Steven Smith Teamaker

So my throat culture came back, and it is strep after all, just a weird sub group of strep! Hip hip hooray! /sarcasm.
So they’ll give me some medication, but in truth I was already feeling so, so much better, that it seems a little silly. I can swallow much easier now, and most of the pain is gone. Still pouring tea down the ol’ gullet, though.
And I’m starting to get a little frustrated with this. No temps, no steep times, nothing can coax anything even resembling “ice cream” out of this. C’mon, oolong! Play nice!

Once again, this massively disappoints! Today I must have brewed it worse than usual, as I’m just getting a vaguely green tasting cup of warm water. Bleh.
Come on tea, do your stuff!

I woke up two days ago with a mildly sore throat that has turned into a Massive Sore Throat, full of pain, swollen glands, and agony swallowing. A visit to the doctor says its not strep, but we have to wait a few days to see what the cultures say. In the meantime, no drugs, just lots of fluids.
So tea it is! And lots of it! And poured down the ol’gullet in an attempt to make things feel better. So nothing special is called for.
And, it pains me to say this, but this is nothing special. Just a basic oolong, without frills or anything really special.
Oh well, good for this purpose.

I had this as an after lunch cup, and remembered why I hadn’t drunk this for a while.
Its just not particularly memorable. I was hoping for a rich layered symphony of tea and creamy vanilla, but I can’t say it delivers. Its just an oolong with the faintest hint of something sweet, but nothing distinct, and nothing memorable.
Oh well.

Tea of the afternoon, quickly before off to the second shift at work.
Its a perfectly nice oolong, but I never get the vanilla ice cream experience out of it. Its softly green, with a note of savory vanilla in the background, but I’m not getting the scoops of ice cream that I expected to have.
Ah well.

Cuppa the afternoon.
I love the smell of this one in the sachet. Creamy and warm and good. Unfortunatly the brew is less creamy and rich, though still very pleasant.
Mainly I enjoy this, but am not overwhelmed.

With a extra couple of hours in the morning, I’ve decided for more tea.
I am getting the hang of this oolong. Its a creamy, vanilla infused brew, but the green/floral note floats by in a very pleasant way.
I woulden’t say its “ice cream” exactly, but it is pleasant and good!

When I saw this go up, well, I had to get it. I am a growing fan of oolongs, and oolong ice cream? Ok, sign me up.
It smells beautiful in the sachet, a lovely blend of green and a sugary creamy note, perfumed with vanilla.
I’m going to have to try and tinker around with the brew time, though. I came away with a light and lovely cup of oolong, but not a particular wham of ice cream flavor. I think its in there, though! I’ll just work on it!

The leaf smells very green and strongly of authentic vanilla. It’s the smell I get when I cook with vanilla beans.

I steeped it as directed, 4 minutes at boiling. As soon as the water hit the sachet the air was infused with the vanilla smell. I steeped it sitting right in front of me so I could enjoy the fragrance for the full steeping time.

The tea was still really hot after four minutes, so I let it sit for a few minutes while I played Operation with the sachet. The leaves had totally filled it during the steep and I could almost hear them yelling, “Let me out!” So I did.
Photos and full review: https://tealover.net/2015/07/steven-smith-teamaker-oolong-ice-cream/

Holy crap, you guys! This tea legit smells and tastes just like ice cream! It totally has that creamy, vanilla flavor to it! I was shocked at how much it tastes like ice cream, I’ve never tried anything like it. Too bad that it’s already out of stock, more people should be able to try it!
I really like it, but it does have that creaminess to it that makes me feel nauseous. I drank a cup of it today, along with another tea at the same time (different cups though…xD) so it kinda broke up the milky flavor so it didn’t make me sick. But I still feel like it has that potential. If it does it’s gonna have to go on the sale list. :( But I hope not. It’s a remarkable tea that is spot on with ice cream. Which I barely eat anymore becuase it always gave me insane heartburn or made me super sick back in the day…well like three years ago constantly, but I’ve not really been able to have it again since. My pain wasn’t absolutely horrible this morning when I was drinking tea though, so that also helped me not so prone to getting sick. I’m gonna try it again. Just have to remember to drink it at a completely safe time for me physically. I really lovee the vanilla flavor in this tea, it’s insanely good. I don’t wanna give it uppp!

