Potato Pancakes & Applesauce (Holiday Series: Hanukkah)

Wow. So, this is another one I’ve neglected. Again, probably because it’s a little odd in concept. I figured it was time to stop being a baby, though, so I brought this one to work with me and made it my first proper cup of the morning.

For my first cup, I followed the recommended parameters and gave 1 tbsp of leaf 4 minutes in water cooled to around 180. It smells mildly cinnamony while brewing, with an almost soupy/brothy note. Very unique!

To taste, this is as smooth as can be. I like Mao Feng in general, and it’s the perfect choice here. Mild, buttery, with a light “green” note that works with the savoury theme of this tea. The initial flavour is apple and cinnamon. The apple has a baked flavour, sweet and a little mushy (rather than crisp and sharp), and tastes as if it were dusted with cinnamon prior to going in the oven. The cinnamon is fairly mild, but adds a warm spiciness and complements the apple perfectly. No surprise there – apple and cinnamon are long-established friends. The potato comes out in the mid-sip, and adds a thick, starchy flavour that really does remind me of pancakes. Right at the end of the sip is a smooth butteriness, very rich in the way of actual melted butter, and it does become more prominent with successive sips.

I didn’t make any additions this time, but I would like to experiment with salt and sugar, to see how that changes the flavour profile. I’m definitely looking forward to working out what tastes best to me, although to be perfectly honest I’m happy with it as is. A beautifully unique tea that brings home to me just how much I will miss Butiki once they’re gone forever.

This is probably my favorite tea from Butiki that I’ve tried! The green tea is super light and buttery, a welcome change from most flavored greens I’ve had. Plus the cinnamon and apple notes really do remind me of applesauce. I love the cinnamon note here; it tastes sweet and freshly ground. The potato pieces add a surprising savoriness to the blend, a kind of soft powdery taste that I find delicious. (I assumed that I wouldn’t be able to taste the potato at all, but it’s definitely present!) This tea also resteeps surprisingly well, considering the delicate quality of the flavors.

I’m just sad that this tea is already out of stock on Butiki’s website. I would have liked to order more before they close… But I still have a decent amount left for hoarding purposes, so that’s a good thing!

Just tried a sample of this. It is a pretty unique combination of flavors for a tea, and the flavors seem pretty spot-on. The flavor of a typical applesauce is very different from that of a normal apple flavor, and this tea matches the sauce flavor very well. I’m not sure if this will become a favorite since I was only able to try 1 cup of it, but I could definitely see it growing on me if I were to order more. If you are a fan of the equivalent Hanukkah food dish (which I am both assuming exists and that this tea is modeled after) then I 100% recommend this tea. If not, I still recommend giving it a try due to its uniqueness.

So when I saw this, I thought to myself “Omg that sounds so weird. I have to buy it!” and I’m glad I did. It is a very soft tea and the flavours are delicate (which I am imagining is a must in a case of an apple and potato tea) the potato, apple and cinnamon are actually very interesting together and although I think it would be interesting to have a butter note in there, I enjoy it.

I admit, I had to try this just because of the novelty of it. And, the reviews were so glowing. Thank you Dustin for including it in “Another Traveling Tea Box!”

I liked it! I started out with a little sugar and definitely got warm, cozy applesauce. I took another reviewer’s idea and added both salt and sugar at the same time, and it brought out the potato a bit while still keeping the apple. Really interesting, and really nice.

However, I’m not going to keep the rest of the sample, even though there is quite a bit there, because I think this tea is just unusual enough that everyone should have a chance at trying it, so it’s going back into the box but I really recommend tasting it!

In other news, I had some crazy dreams last night. The last one was that I was Beyonce, and someone was trying to kill me, but I was just trying to get all of my make up on.

Hmph…I could of sworn I had reviewed this tea…no wonder I couldn’t find it the other night!

Anyways…I had this tea I think it was Saturday? Yeah that’s right that is when I got the package. For various reasons I do not want to have any now…I’m hoarding it. Saving up moola for a Verdant order as well as Della Terra. (Though probably not till this summer, sadly.) So cannot justify ordering more from Butiki at this time.

Anyways….

1st sniff: Funky, (In a good way;))smells coming out of this bag, now why didn’t I pick this one 1st? Ahh yes the smells of the Pistachio Ice Cream beguiled me. Enough of that…carry on!
My 1st few sips were with sugar only, which made the apples really show up, though thankfully not overshadow the potato. After about 4 sips I added some table salt. (I love sweet and salty tastes anyways.) OMG!!! Insanely good!

I did have the odd thought of adding some sour cream to the tea as I like both applesauce and sour cream with my potato pancakes, though not crazy about them mixed up…..Hmm. What a quandary.

Backlog:

One of the most unique tasting teas I’ve yet to encounter. Very unusual … and tasty! I’m in awe of Stacy’s blending abilities.

I’ve never actually tried potato pancakes and applesauce before. I’ve had the two foods separately, but never together. I like that I can taste both the potato pancake and the applesauce notes.

The green tea base is light and vegetative, but, I taste more potato than I do vegetal taste from the green tea. There is a buttery creaminess to this too, and that works to the potato’s favor.

The apple notes are sweet and add a really interesting contrast to the somewhat starchy, buttery flavor from the potatoes and green tea.

A very unusual blend, like I said, but one that I’d happily drink again and again. Here’s my full-length review: http://sororiteasisters.com/2014/02/09/potato-pancakes-applesauce-green-tea-holiday-series-hanukkah-from-butiki-teas/

While it’s usually kind of fun to try to pick out all the various flavor notes in straight teas, sometimes it’s nice to just have the name of the product tell you what to expect. It tastes like – that’s right – potatoes with apple & cinnamon, and makes for a surprisingly refreshing beverage. I found the liquor a bit thin, but I suspect that can be remedied by using more leaf and/or less water. A solid offering that I look forward to playing with more!

if you have a moment please read this thank you note to two brilliant vendors: http://steepster.com/discuss/7209-where-credit-is-due-dot-dot-dot

aha! i got it! last time i was too conservative.

i’m getting ahead of myself… this cup was brought to my by one MissB. thank you, thank you!

my first cup i was so worked up to try but was let down by the sip =0(. it shouldn’t happen to a butiki tea…. it shouldn’t happen to my tongue! i was disappointed and feeling guilty for being disappointed… round and round. all for want of an extra sixty seconds steeping!!! really james!

cinnamon, applesauce, potatoes verrrrry faintly as a starchy baseline. very nice! a bit of agave syrup added and i feel quite the decadent dandy =0)

thank you so much MissB for my surprise (she snooped on my wish list and sprung it on me, lol). it’s absolutely lovely.

I bought this tea mostly for the novelty, but it is a really excellent tea. The dried apples make the apple aroma too sweet to be any applesauce I’ve had, though (not that I’m complaining). I’m really craving something salty to go with this to bring out the latke flavor.