Mango Lassi

Stacy was kind enough to send me a sample of this in my last order. Thank you!

I was a bit disappointed at first because I had a hard time tasting the mango. I really wanted mango flavoring. I even tossed in some sugar and steeped it longer to try and bring out the mango.

I then settled back to enjoy the tea, even if it wasn’t very mangoey, when it it me. The name of the tea was Mango Lassi. DUH. That’s why I wasn’t getting fresh juicy mango, which relatives used to send up to us every summer from Florida, and the skin would practically slough itself off so we could sink our teeth into the fruit. AHEM. Anyway, Lassi.

Well, now that I made that brilliant realization, this tea is totally a less-creamy version of a mango lassi. This tea is delicious. The texture is creamy, and the mango lassi flavor comes right through. And now that I’ve let it sit for a bit and the sugar saturate the tea, there’s even mango – not fresh mango flavor, but it’s mango.

Lovely.

This tea is one that I decided to try that is out of my usual range of teas. The smell is wonderful and smells of fruit and spices. The liquid is a dark reddish brown that smells strongly of the spices.

While I do not know of much to say about the taste of this tea, I do know that the taste is good. This might be the second roobois that I have ever drank, and this is way better that the first. The taste is sweet, perhaps from the mango, but I cannot differentiate the mango and spices well. The beauty of this tea is the strong taste. I think this would be wonderful around the holiday season.

This is the second Butiki rooibos I’ve tried and I found they both lacked flavour. When I opened the bag, I couldn’t smell any mango. I was hoping it would come out in the flavour, but all I could taste was the rooibos. I couldn’t even detect a hint of mango, but I honestly think I am an extreme “non-taster”, so maybe someone else can get more out of this tea than I can.

I was most excited for this tea when I got my Butiki order today! The flavor is well-rounded; there’s nothing artificial about it too! Love it!

This is my first tea review, so do be kind!

I tried this unsweetened, though sweetener is recommended, and liked it very much; it actually seemed to have a slight coffee note, making me think it would be a good sub in the morning; the cardamom did not hurt (but it is a favourite spice of mine).

The mango isn’t too strong at first, though it shows up a bit better once the tea has cooled just a little bit (I’m never able to resist that first, lip-burning sip) and as I drank more of the tea, though it wasn’t as mango-y as I expected until it was flat out cold (busy day). It’s a well-rounded, full-bodied tea, not as sweet as some other rooibos. Though it could certainly benefit from some sweetening, it’s fine without, and would probably be pretty yummy with a splash of cream. The second steep turned out nicely as well—I actually may have liked it a little better than the first! Overall, I liked it a great deal.

Sipdown! (68/376)

In my Butiki drink-a-thon this month I thought it would be a good idea to get my samples out of the way first, if anything just to give me some place to start. This one came to me thanks to the wonderful MissB, along with a couple others I’ll be drinking down soon.

It’s not my favourite, but it’s not my least favourite either. For a rooibos I actually enjoy it quite a bit, but I seem to be going off rooibos at the moment. It’s definitely a noticeably present rooibos, not one that shrinks away into the background and hides, but it’s not an overpowering chemical tasting rooibos either. It’s one I can live with. The mango note is clearest in the sip, mixing with the woody rooibos in a way I don’t hate. There’s a very slight creaminess to it if I concentrate, but not enough to remind me of lassi. I can’t taste any spices at all, especially when plain. I added a little sugar (I really need to stop) which brought out the mango flavour a little more and maybe a hint of cardamom but that really could just be the power of suggestion. A splash of skimmed milk mellows out the rooibos and turns the fresh mango note into a creamy one which does actually remind me of mango yoghurt. It’s a little bit sweet for me with both additives, and I actually think I would have preferred it with just milk. No matter how hard I try I can’t find the spices at all, which leaves this at ‘mango yoghurt’ rather than lassi for me. I’m not sad to see it go, but I’m not happy either. I have 52oz of Butiki teas (I know) – not including samples – to go through, and there are ones I will miss way more than this.

Another sipdown. This is one of two teas I have called mango lassi, and honestly I prefer the DAVIDs version. This one is still good, but it doesn’t remind me of a lassi as much—blame my Indian food addiction! The rooibos in this one is mild and fruity, not at all woody like they can sometimes get. The mango blends with it perfectly, and it is a little bit creamy, like a lassi. I find myself wanting a little more oomph from it, but since it’s gone I won’t get to experiment. Oh, well!

Let me start by saying that before I tried this hot I decided to make it iced, and the outcome tasted purely Rooibos and virtually unflavoured. Not particularly pleasant iced, though it did make handy as a base for a Nutri Ninja vegetable juice. Amongst the spinach, banana and carrot the Rooibos added some sweetness and flavour. So it had a happy ending.

Today is the last of my sample so I’m trying it hot. With low expectations from the iced tea make I’m trying to enter this with a more open mind. I love Butiki’s blends most of the time and if nothing else I can say I tried it.

So after a busy morning (which involved house cleaning, a builder finishing some brick work and some furniture being delivered) I finally sat down with lunch (blanched vegetables with home made hummus in tortilla), put on a horror film I had taped a few days ago on Tivo and prepared myself for some tea.

Scent is fruity though light, mango is definable but also reminds me of peach.

Flavour is sweet and fairly light with a heavy Rooibos base and a light after taste of fruit. It doesn’t taste as definable as it smells. Other than ‘something tropical’ I would be at a loss without knowing. Some creaminess is present though the Rooibos cuts through it rather strongly.

I don’t think this blend is for me, it appears I have found my Kryptonite in terms of Butiki-ness. The base is too heavy, the fruit too subtle and unfortunately I cannot see (or rather taste) it’s greatness. A shame really, though not a surprise compared to it’s iced form. Not one I would care to try again.

This is my last untried Butiki tea! Hooray! Visually, it’s mostly red rooibos with a few yellow flower petals and some pieces of candied mango. Dry scent is very strong medicinal rooibos! There’s a little bit of cardamom there too, but I don’t smell any mango. I steeped 1.5 teaspoons for 5 minutes in boiling water.

Brewed aroma… still mostly rooibos with some cardamom. I must say, I’m quite disappointed with this one. I definitely expected a lot of mango, and I’m barely getting more than a little hint of it. I did try it with sugar as suggested, and I didn’t find that it improved the mango flavor or the tea in general. I guess this one’s not for me. :(

Sipdown (120)!

Ok, this is a little sweeter/more mango flavoured then last time. I’m thinking it’s a combination of my slightly overleafing and steeping an extra two minutes that help pushed this one further to a more flavourful, and therefore enjoyable, point.

I actually let this one get cold, and it was a bit better that way. If I had any more I’d probably be trying it next as a cold brew – but as is I’m out, and this didn’t impress me enough to want more of it so I shall leave that avenue unexplored and just be content with the two cups I had.

Thanks again, Cameron B.