sTEAp Shoppe

Finally finished up the sample. :( Definitely want more of this!

Edit:
Ah! Totally thought I had reviewed this before! I thought I wrote down stuff somewhere but I can’t find it. Anyway, this is fantastic. It’s like s’mores over a fire. :) I’d write more but I really drank this quickly, I’ll just have to wait until I buy some. Very good!

Oh YUM! This is one of the teas that was sent to me for the first sTEAp Shoppe virtual tasting.

And YUM! It tastes so good! It tastes like one of those gourmet candied apples you might find in the chocolate shop at the mall – huge apple covered in caramel and chocolate. mmmmmmmm! So good!

The base is an Assam tea, and it has hints of floral notes, a wonderful malty tone that plays off the caramel-y flavors very nicely, and a really delicious fruit note to it that accentuates the apple flavors well. This is a very well-conceived blend.

The apple tones are a bit hidden with the first couple of sips, but, after that they really start to make themselves known. It is a tart, juicy apple taste … but not too tart. I like the hint of tartness because it contrasts with the sweetness of the chocolate and the caramel.

This is an INCREDIBLY yummy tea. I’m loving everything that I’ve tried thus far from sTEAp Shoppe!

A lovely white chocolate flavor which is very distinguishable!
Creamy and sweet but not cloying! A very nice blend!
Perfect for a cool day!
This tea is also excellent when cooled as well!
Full mouthfeel.
Longer Review will be forthcoming on http://sororiteasisters.com/

Holeeeee caramel! this is tasty. I’m not getting any apple but I wasn’t expecting much so no surprise.
The caramel is kinda burnt, caramelized even. But it’s quite good as I like that note. Hopefully the second infusion will reveal more.
Thanks so much for the sample Azzrian!! This is the best caramel green I’ve had yet :)

I’m a coffee drinker so I tried this tea for a change of pace after a morning of drinking coffee. I brewed it according to directions and “doctored” it with cream and sugar just like my regular coffee. It was amazingly like coffee — a bit milder and sweeter. I’ll definitely have this tea again — but with less sugar.

This is FANTASTIC! With the flavors of orange and cardamom you get a very “orange spice” kind of feel to the background. It isn’t overly spicy, just warm and exotic, and the orange is sweet and adds a little bit of brightness to the overall cup. But what really makes this blend unique is the lingonberry. Lingonberry can be very tart but here it isn’t overwhelmingly so. It is tart … but there is more of a sweet-tart kind of taste rather than straight up tart… which probably has a bit to do with the addition of the orange to this blend.

The sweet-tart taste is there throughout the sip, and the finish is tingly and tarty and lingonberry-ish. The warmth of the cardamom is also present throughout the sip, while the Ceylon plays a good support for the rest of the flavors – offering a delicious, medium-bodied flavor of black tea without becoming too intrusive on the flavor. In this case, that is a really good thing because it’s a lovely way to experience lingonberry.

I like this one a lot. This might just become my “holiday blend” alternative. Very nice.

Virtual Tea Tasting
This is a great green tea!! Good minty flavor not overpowering. Naturally sweet from the stevia!! I will be ordering some more soon!!

I am so glad that sTEAp Shoppe added this tea to the database already … because it’s not yet on their website, so I didn’t want to add the tea without their information included. It not only helps me to write this tasting note but also my full-length review which will publish this Friday evening.

I had signed up for the Virtual Tea Tasting, but, unfortunately, something had gone awry with my entry and so I didn’t get my teas in time for the tea tasting this past Sunday. However, sTEAp Shoppe was kind enough to still send me some teas, allowing me to choose which teas I wanted! I didn’t choose this tea, but they included it, and I was thrilled because … wow, the name of it alone is drool worthy. Milk Chocolate & Caramel? um… YES PLEASE!

And it is indeed delicious. The chocolate and caramel really come forward nicely in this. The black tea is a bit on the lighter side, not what I’d call a strong black tea but it holds its own and I think that a stronger or bolder black tea would have overwhelmed the chocolate and caramel flavors. And trust me, you do not want to miss out on those notes! Absolutely yummy!

This tea is so visually pleasing – I love the way the berries look amongst the tea leaves.
This brewed up lighter than I was expecting but the package notes that a second steep of ~4 minutes is recommended.
This tastes buttery! It is like a berry cobbler or something. Wow good :)
I really like the way the berry flavors work with the green tea – I get a really nice round fullness of the berries that is supported by the buttery green. This is such a brilliant idea for a tea combo! Or rather, a really simple idea that came out absolutely perfectly.
This was a sample for the virtual tea tasting here this September… I think I might need to order more of this when I have a tea budget again.

