The base tea here is wonderful, and the dry tea gets extra bonus points for the big, lush pieces of pineapple. Scent wise, it’s not for me – I get a sweaty, chemical ginger note I’m guessing is the ‘flowery’ part of the equation, and which reminds me of Kusmi’s ginger-lemon on a bad leaf day. I say chemical, but it’s the same type of ‘natural chemical’ as tiger balm – a fairly pungent traditional remedy-like scent that lingers in the cup as well. I’m unsure whether it’s the calendula or this specific pineapple; if I come across another tea with calendula, I’ll try to remember to update this note.
Flavour wise, this is very soapy to me. I get no pineapple or general fruitiness at all, just a (non-bitter) citrus-gingery soap. Not undrinkable soap, if that makes any sense – I’m almost through my cup and I won’t avoid this tea in the future, but it’s just a very cosmetic floral note, for lack of a better word.
So far into my Butiki safari, I feel I’d probably have more luck with the unscented teas as staples; the flavorings haven’t quite been what I look for (I should add there are a few I’ve tried that I have yet to review).
On the other hand, I’m enjoying this a lot, because it’s really helped me characterize exactly what it is I want from a flavored tea (especially as I’ve compared a number of teas directly with similarly flavored ones from Lupicia) and also because it’s made me appreciate the base teas so much more.
Butiki use really phenomenal teas, and it’s the first company that has really ever made me the least bit excited about venturing from the world of flavoured teas, which is quite a feat in itself.
[From my Butiki order to Santa Clara, October 2013.]
80 C, 4 min