You know me and roses—picky as all get out and more often than not I’m just like to hell with ‘em—but I’ve had this weird informal project of trying as many Butiki flavors and blends as possible because they impress me so much (and they’re so unique too), including flavors and scents I normally dislike. And people have been talking about how good this one is, so I thought I’d give it a shot. And lo. It is really good! It is definitely WHOA ROSES when you open the package (visually too, just loaded with stunning vibrantly hued rose buds—what a gorgeous tea, my gosh), full on, but it’s not musty at all. It is perfume-y granted, but it smells fresher than normal, heady and lush. Most importantly, once steeped and tasted, it’s the champagne that gets me—it does not TASTE at all like perfume; the aroma sort of wilts you in flower steam such that it’s like taking a scented bubble bath, but the flavor is a wonderful tart-yet-somehow-also-smooth thing that somehow evokes fizzy, crisp champagne (including champagne’s aftertaste, that transition of flavors…how does it do that?!). A lot of “romantic” teas end up tasting and smelling too weirdly sickly sweet, just…off. This is bright and fizzy and fresh and wonderful. As it cools it gets creamy and sweet. It really is like a genuine rose petal-strewn hot bath and champagne and creamy sweets. And it could not have come at a better time; I had a crappy blah day (nothing majorly catastrophic, just lots of grueling mundane toil and feeling grumpy and edgy and tired, you know?). This was exactly what I needed to relax and get my hackles un-raised. I can barely believe I truly dig a rose tea full on now.

I must seem like such a Butiki shill lately, eh? In case anyone’s curious, my binge Butiki drinking was brought on by my tea buddy mentioning she’d ordered a bunch of the fall flavored ones and was really digging them, which lead me to placing an order…stumbling upon a handful that made me go whoamygoshthisisincredible-mustreorderimmediately, and realizing that, looking back, I’ve had tons of perfect teas from them and now that I’m kind of “settling down” and phasing out of the “try every company ever” exploratory newbie phase, deciding which handful of tea vendors I want to regularly do business with, Butiki’s definitely going to be on the list. So it’s kind of made me want to just go through all the ones I’ve got around but haven’t tried yet. Hence the Butiki tealog fest. Sorry guys. I tend to get obsessive fangirl about some things (I was the same way with Verdant when I first joined here). Sheepish me.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 3 min, 30 sec
Stephanie

I’m can’t wait to try this one!

BrewTEAlly Sweet

I can’t wait for you to try this also! and i Can’t wait to order it and try it!

ifjuly

It’s really delicious! I like it more than the Rose Violet Calendula Oolong, which surprises me (as I like violet and calendula a lot more than rose usually). If you like champagne and/or rose bubble baths you will probably like it!

Chizakura

I’m the same way. My TRY ALL THE TEAS obsession switched to TRY ALL THE BUTIKI TEAS after my first order there. xD Haha. I imagine she doesn’t mind too terribly :)

Lately I’ve been dabbling with Verdant, but I have an order almost ready to go for Butiki that I’ll be placing really soon with some new ones~~

ifjuly

Oh, I’m glad I’m not the only one who feels that way! Verdant was definitely like that for me, and I think it’s a small mercy most of my favorite there are sold out right now, ha.

keychange

Although Iam still definitely in the “try every company ever” phase, I know with resounding certainty that Butiki is a company I’m going to keep buying from forever. If Butiki has taught me anything, it’s to trust Stacy! LOL.

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Comments

Stephanie

I’m can’t wait to try this one!

BrewTEAlly Sweet

I can’t wait for you to try this also! and i Can’t wait to order it and try it!

ifjuly

It’s really delicious! I like it more than the Rose Violet Calendula Oolong, which surprises me (as I like violet and calendula a lot more than rose usually). If you like champagne and/or rose bubble baths you will probably like it!

Chizakura

I’m the same way. My TRY ALL THE TEAS obsession switched to TRY ALL THE BUTIKI TEAS after my first order there. xD Haha. I imagine she doesn’t mind too terribly :)

Lately I’ve been dabbling with Verdant, but I have an order almost ready to go for Butiki that I’ll be placing really soon with some new ones~~

ifjuly

Oh, I’m glad I’m not the only one who feels that way! Verdant was definitely like that for me, and I think it’s a small mercy most of my favorite there are sold out right now, ha.

keychange

Although Iam still definitely in the “try every company ever” phase, I know with resounding certainty that Butiki is a company I’m going to keep buying from forever. If Butiki has taught me anything, it’s to trust Stacy! LOL.

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Bio

“…you can never know everything about anything, especially something you love.”
-Julia Child on food and cooking, and I think it applies to tea as well!

note: i am currently taking a break from swapping/mail of any kind as money is rather tight. i apologize! i do love to swap but i can’t afford to right now. hopefully in a month things will change.

my cupboard includes any tea i’ve ever owned, including things i’ve sipped down, in order to facilitate swaps with people and keep a record—this way i don’t get redundant samples/order duplicates to try. if you are interested in swapping, i have a separate ever-updated list of teas i actually have on hand i can PM.

i like strong, rich blacks (including some choice old skool CTCs); juicy-fruity flavored green blends; buttery chinese greens; light floral oolongs; flavored oolongs (how sacrilegious!); earl greys; smoky blends; second flush muscatel darjeelings; verdant’s straight oolongs steeped in a gaiwan (mind altering!); anything from laoshan village it seems.

favorite notes include lavender, bergamot, violet, fennel, cardamom, melon, honey, sandalwood, smoke, nuts, roasty/toasty stuff, malt, wood, leather, creamy lemon, steamed rice, artichoke, garden-sweet snap veggies, earth/soil, forest and wet bark, and mushroom.

