Steepster

it’s always relieving to have a delish earl grey! the bergamot really comes through where you want it too. I have to stick with having this tea with milk and either sugar or honey depending. Regardless the delicious flavor comes through and I think is accentuated and accompanied by the milk.

If you enjoy a light herbal almost woody yet floral tea, this is for you. I personally love this tea, so does my 4 year old. It is also delicious cold. its a bit lighter than the other rooibos I’ve had but overall it is tasty. I find it very relaxing. maybe not for you if your looking for a serious jolt!

delicious tea. Had it hot then brewed it immediately after to have it iced. It tastes better than any of those horrible sweetened tea made with syrup!

Origin: Tamil Nadu, India
Dry Leaf: Very finely chopped, dark mahogany brown,,,almost large coffee ground size leaves with scents of dried fruit.
Method: Western teapot with 1 tsp tea and 12 oz water. 212F for 2.5 minutes.
Wet Leaf: The cute little chopped pieces have reconstituted now and they have a good sweet raisin scent.
Liquor: Clear, light reddish amber. Smells very sweet like apple, raisin, and citrus
Flavor: Clean and smooth, not harsh or bitter. No astringency at all. Slightly creamy mouthfeel at the finish. Notes of apple peel, apple fruit, and a bit of black fig. Very enjoyable cup!! Was in the Steepster Select box that was entitled ‘Iced Iced Baby’ ,,for it would make a great iced tea but I never got to iced tea because it was an excellent hot cup of tea!!!!!!!!!!

From the Steepster Select Box, July 2014.

A delighful surprise for someone who doesn’t often stray from black teas. Intriguing, full flavor. Not watery as so many white teas tend to be.

Mild tea, slight taste of vanilla. Very typical of white tea. Vanilla scent is more prominent in the aroma of the liqueur than in the taste. Main flavor is lightly earthy. After taste is about the same, with a hint of the vanilla. Leaves were small with a white fuzz. They appear almost unprocessed. Steeped leaves have a very vegetal scent, almost grassy. This would be a good daily tea, not over powering but light and tasty.

Smells heavily of Apricot. Not an overpowering smell, but delicious. Dark brown liquor from the ceylon. Small amounts of apricot. Results in what appear to be filings in the tea itself, but are really parts of the Apricot.

Tea itself is delicious, and mild enough to allow an aftertaste of Apricot come through. On the tongue only the tea comes through, but after the apricot blooms. Very good.

Good, possibly a once a week or weekend tea. Not quite the quick kick you want from a morning tea, but delicious for a weekend, work from home, or when you have time to enjoy the tea.

I had enough of this left over to give it a second chance (and third chance, honestly), and I recalled seeing someone on this site add maple syrup to a souchong, so I thought, why not?

Turns out maple syrup does improve it by a whole other dimension. Sweet + aromatic is a good combination. This is more like a breakfast tea preparation now, but souchong is a strange creature anyway…(I still don’t understand why Wikipedia has it as “regarded as tea for Westerners in China”, that’s a little drastic, don’t you think? Anyway, I know plenty of family and friends in China who enjoy it…)

Steepster sample 4 of 4

This one has an intensely smoky aroma that leans warm. Compared to the other Xiao Zhong (Souchong) I have from Verdant, the scent is heartier and less sharp, and I can definitely see where comparisons to smoked bacon would come from. The leaves in this one are smaller and less twisted, and the liquor brews out to a darker amber color.

The taste, unfortunately, leaves a little to be desired. If someone literally steeped a block of smoked pinewood in hot water, this is what it would taste like. Fragrant, and not offensive, but one of the things I enjoy most in smoked or roasty teas is how they should evolve upon brewing. If it tastes exactly the same as it smells, there’s little surprise—and the ingredients or processes that created the aroma are more dominant than the tea. The natural sweetness of this tea doesn’t come out until it has cooled substantially.

I can’t say this tea tastes unpleasant, but there are much better of its kind. I’ll mess around with the preparation a bit to see if I can enjoy it more.

Steepster sample 3 of 4

This tastes exactly, and I mean exactly, like the unnamed Shui Xian I had logged a while back. Even the dried leaves look very similar. Which makes sense, since they are both Wuyi oolongs. And it’s definitely a good thing, because it’s wonderfully roasty and substantial, fragrant with a lingering sweetness. I hadn’t thought to describe those flavors as caramelized sugar before, though, and that seems to be what most users are tasting. At any rate, now I know where to find more of an old favorite, or at least something very much like it!

