Steven Smith Teamaker

Brought friends with to Smith HQ. While they were having their respective tasting flights, I ordered a full pot of their Yunnan. I didn’t remember trying it the last three times I’d ventured there. While not explicitly stated as being a Dian Hong, it had the earthy, and mid-astringent character of one. There was a bit of a nectarine nuance there, but not as much as a Yunnan Gold. Still, I enjoyed it quite immensely.

PS ~ It only took me ten minutes to down the (almost) 24oz pot. Make of that what you will.

Had a pot of this with my mother this morning at Smith HQ. I remembered sampling it, but didn’t remember exactly what I thought about it. This gave me an opportunity to reacquaint myself with it. It was an interesting blend of Assam and two regional Ceylons. The forefront was notably astringent (likely the Assam), but settled into the Ceylon floral tone soon after. Bergamot scenting seemed a bit understated this time ’round. Not necessarily a deal-breaker, just a surprise given the moniker. Still liked it quite a bit, though.

I sampled this on a visit to their teashop and immediately picked up a bottle. That’s how much I loved it. I finally cracked it open while at work. I’ve had pear-flavored white teas before, but never paired with apples. The flavor lived up to my wildest imagination…and that’s pretty vivid. Pear dominated the foretaste, while apple and mildly-astringent Bai Mu Dan dominated the middle. The aftertaste was toasty, almost Riesling-like. This is an iced tea I’d pour into a wine glass to “fit in” at a party full of sommeliers. Looks the same and almost tastes the same. Simply awesome.

Full Review: http://www.teaviews.com/2011/01/22/review-smith-teamaker-no-71-white-petal-rtd/

It being St. Patty’s Day, I decided to make this my morning cup. Gah! SO good. Still! While it’s been pointed out to me that a “true” Irishman would have “actual” whiskey in his tea for the morn, I will settle with a mildly peaty substitute. Love this grand experiment.

I finally got me some more! They got another limited stock in of the lovely alcy-scented Ceylon that captured my heart and tongue. Initial dry smell of this new batch was more “damp”-like than the first. Stronger on the bitey note. I finally cupped it this morning before heading out the door. It was still as floral, feathery and woody on the initial sip like the first time I tried it. The finish, though, was much stronger. Not sure what was done differently, but it had more of the whiskey toastiness the second time ’round. Still awesome.

Full Write-Up Here: http://www.lazyliteratus.com/1118

I made it a point this morning to get up early and make the trek to Smith Teamaker’s brick-n-mortar shop to pick up some of this. I thought it’d be a perfect gift for my dad. Unfortunately, they were sold out of it. Luckily, they had just enough left for me to sample a pot. The black tea base was a Nuwara Eliya Ceylon given a couple months rest in a white oak whiskey barrel. The result was a bright amber liquor with a woody/smokey foretaste, a floral middle, and a winy/whiskey-like aftertaste; toasty but not bitey. This stuff is habit-forming.

Full Write-Up Here: http://www.lazyliteratus.com/1118

Some will question why such a high score of 100 on the rating scale for such a sublime, barely-there taste or aroma? My answer is because there is quality to backup the flavor, or rather the lack thereof.

Aroma: Smelling the sachet with the tea before it hits the water is very nice; and as the name denotes, a lemony grass, literally. Not lemony as a candy or the sprightly rind, but a subdued quiet lemon intermingled with grassy notes. However, once the sachet hits the water and starts to melt into it, there is no aroma whatsoever!…strange?…it smells of warm water.

Taste: Extremely sublime…even more so than a white tea. A white tea has body and character, this lemongrass is extremely delicate and doesn’t show to the party until it is there for a while and made it’s acquaintance with everyone. Then after a while, some and only some, flavor profile starts to poke through. It is as the namesake, a lemony grass. Very delicate, very sublime. An extremely nice tea to have as a bedtime tea or for quiet time to contemplate, it is quiet, subdued and delicate. The taste is lemony, grassy with the slightest hint of a spicy bite reminiscent of ginger but only as a whispering afterthought; also, it is a little sweet…more like powdered sugar rather than granular sugar. The sweetness would fit more like an Asian delicacy of candied grass with powdered sugar than a cloying candy sweetness of granular sugar, like say a candied ginger.