notes i generally can’t stand (at least in tea) include jasmine, rose (ok in small doses but i often find it overpowering and then everything just smells like musty old lady perfume), astringent apple (and general fruitiness really unless it’s with green tea), and chamomile (unless i’m congested or tired).

my current favorite tea vendors are butiki and harney and sons. i’ve also found some delicious teas and/or had good customer service experiences with the following companies: capital tea ltd., the devotea, verdant, mandala, golden moon, teavivre, lupicia, taiwan tea crafts, yezi tea, den’s tea, the tea merchant, norbu, fauchon paris, tao tea leaf, zen tea, fortnum and mason, townshend’s tea, joy’s teaspoon, new mexico tea company, persimmon tree, teajo teas, whispering pines, della terra, upton imports, mariage freres, samovar, justea, teabox, american tea room, steven smith, steap shoppe, utopia tea, and andrews and dunham damn fine tea. when i’m at the grocery store my “you could do worse” brands include stash, bigelow, tazo, taylors of harrogate, whittard of chelsea, and pg tips. and it’s a fact: you can’t make classic southern sweet tea without luzianne.

top picks, fall 2013

black:
verdant zhu rong yunnan black
verdant laoshan black
thepuriTea hong jing luo (no longer available :( )
thepuriTea red dragon pearl (no longer available :( )
mandala morning sun
golden moon honey orchid
verdant golden fleece
taiwan tea crafts red jade
yezi tea zheng shan xiao zhong “scotch” tea
capital tea borsapori estate assam tgfop1 (spl)
butiki khongea golden tippy assam
butiki giddahapar darjeeling extra special
upton imports fikkal estate
golden moon sinharaja
harney and sons new vithanakande
persimmon tree vintage black
teajo teas black manas
justea kenyan black
harney and sons kangaita op

morning blends:
butiki the black lotus
harney and sons queen catherine
harney and sons eight at the fort
harney and sons big red sun
harney and sons scottish morn
golden moon irish breakfast
harney and sons irish breakfast
utopia tea english breakfast
fortnum and mason breakfast blend (needs milk!)
andrews and dunham double knit blend
steven smith no. 25 morning light
butiki irish cream cheesecake

earl greys and scented afternoon blends:
teajo teas silky earl grey
harney and sons viennese earl grey
upton imports lavender earl grey
american tea room victoria
lupicia earl grey grand classic
harney and sons tower of london
tao tea leaf cream earl grey
zen tea earl grey cream
della terra earl grey creme
upton imports season’s pick earl grey creme vanilla
upton imports baker street afternoon blend
harney and sons russian country
della terra professor grey
verdant earl of anxi

flavored black:
herbal infusions moose tracks
american tea room brioche
steap shoppe cinnamon swirl bread
della terra oatmeal raisin cookie
butiki nutmeg cream
kusmi caramel
david’s tea brazillionaire
lupicia banane chocolat
butiki hello sweetie
fauchon paris raspberry macaron
butiki blueberry purple tea
herbal infusions marshmallow snowflake earl grey
herbal infusions creme brulee chai

pu erh:
mandala loose and luscious lincang 2007 shu/ripe pu erh
mandala special dark 2006 shu/ripe pu erh

oolong:
verdant shui jin gui wuyi oolong
verdant hand-picked early spring tieguanyin
butiki 2003 reserve four season oolong
harney and sons formosa oolong
tea merchant silk dragon
golden moon coconut pouchong
zen tea coconut oolong
american tea room coconut oolong
teavivre taiwan jin xuan milk oolong
butiki flowery pineapple oolong
butiki lychee oolong
lupicia momo oolong supergrade
butiki strawberry oolong
butiki pumpkin milkshake darjeeling oolong
52teas tiramisu oolong

green:
verdant laoshan bilochun green
verdant autumn harvest laoshan green
tao tea leaf hou kui
harney and sons tencha
harney and sons gyokuro
new mexico casablanca
butiki with open eyes
american tea room nirvana
joy’s teaspoon mahalo
den’s tea pineapple sencha
harney and sons tokyo
butiki potato pancakes and applesauce
butiki holiday eggnog and pralines
den’s tea organic genmaicha with matcha
golden moon hojicha

white:
butiki cantaloupe and cream
butiki champagne and rose cream

no caf:
harney and sons soba buckwheat
butiki birthday cake
della terra lemon chiffon
52teas strawberry pie honeybush
butiki mango lassi
joy’s teaspoon italian dream
butiki coconut cream pie rooibos
butiki peppermint patty
persimmon tree mint chocolate chip rooibos
art of tea velvet tea
fusion teas chocolate cake honeybush
american tea room choco-late
steven smith no. 40 bon bon
townshend’s tea dark forest chai
utopia tea decaffeinated earl grey cream

sleep aid/medicinal/therapeutic:
new mexico extra sleepy bear
stash white christmas
verdant ginger sage winter spa blend
samovar turmeric spice
butiki the killer’s vanilla guayusa

coldsteeped wonders:
whispering pines manistee moonrise
harney and sons fruits d’alsace
utopia tea berkshire apple and fig
culinary teas peaches and cream
butiki peach hoppiTea
butiki ruby pie
whispering pines gingerade

besides tea

born in seoul, raised in new england and upstate new york, went to college in pittsburgh, currently in memphis with an eye toward philadelphia, portland, or asheville eventually.

i like cats, most beverages really (i also like good freshly roasted coffee, craft beer, wine, whiskey and gin-based cocktails, and soda/soft drinks like agua fresca), art (mainly writing but also visual and music) and critical theory, feminism/genderqueer politics, historiography, statistics, children’s literature and librarianship, travel, and food/cooking. also have recently gotten into weightlifting (mark rippetoe and stumptuous!) and sprint training (HIIT, plyometrics) and i love it.

Location

Memphis, TN

Website

http://facebook.com/ifjuly

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