Taiwanese Wild Mountain Black

Almost finished with the bag with just one serving more left. I’ve got mixed feelings about this, mainly because I was so excited about this after reading all the great reviews. But after trying it, it was just so so for me. Maybe I set my hopes too high. Who knows. XD This was made regular ‘western’ style, but with my last serving I might give making this in a gaiwan a shot. Anyone have any pointers on how best to do that? I’m a total gaiwan noob. But onto the review.

I was surprised at how honey-like the brew smelled this time around. Maybe I was underleafing the last few times I’ve made it? Or else I just don’t recall the smell the other times. It’s not really a sugar-sweet sort of honey smell but something a bit darker (though not like burnt type dark), with a nice woodsy sort of undercurrent. As usual my words aren’t working very well. XD
The taste is woodsy, malty, slightly sweet. I can kinda understand the bready description that other people were mentioning, though it doesn’t really stand out like that to me. And I don’t get much of any sort of apricot/plum/fruit notes, or else their buried beneath the woodsy maltyness. XD

Even after a pretty unique cup of tea, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t reorder this since it’s just not a tea I’d crave to drink all that often. I have other teas that I’d reach for first for regular drinking, and ones that already take up my ‘special occasions brewing’ preferences. But I’ll definitely enjoy the last cup of this before it goes.

My favorite leafhopper tea! And I got a BUNCH of it for my birthday! :D

Tastes like rich and sweet like waffles…yum yum yum.

This reminds me of a tea I had recently! hmmmm cant pin point it. This is my first time trying this, it was a part of myHUGE BUTIKI BF oder, that I am slowly but surely making my way through.
I see what the ranting and raving is about this one. The honey notes are what I first spotted in my cup. I do taste that burnt sugar aspect of caramel. Bread notes show themselves in the end. Overall this was a great cup to warm me up after work. Its been freezing and non stop raining all day. I love this weather!!

Another tea that I didn’t expect to like. I am not on team leaf-hopper :p

But sometimes I worry that I’ll miss out on an exception if I don’t try some of the teas that I expect not to like.

Anyway, nothing wring with this tea at all, I just don’t like the honey notes (and I insist, as always that they taste more like mushrooms than honey). It’s a 75 for me.

Yes yes yes. Be back soon!!

ETA
Ok, here I am. So, Kittenna sent me a sample of this and I loved it. I drank two steeps this afternoon at work. I am not going to sit here and pretend like I can discern all of the unique flavors within this tea, just know that I am not really a fan of straight teas, generically speaking, but I am going to order this next time I hit up Butiki.

My list just keeps growing. It was flavorful and roasty and golden and not at all boring or overly strong to drink. It was just what I needed at the end of my work day and I’m sure I will “need” it again.

Eta again…
I got 2 flavourful steeps out of 1 tsp of tea in a normal sized coffee mug, went for a third but it didn’t have enough flavour for this lady.

Merci Kittenna!! :)

Hey Steepster, it has been awhile!

This is one of the first cups of tea I have had in oh 3 months, and it taste oh so good. Today was a rainy cold day and a cup of tea finally sounded like just the thing to warm me up from the inside out. My husband and I found out we were expecting kiddo 2 back in November and the wonderful morning sickness really screwed with my taste buds. The idea of drinking a cup of tea had me running for the hills.

This tea is as good as I remember it! I can’t put words to it tonight, but I am going to miss this one. I think there is another ounce in my Butiki order, but if not this may be one of my last cups:( Oh so yummy on a dreary night!

Finally get to try this, courtesy of Fuzzy_Peachkin (I think) from our Taste of France swap. I was really excited because everyone raves about this tea.

…so it seems like I’m the only one who doesn’t find this tea sweet. In fact, I could swear it smells and tastes like mushrooms with sort of a caramel background. Which I’m actually quite enjoying but very confused about. I’ll have to play around with it a bit to figure out what the issue is.

I’d been holding off on writing a tasting note for this one, as I’ve just been struggling to think of something to say.

This is one of the best black teas I’ve ever had. It’s also the sweetest. The one I gave that title to before is Mi Xian Black, but they’re sweet in a different way. Mi Xian Black is sweet in a fruity way, whereas this tea is sweet like SUGAR. Fancy powdered sugar used only on the best of pastries.

If I could afford it, I’d drink this every day. But like Mi Xian Black, it’s a tea I only drink once every two weeks or so, and when I do make it, I re-steep it to get every ounce of sugary yum.

There’s a certain flavor that encircles the powdered sugar taste that I’m having a hard time putting my finger on. I’ve read through some other tastings notes for this tea, and I guess the best way I can think to describe it is that its pastry like, though I’m not sure if that’s quite what it is.

For people wary of getting into black teas, or for people who want a black tea that tastes sinfully good without any additions, this is the one to get! :)

Regardless, it’s wonderfully good. To the point that I’m tempted to say it’s bad just so I can buy up everyone elses share ;)

5/5 (see my bio for more info on my new pared down scale)

Was nervous this would not live up the hype—the massive, wondrous hype!—but worry not, for it is everything I was hoping for—sweet as can be in a good way, and rich. Dry and freshly brewed it smells like honey, roasted (and so caramelized) sweet potato, and cinnamon. There is the slightest tinge of intense chocolate too. Tastes like those things—especially cinnamon-y sweet potato—along with raisin and waffle mid- and end-sip. Reminds me a lot of the handful of premium blacks I tried all at once months and months ago, stuff from Teavivre and Verdant, with that extremely satisfying, starchy-sweet “rich food” sort of feel.

I’ll add that, no surprise from Butiki, the dry leaves are just absolutely gorgeous, gloriously long and gently twisted, delightful spindles. I just wanna photograph ’em!

I really need to try this one, along with Verdant Golden Fleece and Teavivre Bailin Gongfu, gongfu-style now that I have a gaiwan.

Another rainy day… which means oolong or black tea for me! This one smells just lovely! It smells fruity, bakey, sweet, leathery… so delightful! Sipping… the scent actually translates very well to the taste! It’s sweet, fruity and a little bit bakey. There are so many layers, it’s hard to pick all of them out! Fruity, leathery… darker and more bitter the more I sip. I love the finish on the tongue — it’s sweet and begs to be sipped again! At times, this tea seems like a much lighter black tea and at others, it becomes almost a bit brisk.
I’m really enjoying this cup because it’s so unique. I don’t think I have anything like this in my collection. A great cup to have this afternoon!