Bouteaque Blue Mist
"The production of our Bouteaque Blue Mist tea from India is unique and therefore top secret. The resulting cup has complex and competing flavours that pull together to produce a refined and distinguished tea unlike anything else we have tasted. Like a private members club in Mayfair or an invite to the Playboy Mansion to party with Hugh Hefner, this tea is uber-exclusive and uber-good. Strictly for the A-list fashionista."
Type; Black, Indian, Nilgiri, FTGFOP
Price; £ 9.98 for 100 grams from Eteaket.
Review; Ask Erika what tea personifies Eteaket best and she will tell you Bouteaque Blue Mist. Winner of several tasting awards and a tea unique to Eteaket with Erika having personally visited the estate to choose the best quality. It is not often that one finds a Nilgiri tea by itself. First impression gives a distinct malty caramel notes with a flush of citrus that reminds me of a lemon tea later, hidden somewhere in the "mists". However I will be the first to state that this is not Eteaket's best tea. To me it is their Yellow Gold Oolong. This is the tea that brought me back today. In fact at a recent tea tasting comparison, Bouteaque Blue Mist tied for 6th place. I believe that if Yellow Gold Oolong had been tasted it would have taken its name sake. A separate review of Yellow Gold Oolong will come at some point. I do feel describing the production method of Boteaque Blue Mist as "unique" and "top secret" might be over the top.
Tea or Tea shop at fault?
While this tea is interesting, its not a tea that I feel I will go out of the way to own. In fact if I were to receive it as a gift it might end up being re-gifted at Christmas time. Its nice, but maybe better suited to someone else. Which leads me to the question of if its the tea I didn't like or the tea shop. I've been to Eteaket several times now, and have noticed a re-occurring problem where too much tea is brewed in their small pots. Each pot holds probably close to .5 litres. In each of these pots probably around 5 grams is added. For this size it is too much and to me brews too much on the heavy side. While I appreciate the fact that tea can be taken out, I have received my tea numerous times when it has already over brewed just waiting to be delivered to my table.
Nilgiri
Nilgiri teas are quite interesting. Wiki article below, Nilgiri's are wonderfully fragrant yet offer a good strong body. This often times led to them being used predominately in flavoured and scented teas. In my head I compare them to a Keemun or a Yunnan Indian equivalent to China. As the tea producing regions continue to shift towards Africa this may suggest a growing trend of Nilgiri's being produced by themselves. Though a recent book I have read (Darjeeling, The Golden Brew) talks about the level of marketing required, Nilgiri still has a long way to go.
To sum up my review, Bouteaque Blue Mist offers a nice burnt caramel malty tea with hints of lemon mingled. Certainly something to try, I wouldn't really rank it as a tea I would want to own.
