Sterling Tea

Auggy shared this one with me, I think because she had said she wasn’t getting along with it and I told her of my new-found appreciation for flavoured rooibos. Although for me that’s largely berry-y flavouring. (And I still think it’s new-found.)

I cannot shake the notion of celery. Both in smell and flavour.

A statement which caused Husband to exclaim, and I quote:

“You are smoking rocks!”

He thought it smelled like some sort of orange-y chocolate-y drink. I can’t find either. I can barely even find the rooibos!

Celery on the other hand…

I don’t much like celery.

Husband is enjoying it, though.

Oddly enough, this is a true and proper bai mu dan. The leaves are huge and unfurled even when dry. It reminds me of the bai mu dan that TeaGsch sells (although their leaves are even bigger).

In case you hadn’t noticed, I don’t really “do” flavored (or scented) teas. Like flavored coffees, they are usually an excuse to sell poor quality product by hiding it under too much flavor agent. I’ve had both teas and coffees that you can cut 20 to 1 with unflavored and the flavor agent is still HUGE in the cup. I just don’t get it.

Especially on white teas. What is it with people flavoring the most subtle, most delicate of teas?

But Sterling is a Texas company and they were hanging out in our Central Market location a few Sundays ago (I always do a shopping run there after services each week) and the folks were so nice and the sample they offered was… GOOD.

So I decided to do the local thing and picked up some of this white earl grey. If nothing else, I knew Liz would like it.

But… I like it too. In spite of myself. Neither the vanilla nor the bergamot are at all overpowering here — and that is saying something with vanilla. And the underlying bai mu dan is a proper, good set of leaf that are essentially undamaged in the flavoring process.

BEWARE of over steeping. This gets bitter FAST.

But if you get the timing right, you are rewarded with a warming, gently sweet, tangy cup. Bai mu dan are some of my favorite cold weather teas and the additions Sterling have added to this one make it a great “winter warmer” cuppa.

Hey this IS a good earl grey. My husband brought this home from the grocery store, and I wasn’t sure what to expect. I have a black-tea based earl grey with vanilla in it at home, and the vanilla just tastes really overpowering and artificial. This is different. The tea looks really high quality- the bai mu dan leaves are lovely. The vanilla is a nice, muted backdrop. And the bergamot dominates just enough to make this a good earl grey, without wiping out the delicate white tea leaves. Am digging this one.

Very smooth and a nice delicate blend of floral flavor with the green and black. I could smell the fruits much more than taste them, but personally I prefer it this way.

I’m finishing up this from my stash as well. I must say it’s one of the better Chai’s I have had. Sorry to see it go…

I received this in a tea swap today. First time I I have tried this tea AND this company! Thanks Karen!!! This is full of spices! I’m steeping now. Some of the spices are floating to the top of the steeper/holder. I see a chunk of ginger switch kind of frightens me. Oh well, I’m game! The color is a true brown. Not much else to say about the color. I have to sample a sip more than once to make up my mind. I did use a little less of the blend because of the scent I thought it would be too overpowering. BUT I really don’t think it is. It blends well. I think it might be the hint of peppermint to offset the other spices. I never add anything to my teas…no milk/sugar…nothing so all my reviews are based on the true taste and this is a nice middle road for a chai. If you have had bad experiences with chai before give this a try if you are looking for something way over the top and spicy this may not have enough kick for you…but if you add milk or other things to it it just might work regardless…depends. It’s not bad…I like it.

Very nice fruity and tangy flavor. The hibiscus really stands out, but not so much of the orange peel and lemongrass. I don’t taste much of a strawberry flavor, but it still tastes very good.

I could taste either the papaya or pineapple I wasn’t quite sure which one, but mostly it tasted like green tea with a hit of black and a little fruity flavor to it. Not a big fan of this one.