Crimson Horizon

Luckily I remembered as I was steeping this how bitter it got at only 1:30 of steeping the first time I made it. I was able to yank the steeper out about 1:15 in and I’m glad I did, since this had already turned super dark after it seemed like the leaves barely got wet.

I meant to try it without additives but the opaqueness of the cup intimidated me into adding creamer from the beginning. It turned into a lovely tamed tea once the creamer was added but I’m thinking my palate might not be able to handle it any other way.

I take most of my breakfast teas with milk and sugar anyway so this will fit in the rotation until I sip it down. It certainly was the jolt I needed to get into schoolwork this morning!

Woah. This tea doesn’t taste like what I expected it to. It looks like a CTC Assam, but does not taste like it. Definitely bold. Needed some cream and honey. I like it, but I don’t think it will be a reorder. I think I over steeped it, though, and CTCs are kind of whiny about over steeping. I’ll add another note once I do the parameters as Stacy suggested.

This one was really good. I got the bready flavors without any problem. I took it on my recent trip to Vegas and it steeped up very nicely in subpar temperature water in the restaurant. Now I need to try it in more controlled conditions! :)

This is, in my opinion, a nice breakfast tea. Sure, it’s all cut up into teeny tiny pieces, which really resemble course coffee grounds and have a spicy aroma. But for making a pot of tea to enjoy with breakfast, it’s a no-brainer, & it steeps up fast! The cup is nicely bold, malty, & has some interesting flavors that I will have to pay more attention to next time.

I woke up with a headache this morning, and knew I’d want a strong breakfast tea to help sort me out. This one came to mind — a sample I requested with my latest Butiki order. I don’t drink all that many CTC teas now, but they do have a place in my stash for days like this. Unsurprisingly, this one stands up to the pack easily.

It’s really strong, bold, black tea. I gave it the 1.5 minutes recommended, and added a generous splash of milk. It’s relatively sweet and malty, and I’m picking up a few yeasty, bread-like notes. It’s just the kind of no-nonsense tea I can appreciate on a morning, perfect for unashamed quaffing. I’ll definitely be adding a bag of this to my next order, to keep in reserve for days just like this one! Another excellent Butiki tea.

I love bold, breakfast black teas. The kind that don’t have fancy descriptions and a line of connoisseurs lining up to sample them and give their two cents. CTC teas usually hit the mark here. This one certainly is bold, but there’s something funky going on. I think it almost tastes like someone boiled asparagus in the broth. I like asparagus just fine, and I certainly expect it in a green tea, but in my simple hearty black teas. . .eh, not so much. I added some milk and the asparagus flavor only got stronger. Now it’s like cream of asparagus soup! Far out man!

This is very strong! I had it in the afternoon today, but I’ll be drinking the rest of my stash as a breakfast tea. I’m getting a lot of what I think might be best described as oaky notes, and I’m also picking up on that unexpected vegetal note others have mentioned. While it’s not a dealbreaker it is something I could do without in a black tea. Not bad, but I definitely prefer Butiki’s Irish Breakfast as far as bold morning teas go.

Quite bold, but still drinkable without additions. I think I prefer the Grandpa’s Anytime Tea as a morning CTC, though. This one’s a less bread-y, and I seem to enjoy that flavour in my breakfast teas. It’s ‘brighter’ than Grandpa’s Anytime, if that makes any sense.

Something tasted a bit… green, or something. Like a hint of some savoury vegetable. That was rather unexpected.

I brewed this at a bit below-boiling for about a minute and a half, and didn’t get any astringency at all. Pretty impressive.

Back to reality today after a lovely long weekend visiting Ryan’s brother and his family down in Norwich. I brewed up a pot of this to kick-start my morning and give me the caffeine boost I needed. It delivered, which I knew it would as always. Poured a cup for my mam who said it was alright and admitted that I might eventually convince her to switch to loose-leaf tea. Hoping to have this out of my cupboard, along with 7 other old teas, by the end of the year, so expect another tasting note soon.

Wheat-like aroma with hints in the flavour. Clean vegetal tone. Hint of malty sweetness at the back of the throat. Flavour is a bit weak for my liking- I may try to infuse at boiling in the future.

Rating: 74