Steam Tea House

Sipdown! (95 | 192)

This tea is confusing. It’s called Dorian Grey, and the description compares it to Earl Grey, but there is no bergamot in the ingredients. The dry leaf smells like bergamot, and the tea tastes like it has a touch of bergamot to me, and maybe some vanilla. Yet there is no bergamot, and no flavoring of any kind – just black tea, apple, and flower petals.

Huh?

Thank you Courtney, for this strange tea experience ha ha. ❤

This one is lovely and light, kind of like drinking a very faint flavour of hay.

A sample sent in my most recent order!

This tea is like liquified blackcurrant, yet not cloying or overpowering. A win from Steam!

I cold brewed this one overnight. This one is almost like a lemon lime tea lemonade without any typical lemonade sweetness, or bitterness for that matter. Very refreshing!

School is busy right now as I near the end of term. I’ve studied biodiversity and conservation for many years, but this term project has forced me to do a deep dive into Canadian legislation, conservation priorities, and threatened species. Thank goodness I have tea to get me through because sometimes it seems hopeless.

2021 sipdown no. 92

Too cinnamon heavy and the spices were a touch cloying.

2021 sipdown no. 104

This one just doesn’t work for me. It’s got some almond flavours and some coconut, but overlaying all of it is the essence of cardboard.

The amaretto does come through, but not in an overwhelming way. The base tea and coconut are also there, which is nice. This is a decent tea.

2021 sipdown no. 87

This tea is similar to a green tea, but with a very subtle maltiness and as it cools, the subtlest hints of bitterness as well. I don’t need to order any more than the 30g sample, but this was nice to mix it up.

2021 sipdown no. 84

The dry and steeped scent of this one is way too strong. It turns my stomach.

2021 sipdown no. 83

Too much rose for me.

2021 sipdown no. 82

I have a suspicion this isn’t a Taiwanese black. Perhaps it’s mixed with another black tea? It has an almost cardboard-like taste. Like an actual liquified cardboard.

2021 sipdown no. 90

This was a great substitute for when I ran out of Camellia Sinensis’ EGC, but side-by-side this was slightly less complex. However, still a great EGC and fine to have in the cupboard.

There are subtle hints of vanilla and sweetness, but only just enough to take the edge off the bergamot. This one has a great balance.

I’ll definitely have to do a comparison of this and the ECG from Camellia Sinensis.

2021 sipdown no. 101

The tea leaves here are so dark and almost oily. They have a very unique look. This one has a vanilla scent, but it’s more the scent of a rich baked good. Like a vanilla earl grey shortbread or some other extraordinarily rich sweet. This is a fairly mellowed out Earl Grey Cream with hints of red fruits almost? There’s no astringency at all from the Assam base, just a lovely deep base that seems to alter the entire profile of this tea. I almost forget I’m drinking an EGC. However, the richness and/or vanilla seems to be upsetting my stomach.

I cold brewed this one for 8-9 hours this other day and it tasted so grapefruit-y, but with none of the pulp or ‘milkiness’ of actual grapefruit juice. Almost like the essence of all the best parts of grapefruit.

I’ll need to order a full-size of this tea.

This smells strongly of a freshly cut grapefruit and reminds me of summer. The taste is clearly grapefruit and it’s mellowed out ever so slightly with the pineapple. The pineapple doesn’t come through much in flavour. I’m looking forward to trying this one chilled.

2021 sipdown no. 86

I enjoyed this, but I’m not sure if I need it again. It does have a mineral oolong taste, but it’s not as intense as many others I’ve tried. It’s not bad, but not overly memorable either.

This one has subtle hints of that typical oolong mineral, but it’s giving vibes of an oolong/Darjeeling mix. There’s a light sweetness and a little bit of drying at the end of the sip. I’m enjoying it.

This has a bold, clean taste and little to no astringency. I enjoy that this one is missing the syrup-y flavour of the English Breakfast. I believe that many Irish breakfast teas have a larger Assam component, so perhaps that’s why I gravitate to these.

2021 sipdown no. 95

Still syrup-y and not a re-order for me. I’d prefer the Irish or Kenyan Breakfast tea from Steam instead.

English Breakfast always seems ’syrup-y’ to me and that is true here. There is maltiness and no astringency.

2021 sipdown no. 91

I overleafed this to polish off the bag and it’s a bit more of a bold cup, but tasty nonetheless.

Bold and clean with little to no astringency. There are hints of a savoury note in the background here. These black breakfast teas I’ve been steeping at 200° F.