Steepster sample 2 of 4

My first thought on opening the package: it’s cute! Something about all the toasted rice and little clouds of popped rice, and the matcha coloring everything green, just looks cheerful. Because of the matcha, I brewed in a transparent glass to see the green color, which did not disappoint.

This tea tastes just like it should—toasty and delicious like a rice snack. It does smell a bit like nori (dried seaweed). I was concerned by all the seaweed comments by other users at first, because for some reason my mind immediately went to…fresh kelp or something. But fortunately the actual aroma is quite pleasant.

I received two individual servings in the Steepster black tea sampler.

I steeped according to instructions, and the result was a golden orange liquor with a faintly sweet aroma and a toasted caramel flavor. It was rather pleasant, but more subtle in flavor than I tend to favor. It was also good during one resteep, with similar character as the first. I normally only steep black teas once, but noticed in Steepster’s description that this was suitable for multiple resteeps. I would love to steep it several times to observe how it changes. Unfortunately today wasn’t the day for it, as I was busy being dad.

Finally, new tea! This one is the first of the set of four “single-size” samples I ordered from Steepster. As the description said there would be one each of white, green, oolong, and black teas, I was expecting the white tea to be a bai mu dan, but this turned out to be a welcome surprise.

The dry tea comes in tightly coiled little pearls, and the aroma—I’m not sure how to describe it, but it smells like nostalgia to me. Yes, a little floral, and a little grassy, but mostly it reminds me of the various nameless teas I would have while visiting relatives in China. There’s a slightly dusty, well-worn, people-friendly quality to it, and it seems to instantly summon one of those rainy summer afternoons in a room full of books.

I haven’t had much experience with white teas, so I approached this one with caution, even bringing out the thermometer that I usually neglect to use. The tea brews to a darker color than I imagined, and the leaves unfurl fully. The flavor is very different from what is suggested by the aroma. It’s light and delectably smooth, with a fruit-like sweetness that I spent a long time trying to identify, and finally realized was very similar to dried apricot. No astringency or “greenness” or course.

I only used half the package to make enough for a small cup (a mini-kettle-full of water), and I’m happy to be able to get a second serving out of this. In all, it’s probably the first white tea that I’ve really enjoyed. It also helps explain why I’ve dislike almost all flavored white tea I’ve tried—when the tea itself is this delicate, adding anything else is usually detrimental.

Haven’t had Mr. G in years. Like many, had way too much inferior product that it shut me down. I then got into Yezi Tea and Yunnan Sourcing black teas and forgot all about Mr. G. I shared this generous sample with a work mate and we were both floored at how good it was. Well structured black tea with a precise amount of bergamot. I wish I could find this so when I offer my friends, with less sophisticated palates, a cup of tea they will accept Mr. G, as apposed to my “crazy” teas from China.

Wasn’t one of my favorites. Probably will finish the sampler and never drink again

First time ever having Matcha and it is delicious. I think I found my new favorite tea.

It’s got that distinct, Guiness-y Assam scent that I just love. A slight, pleasing bitterness on the back of the tongue after it’s been swallowed is more memorable than the initial taste. It tarries with you a bit, and I really dig that.

Great apricot flavor. Subtle and not overpowering. It’s tea, not apricot juice.

Grassy/earthy with a bold, bitter aftertaste

I’m sitting here finishing up some studying and wanted to try a new cup of tea and write a tasting note to relax. This one sounded ideal as it’s supposed to be sweet and smooth. It smells sweet, a little bit tangy and very earthy.

Sipping… eh, I don’t know if I like this one. It’s smooth and quite sweet, but it has a sort of smoky hay note that I’m not fond of. The finish leaves a sort of sourdough tang in the back of your throat. It’s weird because the first part of the sip is very tasty… sweet and silky. It just changes so fast into that smoky hay flavor that it ruins the cup for me.

I can see this tea being a favorite of some as it does have a silky, smooth mouthfeel and light sweetness. My tastebuds just don’t seem to agree with this one today.

I have been slacking so bad on Steepster Select reviews, but I had to review this one. I adore this tea. The Apricot flavor is so smooth and natural, but doesn’t overpower the flavor of the black tea. Perfect amount of fruity flavor. The fruity flavor doesn’t hold up well when resteeping, but that first cup is phenomenal.

backlog – tried to review this on Sunday, but Steepster was down.

I ripped open the packet and took a sniff… asparagus? This definitely is more like a green tea than a black tea. Brewed it up, still smells like a vegetable garden.

Seemed a bit light, but maybe I just don’t get along with Darjeelings. I’ve never had one I really liked :( I will probably give the second packet away to my tea-loving coworker.