Steven Smith Teamaker

I love the weekend. When I want a pot of tea and a few little tea biscuits in the afternoon, why then I can brew a pot and bring out the cookies!
So I decided to brew this up, as its been in my cupboard for a while, but untasted. And now I’m kicking myself for waiting so long, as its lovely. Its rich, but with a honeyed smoothness at the bottom, which makes it go down an absolute treat.
Highly recommended.

If you like mint, you’ll like this tea. It’s strong without being overpowering, as creamy as the box claims, and leaves you with a fresh feeling in your mouth. I didn’t pick up on the chocolatey notes, but unlike other mint teas that are weak or synthetic tasting, this was strong and pure. I liked it.

This tea taught me that I’m not a big fan of flowery teas. The hibiscus taste is, well, big. If that is your thing that you’ll love this tea. It’s sweet and slightly sour, smells like medicine at first, but doesn’t taste that way. It’s complex and I’m sure there are some that would really like it. I could drink this if I had to, but wouldn’t choose to. Just personal preference.

I’m officially a sucker for Smith Tea Mint blends. I snagged one of the limited edition (I think?) boxes of this, as I can never say no to their peppermint blends. They’ve made some of my very favorites, which is saying something, as I love mint tea.
First brew up makes me say that this feel “real.” Like it smells like someone has freshly picked some mint and herbs and brewed it in an earthenware pot, and set it down in front of me.
Theres mint, and something sweeter, but also a earthy undertaste, which gives way to a very sweet aftertaste.
I’m glad I’m a sucker, as I like this!

I’m pretty sure this is my favorite Earl Grey tea. So smooth and delicious. Not bitter in the least. Balanced flavors. It’s great.

The best black tea I have ever tasted! Do use boiling water, as the directions suggest - the flavor is radically different (and not as good) if the water isn’t boiling when steeping begins.

An excellent black tea. I prefer Ceylon teas when it comes to black tea, with Assam a close second, and this is a gorgeous blend of both. Perfect on cold days when you want a flavorful cup of hot, strong tea.

A local cafe has this on offer and despite all the choices, this one is hard to beat. An absolutely gorgeous green, wonderful hot or cold. In summer they make a lemonade/Arnold Palmer-type drink with this, and it’s fantastic with ice. I’m fortunate that this company is semi-local to me, and intend to visit their brick-and-mortar store as soon as I make a trip out that way.

Not bad on its own, but even better with honey. I’m personally iffy with chamomile. Since this has a few whole flowers in it, I’m inclined to like it. Chamomile really isn’t hard to mess up anyway as an herbal, but to me, the taste from a whole flower is fuller and thicker. I get that stronger body sensation here. Chamomile, lemon, and the subtler florals dominate with the rose and rooibos more in the background. The rooibos is the herb providing a lot of the tea’s body and color, but it is so similar to the chamomile that it’s hard to notice.

I’d honestly recommend a try and to drink this after long steeps and portions of honey. One of my friends might like this blend for how mellow it is. My mother likes it for this reason herself. Meadow is a name that certainly fits this floral nectar.

I found this at my in-law’s house and was interested in trying the herbal team at bedtime. It’s already sweetened with stevia, which I normally can’t stand, but in this case It wasn’t as off-putting to me. I don’t think I’d get a tin of it, but I’d definitely have a cup in the evening.

My daily cup of choice. A bright and strong start to my morning. It becomes more delicate and floral if brewed for a shorter time (closer to 2min). I enjoy it with milk.

Smooth medium-bodied black tea with a dry finish. The fir provided a festive scent and light pleasing taste. I drank it with milk.

Spending this frigid Sunday evening in my warm and cozy Darjeeling Bungalow again. In addition to the usual warm buttered toast, nuts and muscatel grapes set before me on the Bungalow’s table, tonight there’s some nice yummy stone fruit! The Bungalow is a very fine place indeed to while away the hours, especially on a cold winter’s night!

Snow day? Really? Must be nice. I’m a nurse. There is no such thing as a snow day for medical personnel. Blizzard, hurricane, earthquake, nuclear strike, super volcano eruption, asteroid collision, catastrophic reversal of the Earth’s magnetic field, The Apocalypse or any combination there of, we have to go to work!

Richmond, where I live, had almost 16 inches of snow. It’s western suburbs, where my job is located, received over 18 inches of snow in places. Snow sissy that I am, that cold white matter reduced me to a quivering mass of protoplasm. After all, I am a Southern boy.

