Decaf Chocolate Raspberry Waffle

Wow, even after 3 years or however long it’s been out of business, my remaining Butiki teas are still good! I’ve just realized that I didn’t review them. Oops. I guess it doesn’t matter so much now, but I’m just that kind of person.

Anyway, still very chocolate and raspberry. I didn’t get a waffle flavor (or anything pastry-ish or vanilla-ish) but very nice. And somehow, it has a slight floral quality, probably most rose-like if I had to pin it down. If memory serves, this is pretty much how I felt about it when it was new and fresh, lol, but I won’t give this a numerical rating because I’m not sure that would be fair.

I steeped this tea for aaaaaages trying to get more flavour out than I did last time. It was semi-successful in that I can kind of taste the base tea now? Sorta? I also used more leaf and less water, which had contributed a little more flavour but also a drying sensation at the back of my throat which I didn’t expect to get from this. I actually am getting a very slight chocolate note this time, but the waffle is less prominent than before. The raspberry is still front and centre, which I don’t mind at all as I am a fan of Butiki’s raspberry flavouring (though there are certainly better raspberry teas from them). As it cools the chocolate and waffle are becoming a little more discernible. I had to add sugar again to make the flavours pop, but overall I think they are more pronounced and more well-balanced than before. Not by a huge amount, but I am upping my rating a little from my previous 61. It would have been more, but I’m picking up a weird bitter/sour note every now and again which is not coming from astringency.

Sipdown 160/397

I can really taste the dark chocolate and raspberry in this tea and they mingle wonderfully together. I can’t taste the waffle at all. I definitely over-steeped it which made it bitter but the flavours are still good. Next time I’m going to add a little honey to amp up the sweetness.

Even with sugar, I just couldn’t get much flavor out of this one. There’s a hint of chocolate, but that’s about it. I think this just goes to show that decaf tea is best avoided (by me, at least), even from the likes of Butiki.

Mastress Alita’s sipdown challenge Tuesday, June 29th: National Waffle Iron Day Tea #3

additional notes:  For the final tea of waffle day, it had to be this one, just because waffle is in the name.  My only “waffle” tea.   Still love this one. Not too many “waffle” teas in the Steepster search, but I’d sure love to try the white2tea.

I’ve been hoarding this almost since I move here. It smells mostly like chocolate, and some fruit. Decided to make it iced. There is a pasty flavour, with raspberries and cocoa. Not sure if I really get waffle, it’s more like a croissant. Might have sweetened it a little much, but it tastes like a nice dessert. Brewing it hot, I get more raspberry.

This tea is insanely good in my opinion. I was informed by Stacy that my order was the last of this. Too bad, it is perhaps the best flavored decaf tea I have ever had. This is like drinking a chocolate raspberry ice cream shake but its hot. There are strong notes from the dark chocolate and the raspberry. The tea itself smells of the heady aroma of dark chocolate, it definitely isn’t milk chocolate in this blend if my nose is accurate. There are many pieces of freeze dried raspberries in this too.

I brewed this once in an 18oz teapot with 3 tsp leaf and boiling water for 4 min

Sugar. The key to this blend is sugar. Without it, there’s a rich mouthfeel but the flavor is pretty meh. With about a teaspoon of brown crystal sugar, it’s raspberry, buttery, waffley goodness. The chocolate is pretty muted, dancing in and out of the sip while the raspberry and waffle flavors take center stage. I’m glad to have a decaf dessert tea that I can enjoy in the evenings. This is one of those rare-ish black teas that doesn’t hurt my stomach either.

OMG, a chocolate tea I actually like…it’s like finding a unicorn haha. I like that chocolate is not the primary flavor here. The raspberry and waffle flavors are more prominent, and cocoa is a back note that only comes out when it gets cold. While I don’t think it tastes exactly like the title implies, it is still very tasty. I particularly like that even though it is decaf, it doesn’t taste weird. Most decaf teas have an odd taste.

I tried this once before and didn’t enjoy it much but I attributed it to the fact that I let the tea get cold, so today I brewed it up again and made sure to drink it hot. Unfortunately, I am still not a fan. I think something about the decaffeinating process really takes away from the tea itself. There is no base for the flavors to really stand on so at times I get a little chocolate and some berry but nothing really significant enough that I would consider this memorable. The rest is being passed on to Indigobloom. Hopefully she will have better luck with it. 272.