Steven Smith Teamaker

A cup of this in the afternoon as a treat.
This is such a modern mint blend, conjuring images of spare, elegant lofts rather than cozy-warm cottages. I really like it, it shakes things up on the ol’ mint tea front.

I have brought this, one of my favorite peppermint teas, with me to work. Its a self preservation thing, because I’ve been feeling highly wobbly and sad lately, so when I’m really starting to feel it, but still have things to do, I can brew myself this.
That was a long sentence.
I love this, and when its gone, as it will be all too-soon, I’ll have to wait till next winter to get some more. (Damn you, limited edition teas!). But I’m making a point this year of not hording things, not saving things for best, or agonizing over the right time to drink/wear/read/use something. I want to use what I have. Also I’ve got so much that I want to work on narrowing down my collection of teas, and keeping it manageable. I don’t want to feel overwhelmed by my cupboard. I want to find it inspiring, and have plenty of space to try new things in it as well, without feeling like I’m neglecting other teas.
Whew.
Long winded way of saying that this is hitting the spot exactly right, lately.

Drat! I have now caught the cold that I’ve been frantically dodging for the last few weeks. Bleh.
So lots of minty hot water with honey is called for, and I’m pulling out the big guns with this lovely mint blend.
Help me, oh tea!

Boy, I made this last a long time. But last night was the time to sip it down, so sip it down I did!
It will (hopefully) be back soon, anyway.

My stomach has been bothering me today, so I’ve brought bagged teas with ginger and mint with me to work today. Turns out I’ve got a lot that matches that description.
I even tossed my second-to-last sachet of this blend into my workbag, and have just finished sipping on it.
This is one of my favorite mint blends. Its very modern, not at all sweet and cuddly, but instead almost abstract. Can you say that about a mint tea? Well, that’s what it brings to mind.
Hopefully it will help my touchy stomach today as well.

Backlogged from last night.
Cardamom French Toast tea is back at Davids, and from the buzz, it might be permanent? Oh please, please say this is so, as I just adored it last year.
Which also means that I grabbed a ton of it, plus a few other favorites, and they will arrive soon. Which means that my cupboard is officially ridiculous. Plus I may be wanting some teas from a Quarter to Tea on top of all of that, and, well, I have sipping down to do….
This is not a sipdown, but we’re getting mighty close. And I’m still enjoying every sip.

I am fighting the dreaded summer sore throat. Bleh. I don’t wanna be sick! Especially when its the absolute hottest days of summer out there.
So I’m using a precious bag of this, one of my favorite mint teas, to help sooth the throat and go on about my routine.
Lets hope it helps!

It was not a good day. The job is overwhelming, I’m falling behind, and my head hurts.
No fooling around, just one of my favorite cups of peppermint tea, and a blanket to cuddle in.

The tea to wrap up my evening.
Its just so modern, so minimalist. Its just so impressive!

Its been a really bad day. Its been a day of truly horrible mistakes at my new job. I’m feeling worn down.
So I’ve got a cozy sweater and a big mug of tea and I will try again tomorrow.

Time to cut the caffine for the day. And, as this cough still lingers, I wanted something nice and soothing.
Ahh, Silent Night. What a lovely mint blend.

Uh oh. I got home, started my work out, and then went, my throat feels a little sore.
Uh oh. I cannot be sick right now. Firstly, I just finished being sick, and second, I’m still on my own in the office, until next week!
So quickly I am brewing, and drinking, a bunch of delicious, soothing teas. Come on, peppermint, help a girl out.

This is, simply, the most sophisticated mint tea blend I have. If this tea was a person, it would be a really cool architect sort of person, with bold geometric glasses and a taste for spare monochrome. Its just so modern, so elevated. Not at all a sweet or cuddly mint (not that there is anything wrong with a sweeter mint. In fact, I love them dearly). This makes a fascinating blend on a winter’s evening.

Backlogged from last night.
I sometimes have mixed feelings about limited edition teas. Usually I’m pro. I love seasonality, and a new and exciting variety in flavors, and so on and so forth.
And then I run out of a beloved seasonal tea, and I rethink my entire philosophy.
Oh Silent Night, you cunning mint tea. Shall we be parted? Alas! We shall, until the winter rolls around again. I shall be watching like a hawk, come December, for your triumphant return!
Sad, sad sipdown.

Backlogged from last night.
Jury duty took all day, and then we were finally dismissed. I never even saw the inside of the courtroom, or answered a single question.
Well, I’m glad I brought a book.
Oh well. I’d really like to go through the jury services, but alas, it is not to be. Not this time anyway. And back to work today!
I’m almost out of this, which is both progress, and a tradgedy. I love this mint tea, and will be so sad when its gone!