I made this one hot for the virtual tea tasting and liked it but didn’t love it—it was very cinnamon-y and a bit lacking in berry flavor. Since all the flavoring elements here are natural ingredients, I thought they’d benefit from a long cold steep since that would really draw out all the berry flavor. Cold, this is much better!

The color is so pretty, a nice rosy pink. Which means lots of berry flavor! And indeed, it’s a lot stronger this way. A little tart, with distinct raspberry and goji berry notes. The cinnamon comes in at the end instead of overwhelming the cup, and it really adds to the green tea/berry combo to make this very cobbler-ish but still fresh & fruity.

Now that I have a better idea of what is in this blend and how others perceived it I thought I would have another go at it. My first time with it left me confused. I had a preconceived notion of what this would taste like and this is something completely different. Steeped per instructions. The brew has a slight purple tint. There is a very light tartness that I now know comes from lingonberry (I had never heard of them before). I taste a fair bit of cinnamon. The main flavor though and the one I couldn’t separate out before is raspberry. That should be obvious but it blends seamlessly with the gojiberry and other ingredients to where my unsophisticated palate couldn’t place what I was tasting. If this were decaf my wife would probably love this. It is not something I would buy but I would never turn down a cup if offered. I think it is tasty, it just doesn’t grab my interest. Thanks sTEAp Shoppe for the sample.

Okay, I tried. I really tried. I tried every which way I know how to get some flavour other than “veggie juice” out of this blend. I just cannot taste anything else, unfortunately. In addition, after the tea cooled a bit, it got really, really bitter and astringent. Also, in spite of my infuser’s fine mesh, there was quite a bit of sediment in my teacup.

The nice thing about big companies like Teavana and Adagio is that they don’t participate on Steepster, they don’t go the extra mile to establish a rapport with customers and use wonderful incentives to drum up business and introduce themselves to us. Consequently, I have no qualms at all about calling it like I see it and being critical of a blend I don’t like.

It’s different with the little guys. These little companies are either just getting started or intentionally staying small and catering to a niche within the tea market. They make such a huge effort to procure our business, our trust, and our loyalty. They participate in random discussions, give us the benefit of their expertise, and are responsive to our feedback. They become our friends.

Don’t get me wrong, this is awesome. But it also means that I feel obligated to like their teas, especially if I get them as free samples. I feel guilty when things don’t work out, even though well-intentioned criticism can be more helpful than a glowing review. So here we are, my first free sample that I didn’t love, and I’m feeling terribly guilty about it. Sorry, sTEAp Shoppe, better luck next time.

Tea amount: 2 tsp
Water amount: 8oz./~237mL
Additives: 1 tsp Demerara sugar
Dry mouth factor: 3/10 hot, 7/10 after cooling

A quick tasting note for the sTEAp Shopping virtual tea tasting. First impressions:

The dry leaves smell pretty vegetal. There are lots (and I mean lots) of apple chunks, but oddly, I can’t smell apples at all. I never quite understood what rose hips are or whether they’re related to roses in any way. Are they supposed to smell rosy? Do they smell like anything at all? I’ll have to Google it later.

The brew smells like freshly cut grass, but that’s it. I’m not getting anything else at all in the fragrance.

Sadly, the taste didn’t make a good first impression on me. It tastes like green veggie juice. I was going to say “spinach juice,” but that’s not quite right. It’s more of a generic green veggie juice than the juice of a particular green veggie. I was really, really shocked that with sooooo many apple chunks, I couldn’t taste apple at all.

Maybe I need to add more tea? Maybe I need to try steeping longer? I’m not sure, but this initial experiment was not a success. Fortunately for me, there’s still plenty of the generous sample left, so I can give it another go.

Tea amount: ~.75 tsp
Water amount: ~4oz./118mL
Additives: None, for a few sips, then a pinch of Demerara sugar in an effort to improve the taste.
Dry mouth factor: 2/10

Another sip down! After hearing everyone else’s thoughts on this tea, I am a little nervous to attempt it again. I hope I can duplicate my previous experience. I didn’t measure the leaf but there was at least two spoonful. This is a lot more leaf than I used previously. I heated 12oz of water to good and steaming (not boiling) and steeped in my press for three minutes. I added one packet of Splenda in my mug. When hot, I thought the leaf smelled very lightly of apple. After cooling the leaf smells of spinach.