Aftertaste: This mimics the flavor profile…a little bite, a little sweetness, lemony and grassy but these characteristics are fleeting.

A nice tea to try as a small purchase, but would I buy again…not too sure; maybe to sooth and calm the tummy and for quiet contemplation but not as a regular goto tea.

Yet, another favorite of this illustrious brand!

Aroma: It’s exactly as the website describes it…spicy, sweet and leathery, very pleasant.

Taste: A duplicate of the aromas. Spicy, sweet and leathery [if one could taste leather…not off-putting at all!]. This tea is a juxtaposition of tastes, meaning, it is spicy, sweet and leathery simultaneously; complex yet linear and delicate. A fine tea to enjoy throughout the day…better for afternoon and early evening due to not much of a caffeine kick for a morning jolt. Yunnan teas have some body to them and yet they are not mouth filling or possess that “drying” effect or the tannins of other black teas. Very delicious teas, indeed!

Aftertaste: More of a lingering sweetness of raisins and burnt caramel [not charred tasting at all] and not cloying either. A little spicy as well but only intermingled, not prominent.

I like Yunnan teas because of it’s complex characteristics…spicy, sweet, delicate and yet it has some body and complexity to it.

A highly recommended tea to have in one’s collection! A must buy!

I find it cool…

I completely agree with the previous comment that it does not turn bitter. I also leave my sachet in a long time (both when I ice it and when I drink it hot) and it tastes great the entire time. Every other jasmine tea I’ve had turns bitter if I over steep it. With this one, I don’t have to worry.

I must start by saying that I am a new-found fanboy of this new brand; I am not paid or given any promotional kickbacks for touting this brand.

Now with that said, I LOVE this tea! It is another superb offering. Steep time and water temp are to my usual likings, the high-quality sachet stays in the cup the whole duration of enjoying the tea and the water temp is boiling.

Aroma Profile: To start the aroma is of a light butter, slightly toasted cashew nuts and a slight hint of grape leaves. It’s not off-putting.

Taste Profile: This tea starts with, again, a light butter, a hint of creamy sweetness, slightly toasted cashew nuts and the slightest hint of a herbal note [I would describe it as a fennel characteristic]. The longer the sachet stays in, the more intense the flavor profile becomes but it never gets bitter or inedible. However, the fennel herbal note disappears and the other notes intensify somewhat but not to the extent of overpowering your taste buds. There is no thickness feel on the tongue or a full mouth feel either.

Aftertaste: There is a crispness to this tea that lingers. I would compare this tea’s aftertaste to a Chardonnay wine. It possess the buttery, creaminess along with the nuts but with a clean, crisp finish.

I would highly recommend this tea.

As far as I’m concerned, as long as tea is fresh you can never go wrong with Jasmine Pearls. And Steven Smith was no exception. This tea was wonderful.

But the real reason I’m writing this review is because I loved the packaging. It is spot-on for the look and feel of tea as far as I’m concerned. And since they back up the packaging with a beautiful product, I’m a huge fan!

I really like this tea a lot. It does not turn bitter no matter how long I keep the sachet in and the one’s who know my reviews by now, know that I keep the sachet in the whole time I am enjoying my cup of tea.

Taste: It is a very pleasing and satisfying cup of Jasmine green tea; the blending is spot-on, top-notch. You appreciate the essence of Jasmine without overpowering the green tea. The green tea itself is very fresh, not too vegetal, strong or astringent. I would most highly recommend this tea and the brand…this is truly a Premium tea purveyor!

Check out my review for the No.96 Jasmine Silver Tip—the same review applies to this select blend, however, this Jasmine Pearl is a bit more fragrant and there is an exceptional aftertaste that is slightly sweet [somewhat reminiscent of vanilla] yet very pleasing. Once again, I would most highly recommend this tea and this Premium brand.

I find myself at a crossroads in that I can not review this tea completely.

Upon tasting this very vegeative tea, my mouth & throat decided to swell up. I’ll be adding this tea along with Kukicha from the Tao of Tea to “Don’t Have List.” Then start a search as to why these two teas are causing this to happen and if there is more out there. hmmm….

