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Lion drank White Rhino by Butiki Teas

306 tasting notes

This is a unique white tea. It does indeed brew a bit like a red/black tea. The apricot notes are apparent from the start, and the brew comes off with a nice malty caramely kind of tone. It’s subtle, sweet and earthy. Nice and mellow.

I might be fooled by the fact that it is a white tea though and perhaps it would benefit from being steeped more like a black tea (which for me usually involves a longer steeping period and hotter temperature). The flavor was great and I can only wonder if a longer brew would have yielded more richness and complexity. I only brewed it for 45 seconds, gongfu style in a gaiwan. I didn’t check the vendor’s steeping recommendations this time around. Just brewed like I do most whites. Adding 15 seconds to each steeping, it did build in flavor and peaked around the 3rd steeping. Really nice.

Flavors: Apricot, Caramel, Hay, Malt

Preparation

185 °F / 85 °C 0 min, 45 sec 2 g 3 OZ / 100 ML

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Butiki Teas
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This tea does hold up well being steeped like a black tea.

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Butiki Teas
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This tea does hold up well being steeped like a black tea.

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Bio

Hi there, fellow tea lovers.

My name’s Lion and I’m a Gongfu Cha practitioner, so I usually brew with a gaiwan for reviews unless there’s a more suitable brewing method, like using Japanese teawares for Japanese teas. I tend to stick to straight loose teas and scented teas in general, seldom dabbling in herbal and flavored teas. My favorite tea is Kenyan Silver Needle.

Aside from tea, I’m a generally creative person. I love to cook, write fiction, draw, decorate, garden, and do just about anything creative I can get my paws on.

Animals are really important to me. I’m a lion at heart, and I strive to better understand, respect, and appreciate other animals as best as I can. I advocate for better stewardship of wildlife and captive animals. We’ve still got a lot to learn.

For a long time I rated every tea I tried, but these days I don’t rate them unless they’re exceptional and deserving of a high rating. Here’s my rating breakdown for my reviews with ratings:

0 = Unpalatable, harsh
25 = Unenjoyable
50 = I’m indifferent
75 = Enjoyable, average
90+ = The best, would buy more
100 = Incredible, a favorite