By using more leaf this time, I am getting results similar to what others reported. This is green tea. In fact it is a bit bitter. I got the water too hot and let it set and cool before pouring out of the kettle. Apparently it should have sat longer. When the cup cools to near room temperature, I can almost make out the faintest notes of apple. Almost.

Ok, my verdict on this tea is less is more. Use less leaf and cool water temp. Don’t over steep. Even then, the apple flavor is not going to pop. It only hints of apple. I greatly enjoyed this the first couple times I tried it. This time, not so much.

Some teas are real forgiving. You can throw any amount of leaf, temp, and time at them and get a nice cup. Others, apparently like this one, you’ve got to watch what you are doing closely. If it doesn’t work, try again with different parameters.

When I sip, I taste mostly the tea. The apple flavor is only light notes that highlight the flavor of the green tea. There is also a light hint of raisin and maybe cinnamon (though neither of these are actual ingredients). I like this. It is a pleasant basic drink, with a nice green aftertaste.

I am not a big flavored tea drinker these days. When I do have flavored tea – even my beloved Earl Grey – I want to taste the tea. Even from that perspective this is a little light on the apple flavor. I think those who are expecting hearty GREEN APPLE flavor will be disappointed. I am concerned sTEAp may have missed their target audience.

I don’t mean this to come off as a negative review. I actually enjoyed the cup. It was recommended during the virtual tasting that the flavors pop by adding a bit of cinnamon. Also use your favorite sweetener. I picked a couple pieces of fruit out of the leaf and tasted them – very apple pie. If you are looking for a very lightly flavored green tea, this is a good one.

Sample provided by sTEAp Shoppe. Thanks!

My co-favorite of the samples provided by sTEAp Shoppe. The smoke is heavy by my standards, but it isn’t overwhelming and it never feels like someone dumped an ashtray in your cup. This is a good kind of smoky. It blends really well with the other flavors. There is a bite in the back of the throat. The smell, the bite, and the aftertaste remind me of rooibos – though this is better and more complex. A few more sips and now this reminds me of the smell of sawdust when you are running a dull circular saw through a fresh piece of pine – kind of woodsy, kind of burnt.

In cup two the smoke does not diminish, rather the oolong just comes out of hiding a little more. It gives it a nice floral note. The throat bite is not so noticeable in this cup. This is maybe even a little better than the first. If not better, at least different. Nice.

I went three cups with this one. It was lighter than the first two. Though the smoke still stands out this is a civilized cup. A pleasant ending to this tea.

One thing I noted is that if you let the cup get cold, the taste of this tea perks up even more.

It is pretty intense. Unless you are a huge smoky tea fan, I am not sure you would want it everyday. That being said, it is different than the normal fare and just happens to be really good.

Sip down. I don’t know if it is the nature of the tea or if it is due to handling during shipping but what is left of the sample would be better suited for a Finum basket than my press. It has a lot of fine particles. This was my favorite of the four samples I received. The consensus seemed the fruit blends could generally benefit from being amped up a bit. This one, to me, is perfect the way it is blended. Peppermint, ginko, green tea – its just really good. I am happy to report it did not give me a headache today, so I do not have a ginko allergy. Yeah! My previous pain was probably work stress induced. Good job on this one sTEAp Shoppe!

As soon as water hit the leaf I could smell mint. I am not a fan of spearmint in tea, or candy, or even gum. It’s just not my thing. Surprise, this is peppermint! Peppermint I like. The brew is golden green in the press and a bit darker in the mug.

The sip is interesting. The mint is the main flavor, then directly under it is a kind of peppery ginger flavor. There is no ginger listed so this must be the ginko biloba I am tasting. This has a sweetness to it from the stevia leaf. The green tea fills out the flavor, Green tea and mint are in the aftertaste.

If I were to ever want to sip mint tea this is one I would definitely consider. Bonus it leaves your breath feeling minty cool.

Sample provided by sTEAp Shoppe – Thanks! My favorite of the 4 samples tasted.

Sipdown, gosh I’ve had this for a while. Brewed it hot and then went to log it and saw everyone liked it better cold. Oops! I still like it hot though, but I’m not sure I’ll order more.

Mmm cinnamon! Received this sample as part of the virtual tea tasting, which is such a cool idea. Very generous samples as well. I also love that there are instructions for a second steeping on the label.

