Hattialli Golden Paw Assam

Oh, this is a sad sipdown. I almost ordered more of this on Monday when I heard Butiki was closing, but I decided not to, since I have other teas that are similar. The idea that once it’s sold out it won’t ever be available again is sad though. This is a delicious bread-y tea.

TTB&C 2

If there’s a Butiki tea in a traveling box, I am totally having it!

This Assam is not as malty as I expected it would be (because the dry leaf looked so cunningly Chinese golden tips like), at least not upfront. And I think I would be quick to designate it to the space of “Assams that don’t really do it for me” except this aftertaste… The aftertaste is doing this whole tea for me! So imagine this, upfront you are getting a slightly astringent, basic and ascetic kind of assam notes and then from the background emerges this creamy kick of sweetness that lingers on your tongue like a caramel candy. It’s such an amazing trick you want to pause whatever you are doing for every sip of this tea that you take. I am totally getting an ounce of this next time I shop at Butiki!

T&C TTB Tea # 4 – Backlog May 23

I usually use my ipad all the time but I am SO behind on my TTB reviews that I wanted to log on with my actual computer (GASP) to hopefully crack out a bunch now.

This was a tea I’d been wanting to try…everytime i see the word “Golden” as part of a tea name I instantly get interested, because of the Golden Monkey teas I’ve had which are basically the best ever.

This one wasn’t nearly as flavorful as I’d hoped.
It was slightly bready with a very faint smoke note.
The liquor was a medium amber color, not very bold or rich.

It was a decent black tea but didn’t really stand out, i’m looking for major fruity/honey/bready/cocoa notes and I didn’t seem to find them here.

Glad to try it though!

This was a sample, and I can’t really remember what it tastes like, but I remember staring into my cup and saying “Oh wow!”, taking another sip, staring into my cup again, and feeling sad that I didn’t have more. Must buy this. I’m also almost out of Premium Taiwanese Assam. Looks like I’ll be ordering soon :)

Sipdown (143/149)!

I start work at 4:30 today so that means I have a few extra hours to myself this afternoon so I decided to spend them drinking tea and trying to finish season two of Orange is The New Black. I mean, what better way to ease into the day?

This was an easy sipdown to take and starting the morning with a straight black seemed like an excellent idea! I have to admit this second cup was significantly better than the first which I found so disgusting so there’s a plus! But still, I don’t think this is one I’d ever want to have stocked up. I just still found it to be very astringent and choppy.

There were cocoa notes to it though and that made it more pleasant to drink; and I also got some interspersed notes of baked bread (I was reminded of Bannock for whatever reason) and some very light floral notes. I could have done without the floral quality, but the “Bannock” was nice. I suppose I can see why this appeals to people; it’s just not my preferred straight black it seems.

My Butiki samples have arrived! I’m very excited to try so many new Butiki gems. I’m not sure if it’s just Stacy picking the teas, but someone over at Butiki REALLY knows how to find the right teas. I wanted to start with the Hattialli because the Hattialli Golden Lion was probably my favorite tea of all time.

Steep #1 //2 tsps // 13 min after boiling // 3 1/2 min steep
I waited 13 minutes for the water to cool because somehow that worked better for me with the other Hattialli than boiling water (though it could have also been just five minutes after boiling.) This one isn’t QUITE the same, but it’s still an amazing tea. Maybe better than the second harvest I tried of the Lion, but not the first harvest I tried. The flavor isn’t as detailed to me, it’s missing the plum, apricot, more chocolate, sweet potato. All of those things are very subtley there, and I probably wouldn’t even notice them if I hadn’t known to look for them in the other tea. This isn’t supposed to be the same tea anyway, though it shares the Hattialli name.

Steep #2 // 8 min after boiling // 3 1/2 min
The second steep loses even more of those extra flavors, but it gains a ton more chocolate. I don’t think it’s a very strong chocolate tea compared to others, but I’m surprised at how much chocolate is actually here, since the leaves are mostly golden colored. Golden leaves usually taste like honey, not chocolate. But man this cup was addicting and I just sat there zombie-eyed sipping and sipping. I sure do wish I had bought truckloads of the first harvest of the Lion. High standards with my most favorite tea! This one is still definitely worth trying, as I haven’t tasted this type of tea anywhere else before.

ETA: Steep #3 // half a mug // just boiled // 3-4 min
This steep was an afterthought, but it was still very tasty! I thought it would be a lot worse. I’ll have to remember to do a full third steep with the rest of my sample the next time.

OH and if anyone is selling any of the first harvest of the Lion (I think it was before July 2013), I’ll buy it!

I received this as one of my sample teas on my last order and I will be ordering more! This was delicious! I didn’t bother with milk or sugar and am glad I didn’t! There was definitely some good hints of sweet potato and bread and I personally think this would make an amazing afternoon tea as its not astringent at all and is quite soft in its flavors, a good afternoon pick me up! Yum!

I really enjoyed Golden Lion, & I’m really enjoying Golden Paw. I can’t really say how they differ, because it’s been awhile since I had Golden Lion.
This is a nice Assam, not as bold as some, but with a thick mouth, a rich malty flavor, & an aftertaste & slight tartness of apricot.

The smoke is still coming through clearly. Even before I sip it, I can smell the smokiness. I’m fairly sensitive to smoke, but not a single note mentions smoke as of yet. Le sigh.

The few sips I did have were smooth and had that lovely Assam maltiness, which was delightful.

Thank goodness Stacy has plenty of other amazing teas. :)

P.S. I managed 2 samples sipdowns yesterday (Glenburn Estate Darjeeling and Caramel Popcorn matcha.

I purchased this with my last Butiki order because I like assams :)

This is the 2nd time I’ve tried this and it’s quite unlike any assam I’ve had before. It does remind me a bit of a golden monkey. It’s malty but a lot lighter in body than your typical assam and without any pungent notes. I could actually drink this plain but it’s good with soymilk too.

This has some definite sweet notes, like that of a sweet potato, but I’m also getting raisin in here too. I’m really glad I got to try this one, thanks for making it available Stacy. I think I’ll need to be getting more of this soon. It makes a gentle breakfast tea but really would be good anytime.