I can’t remember if this was one of the surprise samples Butiki’s Stacy generously included with my order, or if I asked for it – either way, I’m excited to try a banana tea. This smells so good in the bag – quite like banana bread. I wish I had some dazzling banana bread story about a quaint little bakery in a small town in the South somewhere, but I’m sorry. The best banana bread ever is Honolulu Coffee Company’s. I love you, nice lady who for some entirely unfathomable reason found me delightful and kept treating me to free banana bread last Christmas. Please come live with me. I will knit socks for you. (Also please remember to bring the recipe.)
There is an elusive quality to the scent of the steeped tea. I was working on something as I waited for it to cool a little, and I kept losing my focus when little scent strands found their way to my nose. If this tasted like it smells, it would be one of my favorite things ever. The flavoring is super elusive in this one, though, and the Keemun base tea isn’t my favorite.
All in all, it goes down very smoothly, but doesn’t leave much of an impression on me. I’m happy I got to try it, though – exploring Butiki’s teas has given me a much better insight into what unflavored teas could work for me, and it’s pretty exciting.
[From my Butiki order to Santa Clara, October 2013.]
[Sample polished off in Rome, January 2014.]
Boiling, 3 min