57
drank Mango Lassi by Butiki Teas
681 tasting notes

Sipdown! (68/376)

In my Butiki drink-a-thon this month I thought it would be a good idea to get my samples out of the way first, if anything just to give me some place to start. This one came to me thanks to the wonderful MissB, along with a couple others I’ll be drinking down soon.

It’s not my favourite, but it’s not my least favourite either. For a rooibos I actually enjoy it quite a bit, but I seem to be going off rooibos at the moment. It’s definitely a noticeably present rooibos, not one that shrinks away into the background and hides, but it’s not an overpowering chemical tasting rooibos either. It’s one I can live with. The mango note is clearest in the sip, mixing with the woody rooibos in a way I don’t hate. There’s a very slight creaminess to it if I concentrate, but not enough to remind me of lassi. I can’t taste any spices at all, especially when plain. I added a little sugar (I really need to stop) which brought out the mango flavour a little more and maybe a hint of cardamom but that really could just be the power of suggestion. A splash of skimmed milk mellows out the rooibos and turns the fresh mango note into a creamy one which does actually remind me of mango yoghurt. It’s a little bit sweet for me with both additives, and I actually think I would have preferred it with just milk. No matter how hard I try I can’t find the spices at all, which leaves this at ‘mango yoghurt’ rather than lassi for me. I’m not sad to see it go, but I’m not happy either. I have 52oz of Butiki teas (I know) – not including samples – to go through, and there are ones I will miss way more than this.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 5 min, 30 sec 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML

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Bio

I first got into loose leaf teas when a friend of mine showed me Cara McGee’s Sherlock fandom blends on Adagio a good few years back, but they weren’t on sale in the UK so I started trying other kinds instead and have been hooked for almost three years (and have purchased several fandom tea sets including the Sherlock one I lusted over for so long).

Flavoured teas make up the majority of my collection, but I’m growing increasingly fond of unflavoured teas too. I usually reach for a black, oolong or white tea base over a pu’erh or green tea, though I do have my exceptions. I will update my likes and dislikes as I discover more about my palate, but for now:

Tea-likes: I’m generally easily pleased and will enjoy most flavours, but my absolute favourites are maple, caramel, chestnut, pecan, raspberry, coconut, blueberry, lemon, pumpkin, rose, hazelnut and peach

Tea-dislikes: vanilla (on its own), ginger, coriander/cilantro, cardamom, liquorice, pineapple and chocolate

I am a 25 year old bartender, English Literature sort-of-graduate and current student working towards finishing my degree. I am hoping to one day complete a masters degree in Mental Health Social Work and get a job working in care. Other than drinking, hoarding and reviewing tea, my hobbies include reading, doing quizzes and puzzles, TV watching, football/soccer (Sunderland AFC supporter and employee of my local football club), music, artsy weird makeup, and learning new things (currently British Sign Language).

I should probably also mention my tea-rating system, which seems to be much harsher than others I’ve seen on here. It’s not always concrete, but I’ll try to define it:

• 50 is the base-line which all teas start at. A normal, nothing-special industrial-type black teabag of regular old fannings would be a 50.

• 0 – 49 is bad, and varying degrees of bad. This is probably the least concrete as I hardly ever find something I don’t like.

• I have never given below a 20, and will not unless that tea is SO bad that I have to wash my mouth out after one sip. Any teas rated as such are unquestionably awful.

• This means most teas I don’t enjoy will be in the 30 – 50 range. This might just mean the tea is not to my own personal taste.

• 51+ are teas I enjoy. A good cup of tea will be in the 50 – 70 range.

• If I rate a tea at 70+, it means I really, really like it. Here’s where the system gets a little more concrete, and I can probably define this part, as it’s rarer for a tea to get there.

• 71- 80: I really enjoyed this tea, enough to tell somebody about, and will probably hang onto it for a little longer than I perhaps should because I don’t want to lose it.

• 81 – 90: I will power through this tea before I even know it’s gone, and will re-order the next time the mood takes me.

• 91 – 100: This is one of the best teas I’ve ever tasted, and I will re-order while I still have a good few cups left, so that I never have to run out. This is the crème de la crème, the Ivy League of teas.

I never rate a tea down, and my ratings are always based on my best experience of a tea if I drink it multiple times. I feel that this is fairest as many factors could affect the experience of one particular cup.

I am always happy to trade and share my teas with others, so feel free to look through my cupboard and message me if you’re interested in doing a swap. I keep it up-to-date, although this doesn’t mean I will definitely have enough to swap, as I also include my small samples.
Currently unable to swap as I’ve returned after a long hiatus to a cupboard of mostly-stale teas I’m trying to work through before I let myself purchase anything fresh

I also tend to ramble on a bit.

Location

South Shields, UK

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