Steven Smith Teamaker

backlog from yesterday – had this sometime in the afternoon while trying to get a bunch of work done. It’s crazy how incredibly busy things are these days. I still enjoy this one quite a bit but #49 is still my favourite.

Alright! time to get back in to the swing of things. First tea since i’ve been back – yesterday I wanted nothing to do with tea, but today i can hear it calling out to me :) We had a blast in Cuba and for the first time EVER i didn’t get a sun burn at all. I’m totally browned…though all that really means is that i now look like most of the population does when they’re NOT sun tanned – think middle of winter white :)

Figured i’d kick today off with one of the teas i took with my to Cuba and go from there. I’m still not entirely organised and ready for back to work tomorrow or for tea drinking….but i’m getting there. First up though, a couple hours of bike riding to be out and about on this fine Canada Day!

backlogging this from last week – drank it a number of times while in Cuba, though the taste was slightly off – likely due to having to “boil” my water via the coffee machine haha

still, a good cup of black, though not my favourite from steven :)

mmmm had this waaaay earlier today since today is another gloomy day and i wanted some comforting teas. Still trying to manage my sipdowns and get through some of my larger packages of tea but i needed comfy teas today. This is still a pretty tasty tea, though not as wonderful as 49. But i’ll never turn this one down.

trying to catch up on my logs. sadly work has been increasingly busy meaning i have time to DRINK tea, most of the time, but not time to write about it.

hallieod sent this one to me in the hopes that I would enjoy it more than she did. I’m pretty sure that experiement was a success since i’m finding this one really nice. Now is it a better tea than #49? hells no! but it’s still a nice black and more than suitable for my morning rotation. This is slightly malty but not overly so. It’s a robust tea that might have a bit of astringency but i’m thinking i steeped this for way less time than most. I’ll have to have more of this one the weekend when i can dedicate more time to it.

thank you so much for sending this my way hallieod

Definitely for the lover of bergamot.

TastyBrew to the rescue!
it’s an Assamalanche!
capital A.
big and bright and i can even taste the caramel notes. malty on the nose for sure.
big personality. a strutter.

sipdown! i tried brewing this at 2.5 mins and it was almost the cup that i fell in love with. almost. but not quite. sigh i’ll have to decide later what to do about this one. Clearing my rating for now.

it’s like i can’t figure out how to make this tea anymore. Gone is the deliciousness that i loved, replaced with something that’s bitter and not delicious whatsoever. I’ve got no ideas beyond my tastebuds are on strike..but other favourites taste the same so who knows?

hmmmm today this is NOT a good cup of tea. not sure what happened but i am so not feeling this today. I kept looking into my cup trying to figure out where my beloved 49 went…

another cup this morning, mostly i wanted to be able to compare the assam from bellocq against one of my “staples” It’s nice to not only be able to revisit a favourite but not try to compare against a memory :) I am still a fan of this…there’s something wonderful about how smooth this tea is. Someday maybe a tea will replace it,but so far, it remains a staple :)

i also had this tea today. friends came over tonight so now i’m scrambling to get ready for tomorrow. it feels like friday today. This was still delicious as i remember :)

there’s a certain freedom that comes from having cleaned up your cupboard and made it under 200 without ordering anymore. I totally took a break today from worrying about old teas or sipdowns. I will still try to get my one in when i get home tonight, but this morning’s teas were all about enjoying teas. I picked this one, since it’s out of the box of teas i’m not allowed to open until there is more room in my cupboard. It’s been a while since i’ve had this one and man it is STILL delicious. I am loving it!

Morning tea today…so delicious! I’ve been hoarding the bag i split with terri but since i had a small sample from her that came in the travelling tea bag, i splurged by drinking from that sample. I still really enjoy this assam!

Oh man….this week was crazy. So i treated myself yesterday to a couple of teas that i love dearly but have been saving and holding off on until i could sipdown my stash a little more. Terri and i jointly purchased more of this one and i am SO GLAD that i did. it will for sure be one of my staples in my cupboard until i someday find another tea to replace it…which isn’t likely.

SIPDOWN! Yeah that’s right. No hoarding! So i had this today while getting ready for work, something i normally don’t indulge in. Lookingforward to June when i can pick up more of this as it’s a really nice assam. Of course that depends on whether or not I can get my cupboard to amanageable state by June as well. I’ve got something waiting for me at the post office today AND if my tea mule is at work today, that’s my three orders from May that have arrived. Not to mention the tea with Raritea and Kittenna lol Ah well…at least i’m sort of hovering at the 200 mark (227 to be exact at the moment). We have a release weekend on saturday so i’m sure i’ll be drinking plenty of tea from 9pm until 3am. yeah that’s right… party at my place! woot woot!

Anyway, i digress…if you like assams, this tea is for sure worth picking up and trying :) Thanks again terri!

Damn you Terri! No orders until June! WANT! MOAR! NAO!

Holy hannibel, i had this in the morning and let me tell you, i have a single normal person cup’s worth left and it might just be hoarded. Because i am trying to commit to no tea orders until June. It’s going to be hard because i have been thinking about this tea most of today. This is a great assam! mmmmm i have no words beyond “now accepting donations to get me through the month of may” lol I kid! but seriously? This has me wanting to try many more Steven smith teas since this was my first taste of their teas.

Many kind people have sent me sample, but I can’t remember exactly who sent this sachet of Kandy. Whoever you are, thank you! This brewed up nice and strong, with bright floral notes and astringency. It reminds me of the sun tea my mom used to make. I bet it’d kick ass with a little honey and lemon.

Good cup, would drink again—though I would probably not order it for myself.

Nice and citrusy. Lots of chamomile, of course, but there is some other stuff going on here. a nice blend for relaxing.

A very balanced Earl Grey. Soothing, elegant, ideal for sipping and enjoying slowly while relaxing. Almost no bitterness and very light on the bergamot.

Thanks for the sample, Sara!

This one came in a nice sachet and was a decent cup of tea. Slightly astringent, brown in color with mild flavors of the breakfast tray: buttered toast and a tiny bouquet of wildflowers. I wouldn’t buy it, just because there are so many other darjeelings out there I love more (I miss the big floral, big orange-squash flavors), but it hits the spot well enough.

I liked that the steeping instructions on the box literally says to play some opera in the background. I played “the Diva dance” from the fifth element because that totally counts.

I like it. dark tea without the bitterness, nor an overwhelming taste of bergamot like so many earl grey teas have. very smooth and easy to drink. love it. will definitely try with some honey next time.
I steeped it to about 200 degrees Fahrenheit and steeped for 3 minutes rather than the 5 minutes recommended on the box and it tasted perfect for me. I would definitely drink this tea again. :)

Having another cup of this today … so nice. I am really glad that I decided to pick this tea up the last time I was at Steven Smith’s tea shop. It is sweet, grape-y with notes of currant, savory herbs and a touch of deep oaky flavor … very nice… relaxing to sip

I really like this.

I got this tea during my last visit to Steven Smith’s tea shop, I know that these teas that he scents in aging barrels are of limited quantity, so I grabbed one.

I’m glad I did … this is remarkable. It tastes like Ceylon tea, but, the flavors of the wine are also present, it’s beautifully subtle, but at the same time, so very wine-like. It’s really beautiful.

I was planning on writing a full-length review on this one today for the SororiTea Sisters blog, but I think I need to spend more time with it before I do that.