the tea world, but this is easily the best English Breakfast I have had so far. If you are relatively new to tea like I am, this is the kind of tea you want to be trying.

I was starting to think that I might not like English Breakfast teas. I have had some other English Breakfast blends that smelled and tasted kind of bland. Before opening this tea, I honestly thought that this might be just another standard cup of tea that I like, but is really just a “good tea”.

This tea smells very rich, and smells much more lively than some of the other English Breakfast blends I have had. As soon as I smelled it, I thought to myself, “Oh?”.

This tea tastes like a full-bodied black tea, with a hint of toasty-ness. It is not bitter at all, and tastes very smooth. With some of the other black teas I have had, I have gotten a bitter aftertaste, but I do not taste that at all with this tea. I feel like at first, I get this strong black tea flavor that slowly fades away (in a good way) and leaves a very light aftertaste. Mmmmm….

This is my first tea from Butiki, and my high expectations (based on what others here have said about Stacy’s tea) were absolutely met, if not exceeded. I would definitely buy this tea again.

After this cup, I can honestly say, “I like English Breakfast blends…..at least good ones like the one from Butiki.”

This is easily the boldest and most robust English Breakfast blend I’ve ever had. I LOVED the malty notes and the fact that it tasted balanced. Some English breakfast blends end up being really muddled and taste grayish but this is bright, balanced, and a really great morning tea.

I had a sample of of this tea from the tasting box I purchased from Liberteas. If anyone is looking to try a large variety of samples I highly recommend purchasing one of the sample boxes from Liberteas.

Received this as a sample in my order. :)

Nice and hearty cup. This proves that Stacy has talent with the basics as well, it’s nice and strong — but not overpoweringly — and gives you a very thick mouthful which I like, especially in the mornings.

The second infusion remains strong and flavorful as well.

Overall I prefer her Irish Breakfast over this, so if you’re going to choose one breakfast tea from Butiki, I’d go with the Organic Irish Breakfast. :) As far as English Breakfasts go though, this is one of the better ones I’ve had.