There’s a good bit of cinnamon taste here, which is great (I love it!). The liquor is fairly light, a sandy brown in my cup. I don’t taste a lot of berry but I think it’s there under the cinnamon mingling with the green tea. The cinnamon still comes out on top. I’d maybe rename this one to something with cinnamon in it.

I think I’ll steal this bit from Nik. I like seeing how other people brew stuff because sometime’s I’m unsure of where to begin!

Tea: 1 heaping teaspoon
Water: 8 oz
Additives: None

Yay! Marshmallow roasting time!
Seriously the dry leaf has the lapsang souchong scent but with another sweeter note. Marshmallow!
I have a special fondness for marshmallow (good marshmallow, that is). I have the incredible privilege of living near the great salt marsh. My sister and I grew up playing on it, running across it, conquering its muddy rivers and creeks. We would leap into the salt water at high tide and at low tide we slip down the slick muddy banks and go like seals or penguins through the bottoms of the creeks. The sun would bake the mud onto us and as the tide rose again we would rinse off and let the winds and grasses dry our legs.
It really is that free and perfect.
Marshmallow is not just the sticky stuff in a tub, it’s also a plant. Sometimes around here you can find decent homemade marshmallow. I love the word though – we named our boat “Marsh-mallow” (or Marsh-mellow, we never could decide!).
In good weather we take the boat through the inlets and channels. We push the throttle up and skim across the water in the big channels and then laughing, let it putter down and muddle through the water sending only smooth ripples to run around us.
We beach ourselves at a little scrap of sand and marshgrass where snails are always in abundance. I like to leap off the edge of the boat, plunging down into the increasingly chill water until I just touch bottom and push off to the surface. Then someone throws me a tow-rope and we drag the boat closer to shore. You have to be careful not to step on all of the little snails that litter the beach there, hundreds of them. Horseshoe crabs lurk underwater as well, so boat-shoes are a must!
We eat sandwiches, leap around amongst the driftwood, and then after we are getting chilled we change into new clothes (if we were smart enough to pack them) behind towels and pack up onto the boat.
The ride back is a study in wonder as the sun sparks flintlike on the water and hits the back of our eyes, closed to the wind, in meandering patterns that map themselves like rivers in the mind. We drive fast now because we are all cold and tired. Speeding along, riding at the bow, leaning over the edge, drunk on sunlight and salt air is a moment of transcendence.

Great Salt Marsh. Seriously. Read about it. Go there. Donate to save them. I hate to think about the damage being done to them by building, contamination from trash, as well as whatever was causing them to die off up and down the coast. We are always careful when we go not to damage them. We might play on them, but we avoid the nesting birds and are careful not to cause erosion on the banks.

You can see some pictures of the changing seasons here: http://www.townofstratford.com/content/1302/402/625/1100/5066/5085.aspx

Ahem
Back to the tea. It is good. It reminds me of camping (which is a completely different set of free associations, although still marsh related as we used to go camping at the beach when I was a kid). I like the smokiness of the lapsang with the sweet burned marshmallow.

Lapsang Souchong seems to be a love it or hate it kind of tea. I personally like smokey teas: not TOO smokey, but a hint of it can really elevate a blend. There’s a maple lapsang from Tealux that I am in love with, so I had high hopes for this blend. Smoke, chocolate, vanilla, sign me up!

Now, there are a lot of s’mores teas out there… and this isn’t one of them, of course. But they all lack one thing: sure, you’ve got the chocolate, marshmallow, graham cracker, but the best thing about s’mores is cooking them over a campfire. This tea… it’s s’mores in a cup! Gentle yet present smokiness, rich chocolate, a creaminess from the vanilla. It’s rich and scrumptious, but the smokiness really keeps it from being overly-sweet and dessert-y. I really love this one! It honestly makes me feel like I’m camping, and it is so perfect for this cooler weather.

I do get the coffe vibes too. It doesn’t really taste like coffee exactly, but the flavor profile reminds me of DT’s Coffee Pu-erh. It’s got a latte vibe going on for sure! A smokey latte of course haha. If you’re on the fence about LS, this is really a great tea to start with.

So. Smokey mountain is the perfect name for this tea it smells and taste like a smokey campfire with hickory wood I like the tea but its not one of the faves this will take time to get use to it leaves this smoky flavor on my tong and in my nose hehehehe very good tea just not something I’m use too.
my husband reminded me that As i drank this tea Ronnie millsap Song Smokey mountain rain ran threw my head :)