Strawberry Rhubarb Cheesecake

Well, I like this one better than Watermelon Lime Slushie, for sure. The flavouring is great – creamy strawberry with a hint of tartness. I’m sure it was once stronger, but it’s still pretty distinct. Not keen on the base, again, but either it’s different pu’erh (I have no idea), or the flavours meld a little bit better. Not a go-to tea for me, but it’s not bad. May still try and pawn this off, though.

Full disclosure, I totally forgot to rinse this. I finished off my sample now mainly because I still had Ruby Pie in my head and wanted to compare the two. I definitely prefer this one, and I do think the hibiscus in RP is what made it taste weird to me. I don’t get much ‘cheesecake’ from this, or ‘pie’ from Ruby Pie either for that matter. Apparently I liked this more with a splash of cream, so maybe I’ll try that in my next steep. As it was, the suncha overpowers the flavours in this blend, though the strawberry is definitely more prominent here than in RP. Even though the base is a little overpowering, and definitely an unusual combination, I do like the base which was my main issue in RP; I just can’t get behind the base for that one.

Sipdown 138/395

Tried this again just to see and yep, same deal. Sadly there isn’t much left in my sample so this is an almost sipdown, with enough left to fill a teeny cup.
I think the major problem here is that I just don’t care for the base. I find it earthy in a strange fashion. Not quite musty, or dirt like… I dunno, can’t put my finger on it!
A little bit of mushroom going on as well.

Nichole, thank you for giving me another glimpse of Butiki!

So, I’m not rating this one because it’s a really old sample, and I don’t think it tastes the same as it used to. I totally understand why it’s called what it is. I taste all three flavors, but the cheesecake gives it a waxiness that turns the entire tea into a Yankee Candle. The Pumpkin Irish Cream also had a Yankee Candle taste…..I really don’t like Yankee candles.

I’m going to have to try this again with sugar to deload the cheesecake aspect. This wasn’t bad, but it’s not NEARLY as good as one of the oolongs I had from them, passed on from LP.

Dry, this smelled just like strawberry yogurt. Steeped—after a quick rinse—it smelled mostly like smoke. The flavor tended toward a happy middle ground, with an initial burst of smoke followed by a fruity aftertaste. I didn’t get anything resembling cheesecake out of this tea, but I liked it well enough even without that elusive flavor note—I’ve had a couple of blends meant to evoke cheesecake of one kind or another, and none have delivered. Anyway, I did enjoy this one quite a bit—it reminded me of Russian tea, with cherry jam.

Sipdown (124)!

Since I only had a cups worth left of this blend I figured it was as good a time as any to finish it off; I’d have loved to revisit it cold brewed but there wasn’t enough leaf left for a decent cold brew. Honestly, I don’t have much else to add for the flavor though.

I’m still really happy that I grabbed this one to try out because I did like it but honestly, if Butiki were still open, I’m pretty confidant that it’s one I wouldn’t pick up again so I’m not overly torn up about this sipdown. Not like I’ll be with the ones to come, anyway…

I haven’t had many flavored puerhs, but I’ve really enjoyed the other ones I’ve tried (RoT’s Coconut Puerh and Lupicia’s Chocolate Strawberry Puerh.) This one was okay, but I think it would have been better with a different base. I didn’t taste the cheesecake element at all, but the strawberry flavor definitely came through along with a hint of tartness that did remind me of rhubarb. However, the earthiness of the base seemed to throw the whole thing off-balance a bit. It was still a good tea, but definitely not the best that I’ve tried from Butiki. Thank you to The Cookie Lady for the sample!

From the Overboard TTB.

Ergh. I don’t know. Maybe it’s just not to my taste? It’s like a sweet ish, but predominately sour… something over a dark base. If you didn’t tell me it was pu erh, I would have assumed it was a very dark black tea. To be fair, I have no clue what rhubarb is supposed to taste like (it looks like red celery stick!), but I guess I had high expectations because it’s Butiki. I didn’t order this myself and was glad to try it, but it was nice for the experience. Just not my cup of tea. At least there’s no lingering aftertaste.

I was pretty excited to try this, but ultimately I think it’s another strawberry tea that I have issues with. Only because I find most often, anything strawberry flavoured tastes… like added flavour, not natural. A bit overwhelming.

I was hoping for more cheesecake for sure! And maybe more rhubarb, but I very likely just had trouble discerning the rhubarb element of this tea.

The pu-erh was definitely earthy, even though I rinsed it. Not BAD, it added a good backbone to the tea.

Happy to have tried it, but likely one I will pass on to someone who truly enjoyed it :)

I adore the base of this tea. However, somewhere along the way, the cheescake in this one gets lost and i’m left with a blend that is graham crackers away from my Ruby Pie :) This isn’t a bad blend, but not one of my favourite from Stacy. I vastly prefer the grasshopper cheesecake blend :)