Butterscotch & Hazelnut Mocha Candies

Finished up an old sample. Pretty decent. Bit astringent. But enjoyable this evening.

I am still trying to get through old teas and samples. I have a lot still.

Backlogged note from last week. This was just okay. Possibly it’s the age but I wasn’t terribly impressed. Still good but just that.

I wanted to try Butiki’s White Rhino for a long while, but never managed to pick any of it up, and couldn’t find any other companies that sold it (at the time – What-Cha carries one now that I’m probably going to pick up after I end my no-buy), so I was thrilled and relieved that I managed to pick up some of the last of this on the original White Rhino base just before Stacy ran out. In fact, if I remember rightly I think it might have been this tea that finally convinced me to place a Butiki order (which was quickly followed by two more). I was convinced I was going to love it, and while for the most part I was right, it doesn’t quite blow me away like I expected it to.

The boiling steeping suggestion on this terrifies me, but I took a deep breath and went for it, and surprisingly-but-not-really-all-that-surprisingly, it paid off! Man that White Rhino can take a beating! The flavour is predominantly butterscotch, and whilst I do love butterscotch I find it quite sickly as strong as it is here after a large mugful. I may stick to smaller amounts in the future, but at least I know it’s good for taking care of a sweet craving! I didn’t add any sugar because of how sweet it was on its own. It smells absolutely divine, really truly like liquid butterscotch toffee in a mug. I don’t pick up on much of anything else in the scent apart from the incredibly rich buttery toffee, and this is reflected in the flavour though the other notes do come through a little more. A bitter chocolate note comes through at the end of the sip and helps to counter the sweet butterscotch, as does the coffee note. There is a mild, lingering nuttiness which I wouldn’t specifically attribute to hazelnut, but it contributes a nice roundness to the blend all in all, adding a little complexity and just that something extra to give it dimension.

While not my absolute favourite of the final Butiki bunch, it’s certainly up there, and I’m very happy to have managed to pick some up. This is a special occasion tea for sure.

I actually finished this off at least a year ago, but apparently never posted a note for it. I just found the beginnings of one in my drafts and decided to put it up for completeness. Initial notes: “The dry leaf smells like nutella and butterscotch candies. It brews up slightly darker than a Werther’s candy.” From what I recall, this blend tasted like nutella and butterscotch too. I remember it feeling warm and wintry and comforting. It wasn’t my absolute favorite but it was damn good.

Whoa. I think the flavoring is too old on this one. So overwhelming and fake I couldn’t finish.

Another Butiki to keep my company while I sort my cupboard out. Electronic and real, that is. I fear my actual cupboard count is going to be over 250 by the time I’ve finished, which puts me far away from being under 200 again. One day I’ll get there (but it won’t be soon, because I’ve got three more orders headed my way. Bad me.)

Anyway, the tea. I used 2 tsp of leaf for my cup, and gave it 3 minutes in boiling water. It still feels odd to do that to a white tea, but I trust Stacy’s judgement in these things. I really enjoyed White Rhino when I tried it plain, so it’s great to have a little bit more albeit flavoured this time. I made no additions for my first cup, but I’ll probably try it with a little crystal sugar next time just to see.

The intial flavour of this one is butterscotch. It’s quite strong and sweet, although not nauseatingly so. It tastes like melted butterscotch chips, of the kind you sometimes find in cookies. A little bit like Werther’s Originals. There’s a darker undertone that really is kind of mocha-like. A little chocolatey, with a hint of coffee bitterness. I think that helps this one to stay just on the right side of sweet for me, and it adds a real depth of flavour and a degree of complexity that most flavoured teas just don’t have. I’m not getting much hazelnut, but I can’t say I’m really missing it. The butterscotch-coffee-chocolate play off is more than enough for me.

The White Rhino base is, of course, amazing. It does a great job of supporting the flavours, while providing a complementary sweet maltiness with just a touch of floral. It’s almost thick-tasting, adding just the right kind of caramelly texture. This one’s a real treat, and it’s another I’ll miss from my cupboard once its gone. Lovely, lovely stuff.

This was another sample courtesy of Kaylee. This one got rave reviews, but I suspected it might not be for me since I’m one of the few who didn’t care for White Rhino. And I was right. The butterscotch flavor was oppressively strong, with little hazelnut or mocha. being a huge fan of neither the base nor the butterscotch, this one just didn’t have much to offer me. Still, I’m glad I got a chance to try it, if only to confirm that I didn’t miss anything by not ordering it before Butiki closed.

Weirrrrrrrrrrrrd……….. I’m like 97% sure I’ve reviewed this before, but it’s not showing up. STEEPSTER Y U EAT MY NOTES!?

I’ve had this one at work for awhile now, it’s one of my special happy place teas. Most of which are Butiki, admittedly.

It’s really a great blend of flavours. I love the smell and the taste and the fact that I only have MAYBE 2 cups max left makes me sad.

We got about a foot of snow overnight so I’m working from home today. This is the first tea I grabbed out of the cupboard in my post-wakeup fog and, I have to say, I’m really enjoying it. It’s reminding me a lot of honey, taste-wise and they way the aftertaste lingers. Yum!

I’m almost out of this – maybe a couple more cups and while i’ll be sad to see it go, it doesn’t have nearly the intense flavour that i hoped that it would. It’s delicious, but i want more butterscotch AND more mocha. But white rhino…i miss you. lots. :(

Final Count: 171 (swaps and tea bags finally added to the cupboard)