The day before the blizzard began I booked a room at the hotel within walking distance from my job. The thought of being stuck at work all weekend unable to have any private time whatsoever was a grim and terrifying prospect. Blizzard or not, I needed my me time. Time to unwind, relax and recharge my batteries. Especially since patient acuity on my unit tends to run a little high. So off to the hotel I went with my backpack of essentials including, of course, a mixed box of emergency bagged teas that I had thrown together – Twinings Ceylon Orange Pekoe and English Afternoon, Breakfast in Paris by Stash(Not a bad little tea!), and my must have Honeybush by Numi Tea for beddyby. The hotel, thank goodness, had a tiny hot water maker. Kinda like a stripped mini Keurig. It saw me through the blizzard.

So today, home sweet home! A poignant, almost tearful reunion with my beloved tea stash! Now one would think that after drinking bagged tea since Friday that I would go for a full fledged loose leaf. But no, I wanted my Bungalow! First and foremost I am a Darjeeling fiend. As in Darjeeling is my blood type. I had fairly recently purchased a box of Bungalow whole leaf sachet tea and it was love at first sip. This blend of first and second flush Darjeeling tea is redolent of hot, buttered toast and warm, roasted nuts that tantalize the taste buds. Classic Darjeeling muscatel and mild floral notes round things out very nicely. There is also a faint, but very agreeable, vegetal note that I think must come from the first flush. It complemented my Chicken Biryani quite well! I believe that it would be a great tea to try for those who may be on the fence about Darjeeling. It is very smooth. Not a trace of bitterness after the recommended five minute steeping time. I let the water cool a wee bit to just a little over 205F to steep.

Steven Smith Teamaker did my dear Darjeeling proud with this blend. The buttered toast flavor is so incredibly rich and comforting – A perfect wintertime Darjeeling! I’m definitely buying more if this #%$•@ snow ever melts!

Beorhthraefn included a tea bag of this in the Secret Pumpkin package. Thank you!

I was skeptical. This has an aroma of butter and heavy cream. OK, I’ll try. This turned out to be one of the worst experiences I’ve had with tea. It didn’t taste anything like oolong or ice cream. Chicken soup. I almost felt nauseated. I couldn’t finish the cup.

This was pretty good— I’m an Earl Grey fan, but sometimes strong bergamot can taste soapy to me. This didn’t taste soapy at all. I added a small bit of french vanilla creamer, and no sweetener; I left it in my mug, which made it a bit bitter.

This is delicious! Especially when paired with a spoon full of the huckleberry jam (I’ve never thought to put jam in tea before)!! Unfortunately tho, I’m going to run out of the jam long before I run out of the tea which is a little depressing but thankfully the tea tastes pretty darn good by itself as well… its a touch smokey, a whole bit malty and the jam just adds that perfect hit of sweetness… Actually I have a jar of olallieberry jam I picked up the last time I was in Big Sur which will probably taste pretty darn amazing in this tea… mmmm…. I might need to go brew another cup right now and give this a try!!

I’ve used everyday for a week and it keeps my tea hot for hours. I got the lid with the loop and haven’t had any leaks! Pretty & just the right size.

So glad I bought this before it sold out…maybe they will re-issue. Didn’t think I would like that strong a flavor but since our friend Vitaly Paley assisted with it, had to try. Loved it as suggested with a small spoonful of the house-made huckleberry jam. Noticed that as it sat
awhile, it became too strong to me but my friend who is more of a tea fan loved everything about it. The jam itself was amazing on my homemade scones!

Thanks for this one, Nicole! One I have been wanting to try for a while! I was worried that steeping two teaspoons of this one would ruin it, but it didn’t at all. The way I steeped it, I couldn’t imagine it getting any better. The leaves are mostly a bronze gold. The flavor is delicious and complex. The medium amber cup is a delicious Yunnan – honey, sweet potato, hints of something fruity and a lovely almost wine quality. The subtle flavor notes work really well together. I didn’t find many chocolate notes, but that isn’t to say this is a light flavored tea. It’s dark while not getting to chocolate levels. The second steep was a little different, with hints of smokiness and starchy chewy bread notes and also EARTHY somehow. The flavors in the previous steep staying in the background. A tasty tea!
Steep #1 // 2 tsps. // 12 minutes after boiling // 2 1/2 minute steep
Steep #2 // few min a.b. // 3 min

Today is apparently “I don’t really care for this tea, lets drink it down” day.
So farewell to Oolong Ice Cream, which shall not be missed.

I drank a cup of this yesterday, and continue to be unimpressed. I was once hopeful that I could eek out something lovely from this oolong, but now I’m just drinking it until it is gone.
What a disappointment! Something called Oolong Ice Cream should be an utter, utter joy to drink, especially created by Smith Teamaker, but no, its just a faintly green tasting cup of hot water. Drat it all!