Thanks to Janet at sTEAp Shoppe for this tea sample!
This review is part of #2 Virtual Tea Tasting. What a great idea!
I’ve been chatting a bit with Janet, getting to know her better and she’s a really nice person! We Steepsters are blessed with tea vendors who don’t just care about making a living with tea, they want us to really have a great experience with their companies too!
The Storm-Sandy
I sat down today flipping between the Weather Channel and CNN, watching the development of Hurricane Sandy. Like a grandma Hen, I’m worried about all my Steepster friends in the South and East who are going to be in the path of this monster system. If I could manage it, I’d scoop everyone of you up and bring you to my house for the duration, feed you and serve you tea.
I have not forgotten the kind words when the hills were ablaze during the High Park Fires here in Colorado this Summer, the comfort when I was hunkered down with a cloud of smoke like fog outside.
Now, it’s my turn and I will keep you in my prayers also!
The Tea!
The dry tea smelled roasty, reminding me of coffee and chicory with a little sweet caramel.
The wet leaves had the aroma of a cocoa-raisin energy bar.
The base flavor tasted ‘green’. Maybe it was the fenugreek but I’m not convinced. The tea wasn’t malty or strong like I had expected.
Plain (no cream or sweetening) there was a light cocoa flavor and caramel scent more than taste. A bit disappointing.
I was certain that what the tea called for was sweetening and milk to bring out the true flavors. I added sweetening first, which brought out the caramel right away, then milk which brought out the cocoa taste just a little.
(I wouldn’t recommend drinking this without sweetening it at the least.)
There was an aftertaste of raisin…not sure why.
The only thing that I would love to taste more of is ‘chocolate’.
A little more of the nibs would be fantastic or a maltier tea.
(I didn’t feel that the base tea was contributing enough depth to the blend.)
Knowing the sTEAp Shoppe this will be part of their continuing commitment to bring quality natural ingredients and good taste to tea drinkers like us.
