Premium Steap

You know what? This might be one of those teas that makes a liar out of me. I like my spicy teas spicy – and that goes especially for chai – no messing around, plenty of ginger and cinnamon – pepper, cloves, I like ‘em. And then I got this one, and it’s so smooth and sweet from the vanilla and cardamom (both favourite flavours, but not without the other spices for chai), and the Assam works so well as a base, with its typical astringency tempered by the vanilla and cardamom, that it’s just a lovely cup of sweetly flavoured tea.

Not my kind of chai at all, because of the anise, which is far too prominent a flavour to be ignored. Possibly the chicory root doesn’t help, but I can’t get past the anise to determine that. I’d think this was probably a pretty good chai, if you like the flavours.

I really like this tea. It’s so rich and flavorful. I love the big pieces of coconut in my brew basket, and I really love that there is no artificial taste but instead a clean, sweet fruit flavor. Plus, the tea itself is really bold and pairs beautifully with the coconut. Love, love, love it!

From the here’s hoping tea box

I love both lavender and jasmine. I selected this tea from the teabox because I am always on the lookout for Jasmine or lavender flavors and have never seen them together.

This is a great tea. I am also getting a citrus flavor which is an interesting addition.

The tea is an orangy-tan in the cup. The dry leaves smell GREAT. I love it if this scent came in an air freshener! I am really enjoying this tea and added it to my shopping list!

The last time I had this, I accidentally drowned out the flavor with some almond milk. This time I used normal milk and went for a ten minute steep. I really enjoyed this one. It’s a less intense chai, with the coconut adding more creaminess than actual flavor. If you’re wanting a very strong coconut flavor, this probably isn’t the best for you, but otherwise it’s really good.

My coworker gave me her pouch of this — she didn’t like it! I am absolutely crazy for it, though. The caramel does such wonderful things with the rooibos base — it adds sweetness, heft, and such a delicious flavor. Authentic caramel and no fake-y drinking a Yankee candle business! A very tea-like caffeine free evening cuppa with a little milk and sugar.

We have heat! It feels nice to no longer be a popsicle.

This is such a great tea. The coconut flavor is excellent, and there’s no oily film on the top of my tea. I find many coconut teas have this, and it kinda weirds me out. I also really love the base tea. It’s rich and gives an additional layer of decadence to the tea. Good stuff!

Yesterday I took my daughter to the doctor for her well visit. Today I have a sore throat. Go figure. That is why I dislike walking into the petri dish that is any pediatrician’s office. It seems like anytime I take my kids there I come home with some sort of bug. Sorry, needed to vent. End of rant.

This sounded like a nice tea for a sore throat. I measured the leaves into my french press, and followed the steeping directions on the bag (1 tsp for 8 oz., heat water to 185F, steep 2 minutes). After it finished steeping I poured the tea into my teapot. The liquid is a pale green, and the scent is purely green tea – no cherry. The taste is clean. I want to say soapy, but not in a bad way. I still don’t taste the cherry. There is a floral note that I wasn’t expecting, but it’s nice. As the tea cools there is a hint of something that could be cherry, but because of the floral note I would say it’s cherry blossom, not fruity cherry.

I find that the absence of cherry does not bother me. The flavors in the cup are so light and pleasing. A heavy fruity cherry flavor would cover up all of the wonderful flavors from the tea itself.

A nice tea. It feels lovely on my sore throat. I might resteep the leaves later today.

This was a gift from a friend. It’s a tea I never would have chosen for myself, so I’m glad my friend was making the choices because this is a very nice tea. Nice to have a friend who knows me better than I know myself!

I have never been a fan of floral flavored teas because they tend to overwhelm me. Not so with this tea. The jasmine and lavender are there, but I don’t feel like I’ve stuck my head in a potpourri bag. The Ceylon tea has a chance to shine. The tea is rich and has a sweetness to it, again not overwhelming. It’s just enough to make you sit up and take notice. That combined with the lovely jasmine and lavender flavors makes this tea almost enchanting.

I can see myself enjoying this one both hot and iced. I have to say, I’ve been super impressed with the teas I’ve had from Premium Steap. Each one has been a delight!

I’m in love with this tea. It is so rich and flavorful! Today I’m getting a creamy note that I don’t usually get. It makes the tea seem more decadent than usual. Not coconut cream pie, but more like an amazing coconut latte (but with no milk!). This works in my favor since I choose this tea in an attempt to keep me away from all of the sugary goodies that are starting to creep into my house. That’s one of those things I love and hate about the holidays….