I picked this tea up from SST’s booth at the World Tea Expo 2010. I steeped the tea four times in 8 oz of water. The 1st steeping was for 3 mins and turned out to be too short as that I only tasted the green tea flavors and none of the lemon myrtle or spearmint. 2nd steeping was for 6 mins and the lemon myrtle showed up more this time around. 3rd & 4th times were steeped again at 6 min but one cube of sugar was added. The flavors were more rounded by then and seemed nice. The leaves after the steeping smelled wonderful. I picked the tea more for the spearmint flavor but the lemon myrtle overpowered the spearmint flavor. Overall, I was somewhat happy with this tea.

AmazonV was kind enough to send me a sample of this one (Thanks AmazonV). While I don’t normally care for Earl Grey’s, this one is light on the Bergamot compared to the others I have tried and nice very easy to sip and enjoy without having to add cream and sugar.

It is a beautiful orangy brown in color and tastes of black tea a very smooth and enjoyable cup. I am not sure if my palate is refined enough to give a good description of it’s flavor but it’s good (lol).

I had a very bad experience with Teavana’s Earl Grey Creme and decided to give up on Earl Grey’s and along came this one and I quite enjoy it. Hmmm this may need to go on my to order list for when I am off my tea freeze! Thanks AmazonV!!!

Steep Information:
Amount: 4 tsp
Water: ~500ml filtered, 212°
Tool: Breville One-Touch Tea Maker BTM800XL (Herbal, Strong)
Steep Time: 5 minutes
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: chamomile, mint, floral
Steeped Tea Smell: rooibos
Flavor: delicate chamomile, rooibos and a hint of lemon
Body: Light
Aftertaste: vegetal, astringent
Liquor: translucent orange-brown

Chamomile overpowers everything in this tea, it’s not a bad tea, I am just finding it to be too boring for me. There is a hint of lemon and rooibos, but where are the other flavors?

Images: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/05/steven-smith-teamaker-loose-leaf-herbal.html

Steep Information:
Amount: 2 tsp
Water: ~500ml filtered, 190°
Tool: Breville One-Touch Tea Maker BTM800XL (custom, custom)
Steep Time: 3 minutes
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: jasmine flower petals
Steeped Tea Smell: jasmine flower petals
Flavor: vegetal, astringent
Body: Light
Aftertaste: grassy, floral
Liquor: translucent honey (yellow-brown) green

I love jasmine pearls and figured I would give this a try when I placed my order. I think I should have gone with the pearls. It was too grassy, and astringent, for my taste :(

Post-Steep Additives: honey, which took the edge off the astringency, it was still grassy with only hints of floral after each sip

Images: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/05/steven-smith-teamaker-loose-leaf-green.html

iced was lack lacklustar…has it on the train in this AM while reading “wizards first rule” it was mellow, slightly citrus – not decreasing points but suggest having it hot not cold

3 tsp, 750ml, black, strong (breville one-touch)
1 cup drinking now with some german rock sugar
another now in fridge to be iced
nice, mellow citrus-black

Steep Information:
Amount: 2 tsp
Water: 212° filtered ~500ml
Tool: Breville One-Touch Tea Maker BTM800XL (black, strong)
Steep Time: 3 minutes
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: strong citrus (bergamot)
Steeped Tea Smell: black tea, hint of bake-y
Flavor: astringent black tea, hints of citrus
Body: Medium
Aftertaste: astringent, sweet
Liquor: translucent brown, orange hints

I am not a huge bergamot fan, and I am really liking this tea. It’s a mellow bergamot, smooth black tea, and generally a delicious cup. I can easily see myself restocking this once I have room in my cupboard.

The packaging was a nice sealed silver bag, with a sticker arrange so the bag could stand itself up. The packaging date was written on the bottom with what I presume is a lot number. The packaging is very nice, with the exception that it is not resealable.

Resteep: weak, left in for 15? 20 minutes, perhaps a cold brew instead overnight would work?

Images: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/05/steven-smith-teamaker-loose-leaf-black.html

This is a bit of a backlog because I was away from the computer this afternoon whilst I was enjoying this tea.

This is definitely one of my favorite Darjeeling teas (I love Darjeeling, so, I have several “favorites”) It has a very nice fruit quality to it. I could taste apples and grapes. It was a little less woodsy this time than I remember it from previous tastings, and a bit less musky. But, still extraordinarily delicious.

Since I didn’t rate it numerically last time I logged, I shall do so now, since I can taste again!