Red Queen Cupcake

All the elements are subtle, yet apparent. The espresso is not overwhelming. And the strawberry and dark chocolate are evenly taste-able with the espresso. Definitely a tasty tea.

Marco Polo TTB

It has been a day of highs and lows for me so far, the highs are awesome, the lows are pretty frustrating because they affect my tea drinking! First off, pretty sure I have Ben’s stupid cold/flu, meaning my sense of taste and smell will be utterly gone for a few days. Second my electric kettle broke, just decided to stop heating things. I feel like I lost a friend, it left me feeling empty and lost…I take my tea gear very seriously. Of course I took to facebook lamenting the death of my kettle, and a dear friend bought me a replacement, how awesome is that! My new kettle will be here on the 5th, I think my sanity will hold until then.

Today’s tea is a dessert themed tea from Butiki Teas! Red Queen Cupcake is inspired by one of the winner of Cupcake War’s creations, a cupcake that mixes chocolate and espresso with vanilla frosting and fresh strawberries, that sounds so yummy. This blend is made from Dinjoye Estate Assam, Chocolate Chips (vegan), Freeze-Dried Strawberries, Safflower, Amaranth, Organic Natural Flavorings (vegan) and is Gluten Free, for those seeking cupcake tasting things like I am. The aroma reminds me of truffles (the chocolate, not the mushroom…I know, weird for me to not be talking about mushrooms) rich chocolate and strawberry truffles with a sprinkling of espresso, it pulls to mind a very specific truffle a friend of mine made, they were quite decadent. The aroma is intensely sweet, perfect for those times you are craving chocolate (when am I not craving chocolate?)

Oh man, steeping this tea is fantastic, the aroma of strawberries, chocolate, and espresso fill my tea area. Sniffing the leaves once they are out of the water I also detect a bit of malt and a slight floral hint at the finish. The liquid without its leafy friends is just intense, the strawberry is so sweet and the chocolate is mouthwatering. There are hints of malt and a delightful kick of espresso at the end.

Before anyone goes ’le’gasp! Traitor to tea! Espresso!’ keep in mind, I used to work at a coffee shop where I was practically fueled by espresso. I might not drink coffee anymore, and I have always preferred tea, but I still love the taste of espresso. Now that I have gotten that out of the way I can say HOLY MOLEY Chocolate! Wow, it starts out with a rich chocolate sweetness, this moves on to espresso, and then to vanilla and juicy strawberries. Lastly there is a bit of espresso and sweet vanilla at the finish that linger into an aftertaste. Butiki recommends taking this with a bit brown crystal sugar, but I really think it is sweet enough, I am tempted to put a little cream in it to make it extra rich, but again it is already super rich.

For blog and photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2014/09/butiki-teas-red-queen-cupcake-tea-review.html

Had this one yesterday! It was really good! I admit I was a little worried that the espresso and chocolate would overpower the strawberry, but they didn’t! Yay! Not that I had much doubt…it’s Stacy we’re talking about :P

This is definitely one of those teas I would go to regularly, especially in the colder months.

This is my very first cup of tea in several weeks! I’ve been out of tea and unable to afford any for a while.

I was excited when I first heard about this tea. Espresso and strawberries? together? yay! But dessert teas and me rarely get along. Whenever there is a dessert tea I like, it comes from Butiki teas, so the odds are always in my favor here. Except that I should really know better by now that chocolate in teas, with rare exception, adds a flat and muddy characteristic that I don’t care for.

This tea is like a muted ruby pie tea. The espresso flavor doesn’t come through as strong for me as it seems to for other reviewers. But that’s probably because I like my coffee über-strong. A dainty coffee note won’t likely catch my attention. The strawberry isn’t very tart and blends well with the chocolate notes. I can definitely see how it imitates a cupcake (as opposed to a pie).

I am drinking this without the recommended sugar because I always like to know what a tea tastes like before hand. I will have to try it with sugar next time and update my review.

Overall, not a bad tea, but not a favorite either.

In other news, while I am farther away from my immediate family, with whom I used to share teas, I am now closer to extended family and I am planning to visit with lots of tea to share soon! I am also preparing a thank-you tea package for my parents who helped me out with some food money when I first got to Colorado. They love tea, thanks to me, but they are so stubborn about purchasing their own. I know they are due for a re-stock :) yay for tea!

Big fan. The espresso flavouring in here absolutely makes this tea – it adds incredible depth and body, making this much more than just another black tea with fruit flavouring. And of course, the base is great, as is the fruity flavouring, so the extra dimension makes this a real winner. I suspect this will be a re-purchase for me, and an unexpected one since I was anticipating this to be more along the lines of Raspberry Truffle and/or Ruby Pie, which it really isn’t/

Somebody find me this in cupcake form, please. It smells very nice… more like chocolate brewed, and like strawberries dry. There is certainly some espresso as well. The flavour is more on the chocolate side, with hints of berry, and lots of coffee. Tastes like a berry cupcake frosted with chocolate/ espresso. Mmmm….

Nomnomnomnom
Strawberry espresso cake?! OH MAN THIS IS AMAZING.
There is a campino candy element there as well, but the espresso balances things out perfectly. Another thing I like about it is the light texture. Given the nature of coffee, it could have been made into a thicker brew, and that may have been overwhelming for me.
It has been a very long time since I felt so moved by a tea… so I am definitely a happy sipper right now! This is my first steep though. I’m already looking forward to the second one :)
Ahhh sadness. Now that it’s cooling down a bit, I find the coffee a tad too strong. Next time I shall try adding a dollop of brown sugar as suggested!

This one is actually growing on me. I find personally, I need a couple of pieces of the crystal sugar with this one though or else the coffee flavour just takes over. Overall, it’s a good combo. Coffee, chocolate, and strawberry. This really would make a good cupcake!

So I don’t like coffee but for some reason when I see coffee flavored things, i get really excited. However, when I drink them and they have the coffee earthiness/bitterness, I find myself disappointed. Unfortunately this tea was no exception. I tried it without sugar and really disliked what I was tasting (though it smelled AMAZING!) because the espresso took over. Today, I took Stacy’s advise and added some pieces of rock sugar and though it has helped to bring out some of the other flavors, this is still too espresso for my taste. Luckily many seem to be a fan so I doubt it would be hard to find someone to take this off my hands.

A very apt name for a beautifully balanced tea.

I got a hint of berries and M&Ms during the first steep, but let me tell you that it (the steep) didn’t last very long. The third and fourth steep were a delightful chocolate cake. If there was ever a red velvet cake in tea form, Stacy has captured it beautifully.

Instuctions on the bag say to add sugar, but I didn’t. I might try it next time, but this tea doesn’t need it.