A friend of mine who works in Philadelphia picked up some really great teas for me from Premium Steap. This is the first one I tried, and it is delicious. The coconut is heavenly, and it gives a creamy decadence to the tea. Such a treat! The base tea is bold and rich. I’d like to know what tea it is because I think I would like it on its own. The base tea does not get pushed back by the coconut, but rather works with the fruit beautifully to make a complex and very satisfying tea.

This one’s a winner. I might even be willing to pay the toll to cross the bridge and buy more once my current stash is gone. Coming from me that’s a big deal. ;)

Another from my TTB.
Yesterday while shopping my mom and I found some unsweetened coconut vanilla almond milk. It just sounded so interesting that we had to get it and try it.

I thought it might be interesting to try it in a coconut flavored tea. I put it in this tea. Without sugar, it tastes like peanuts. With sugar, the milk flavor masks the taste of the tea, so I’m not even able to remark on the flavors of the tea! I can taste the almond flavor now, with some vanilla sweetness. This doesn’t add to the tea flavor like I was hoping, but instead seems to completely dominate the flavor. I’ll try the tea itself another time, perhaps with normal milk so I can actually give it a proper review!

ETA: One thing I found interesting was the steep time. The person who contributed this tea wrote a recommended time of 10 minutes, which just seems like waaaaay to much for this tea. I decided to give it a try anyway, but since I couldn’t taste the tea, it didn’t really matter.

A decent Genmaicha. Nothing particularly special about it, just everything you’d expect this tea to be.

Didn’t get a chance to drink it with milk as recommended, will want to try it again. bit weak. brew strong.

Margaret’s Hope. Isn’t that a nice name? Shades of a young wife standing on her widow’s walk with sea spray blowing in her face waiting for her true love to sail back home…

…which has little do to with this really fine, fruity and grapey Darjeeling. I have maybe just enough (courtesy of the lovely jacquelinem) to try a small pot’s worth chilled, which I’m thinking would be elegantly refreshing.

Okay this deserves another tasting note. First things first, this tea has incredible patience. I’ve never had a Dragon Pearl that can steep this many times. Incredibly well made, the leaves still haven’t fully unfurled after 4 steeps. It’s very good, and as I’ve said before, very clean tasting. The real kicker here is that it really opens up after the 3rd steep. More vegetal, and leafy than the first 2, this tea MUST be resteeped. Great job Premium Steap!

Drank this last night. I really didn’t taste much flavor at all. I’m not sure what I did wrong, but next time I will try spicing it up with some of my peppermint, to see where that goes.

Overdid on leaf, time, and temp (all three, I’m afraid) and even so, it’s a good and juicy Darjeeling. Just had a touch of bitterness at the end. With a little more attentiveness, this will be grapey and excellent.

Trying a new tea each day. Especially when I can steep it 3 times. Today’s cup i think I overreacted and added a bit too much leaf. When steeping, the leaves are not full, but pieces. When dry, the lemon and basil are really prominent, but as I sip the brewed cup, I sense the basil and the lemon is hidden. I also forgot about it and steeped this cup for probably 10 minutes, so it tastes remarkably like black tea. I’m reserving judgement as directions call for 3 minutes. I will throw a rating up after the second steep.

Second Steep: Much better. 3 minutes did the trick. The basil is still there, lemon is still kind of hidden- subtle might be a better term, but the bitterness is gone. The brew was clear with a hazelnut color to it. Note to self: Don’t forget about the tea while steeping.

Third Steep: Oddly better than the second. I steeped it for over 3 minutes, probably closer to 4. Basil is still hanging out with a little lemony twist. I am surprised at the longevity of this blend!

I love mint so much, the owner gave me a sample of this saying that while she didn’t enjoy the flavors separately, she loved this blend. Let’s just say I did not begin to love licorice after this tea. But I am passing it along to someone in an exchange who I think with absolutely love it. Not bad but not for me.

I enjoy the fact that the mint is well balanced with the rooibos. They don’t fight with one another. Its a good afternoon tea.

Really fantastic matcha. One of the best I’ve ever had. Expensive, but worth every penny

Sweet, buttery, a really well rounded tea. Incredibly clean tasting and flowery. Perfect for lighter foods.

Very good for a typical genmai. However, if you’re going to buy a genmai cha, I would suggest Samovar’s ryokucha. It’s genmai with matcha powder and it blows most other genmais out of the water.