My collection of sachets are starting to get disturbingly low. That’s going to be a bit of a problem, as I really like this, and its a seasonal tea!
It would be too simple to say that this is a mint or peppermint tea. Its so much more than that, full of a wonderful layer of lemon, and then a hint of licorice. The most sophisticated mint tea I’ve ever owned.

There is a very modern sweetness too this. Not an old fashioned, sugary sweetness, but something crisp and cool, and a little unexpected. It makes it much more than a mint tea, with the flavors running around and making themselves hard to identify.
I have a headache, and ate too much dinner, but this tea has helped take the edge off. Good!

Backlogged from the other day.
I brought this and a few other mint teas of mine over to my friends house, for a tea and knitting date. It was good! I’m getting so much progress done on the very basic scarf that I am learning to knit.
She picked this one, and so I had another chance to mull over my thoughts.
Still like it! Complex and layered. I think it will be great if you are not feeling well, which may sound clinical, but I think is a high bit of praise. You don’t always want something this good when you don’t feel well.
My friend was a little more meh about it, but thats alright!

So, I was starting to feel slight pangs about the amount of mint and peppermint based teas that I ordered from the Black Friday sales. Had I ordered too many? Would I get sick of similar flavors?
I was feeling slightly worried about this one, as I’ve jut discovered a love of the ROT Peppermint Bark. Would this taste the same?
I should not have worried. This is worlds different.
The smell was very light and sweet, and, when sipped, proved to be the most complex mint based tea I’ve ever had. Is that cinnamon in it? Orange? What were those other flavors? Whatever they were, they were fantastic. I will need many more cups of this fascinating blend to really pin it down.
Sophisticated may not always be the word used about peppermint tea, but it can be used without hesitation of Silent Night.

Thanks to boychik for this sample. I ended up steeping it for 3 minutes at 205 f and that was definitely overkill because I got really intense tobacco notes that made it difficult for me to drink this without milk. I also noticed spicy pepper-y notes and a bit of the sweet potato type of flavor that seems characteristic of yunnans.

I tried a 2nd steep for 90 seconds and now it seems like it doesn’t have enough flavor… it could be I steeped all the flavor out of it at the 3 minute mark. :) Anyway the 2nd steep isn’t bad but I’m still getting tobacco notes with some caramel. Tobacco isn’t really my favorite flavor in tea.

this doesn’t seem to be my favorite yunnan to date but it isn’t terrible. If I had more tea I feel like I could hit a sweet spot with the brewing parameters. I wish I had more to play around with but probably not worth placing an order.

Very sweet, with a hint of raisin and lots of caramel. I can see why this is a favorite for so many on here, but, weirdly, I prefer my black teas on the harsher side—this Assam actually reminds me of some of the popular Chinese blacks I haven’t cared for on grounds of having too much in the way of sweet dessert notes going on, though I can’t think which ones exactly. Thanks for the sample, Cameron B.! I’m happy to be able to knock this off my wish list, since it’s a tea I’d been curious about for a while.

This was a bonus sample from scribbles. Mine is in sachet form. The leaves inside are black and somewhat thin, and surprisingly not very broken. Dry scent is sweet and malty with hay and molasses notes. I let my sachet steep in 8 ounces of 200 degree water for 3 minutes. The string escaped into the cup, harumph!

This one is pretty “meh” in my opinion… The main flavor of it is generic black tea, and I don’t know how else to describe that. It’s somewhat malty and quite astringent, especially as it cools. There is a bottom note of molasses-like richness, and a touch of dried apricot-like fruitiness, and these help to balance it a bit. Still not very impressive for me.

This is going to be a lazy note for a lazy morning… Boychik sent me this sample, thanks dear. The leaves are fairly broken and dark with only a few scant golden pieces. I did my general black tea steep.

Meh, this one is just okay for me. It’s fairly generic with just malt and some bread notes, along with a fair amount of astringency, which I do not enjoy. Maybe just a touch of honey sweetness on top. Overall, it’s drinkable, but not something I would reach for.

Thought I’d have this one again since they have a free shipping deal again. Had to see if I needed more. :P This really is a wonderful assam. I really do enjoy it. But I don’t think I need more than 2oz for now. Maybe once I sip these 2oz down I’ll be ready to buy more!
Still a very strong, malty assam. Enjoying this one!!
If you haven’t had it yet and like malty teas-you should definitely take the free shipping offer up now and get some! It’s not super expensive too!