Grabbed this one mainly because it was pretty. :) It does keep things hot for a few hours. Not nearly as long as the Ikea thermos but you can’t drink directly from the Ikea thermos like you can from this one. I got the one with the sip top. It isn’t very watertight either so don’t just throw it in a tote bag and hope it stays upright. :) Overall I’m happy with it and it will see a lot of use on road trips.

This came my way via the previous round of the GCTTB. I haven’t had a chance to try any Steven Smith Teamaker teas though like most I’ve drank teas from his other brands, Tazo and Stash. The brewing instructions on the package made me giggle: “Steep 5 minutes while pondering the Earl’s affair with the Duchess of Devonshire.” Alright then. ;)

It’s a fairly standard earl grey though the base is most robust than most, in any event it’s quite enjoyable with milk, but I wouldn’t consider it to be anything remarkable. It’s more the sort of tea that would be a cupboard staple for anyone who wanted a good, basic earl grey.

RIP Steven Smith

Thanks so much scribbles for this sample in our last swap! I like Ceylon tea, and this is a great blend. Through the tea pyramid you can still get a great sense of honey, malt and citrus. I highly recommend following the directions exactly.

Actual review here:
http://sororiteasisters.com/2015/04/25/no-23-kandy-black-tea-steven-smith-teamaker/

I killed this off this morning, and it was ok.
I never really warmed up to this one, so I’m not sorry to see it go.
Sipdown!

First cup of black tea since Tuesday, and I’m feeling a little tentative about it.
I decided that I needed to go back into black tea very slowly. I needed one of my weakest tea.
I keep on not caring for this blend, unfortunately. Its weak, though, so that’s alright.
Still, I may only have one cup of this as I go.
Curse you stomach! Get better!

I am working my way through my stash of this, and am always hopeful that its going to be better than it is.
My hopes are now, as I move to the bottom of the tin, that I’ll get more tea, and a bit less flotsam and jetsam. I love additions to tea, and like floral, but this is just too much. Too many addtions! And they don’t seem to be helping. Frustrating.

I can never get this tea to work!
I am one who likes floral tea. Rose teas? Lovely! Especially floral black teas- they can have a gorgeous flavor.
So I really want to like this. This has got chamomile and rose in it, which sounds interesting, but tastes… sour.
Its not unbearable, so I’ll work my way through it, but, after being blown away by some of Smith’s other special edition teas, I am not very impressed here.

I cannot commit to liking this one. It should be something I really, like, and somehow it just falls short of a full appreciation.
What is it? I love floral teas, so theoretically its not that. The chamomile? Maybe that’s whatis giving this the sour note? Argh, tea, behave yourself!

I cannot for the life of me get a handle on this tea. It sounds so good! So interesting!
And yet I cannot make it dance the way I think it should.
Todays brew had an almost sour note, which was annoying. I feel like this could really be something interesting, if only I could work out the secret steeping code.
Next time a shorter steep, and see where that takes me.

Its a week to fiddle with teas that I have not yet made up my mind about, it seems.
This is growing on me. In this steep I’m finding a hint of citrus. Lemon, I think, not bergamot, though I could be wrong.
The rose is only a suggestion, not a full on floral, and the chamomile adds…. well, this I’m not sure on. Its certainly a rounded tea, so manybe the chamomile is what takes the edge off the astringent black base. Hmm.
Overall, my impressions are improving.

Ah thank goodness, I’ve got internet again! Turns out, my neighbors, who are landscaping, accidentially cut open my cable, so that needs to have replaced. But they’ve patched me through for now. Huzzah!
In tea news, I still can’t make up my mind about this tea. Its a black tea, but you’d almost not know it. Its so delicate, so gentle. I’m torn. Fortunatly I’ve got a lot of the tea, so I’ve got a while to make up my mind.

So this interested me. A black tea with chamomile? How strange!
I didn’t get so much chamomile in this, but I did get a very nice flavor of rose. More research is needed.

Not really an earl grey, but certainly in the same bergamot family. I found it to be utterly delicious when prepared exactly as on the package despite it being a longer steep than I normally prefer.