Smith Teamaker

I lied, this is actually the last tea that I tried this week from my coworker’s Tokyo trip. Steven Smith has a tasting/show room there, so they made the trip out to visit it and see what it was like. Some interesting observations they shared is that they really weren’t carrying a lot in the way of traditional Japanese teas, and that most everything was in sachets…

That includes this tea, which I tried a sachet of earlier in the week. I think it’s a Tokyo exclusive blend, but I’m not 100% sure. I like the name a lot though. Taste wise it was just fine. Smooth and very lavender forward in a fragrant and slightly perfume-like way. However, the florals felt well balanced out by a more woodsy and pine-like undertone of the juniper and just a hint of more herbaceous basil. Though ultimately soothing, I felt like it could come off as busy and unpleasant if you aren’t a fan of any of the more strong and polarizing ingredients in the blend.

I haven’t visited Smith Teamaker in nearly a decade, and my memory of it was that it was overpriced for mediocre tea. Unfortunately that’s still my feeling. I drank this in shop and they majorly understeeped it. Watery with a hint of juniper.

This is a really lovely oolong blend from Smith tea. The jasmine and peach are the most noticeable flavors. Which is rounded out really nicely with the jin xuan milk oolong. Love these special edition teas that Smith Tea comes out with.

Fantastic tea! They use a jin xuan milk oolong, barrel aged in Uncle Nearest 1856 Premium Whiskey.

The flavor is so balance with the whiskey, without being overpowered. I got notes of butter, milk, woodsy, caramel, grass, floral, and fruit. No strange alcohol notes. This tea does well western and gongfu style, resteeps very well, though I think western does a better job.

Full review on Oolong Owl http://oolongowl.com/tennessee-oolong-steven-smith-teamaker/

Mum and I ended up at Smith HQ today, and – contrary to my usual sensibilities – I was craving Chinese tea. On a sunny day like this, I usually aim for Darjeeling…but for some reason I itchin’ for robust wood-sweetness. Who knew?

Anywho, I ended up with a wonderful two-person pot of the stuff, and sipped it rather deliberately. Not spoiling one cup of it. Meditative yet wakeful.