Steven Smith Teamaker

Definitely for the lover of bergamot.

TastyBrew to the rescue!
it’s an Assamalanche!
capital A.
big and bright and i can even taste the caramel notes. malty on the nose for sure.
big personality. a strutter.

Home from my performances, I’m enjoying a cup of this. Although I’m not always a fan of bergamot, I am a fan of Steven Smith, at least of the teas from him that I have tried so far (plus, as I’ve said before, I had a crush on a boy once named steve smith, so I can’t help but feel a small bit of nostalgia). The Earl is a little bolder than most, as it includes some Assam along with the usual ceylon. All of the blacks are of high quality, as is the Bergamot oil itself, and that, my friends, makes all the difference. :)

Tried this while at the teashop too. The smell is very rich and a tad smoky, the actual tea flavor isn’t all that rich and smokey, very flavorful though. Enjoyed my cup, but didn’t purchase any.

Sitting at the Steven smith headquarters sipping this with the Bean who stole my cookie! Luckily this teas is so good I don’t need a cookie. I’m very excited as there are several teas I’ve never seen here before. Sil & Terri, you’re in for a treat!

SIPDOWN! Yeah that’s right. No hoarding! So i had this today while getting ready for work, something i normally don’t indulge in. Lookingforward to June when i can pick up more of this as it’s a really nice assam. Of course that depends on whether or not I can get my cupboard to amanageable state by June as well. I’ve got something waiting for me at the post office today AND if my tea mule is at work today, that’s my three orders from May that have arrived. Not to mention the tea with Raritea and Kittenna lol Ah well…at least i’m sort of hovering at the 200 mark (227 to be exact at the moment). We have a release weekend on saturday so i’m sure i’ll be drinking plenty of tea from 9pm until 3am. yeah that’s right… party at my place! woot woot!

Anyway, i digress…if you like assams, this tea is for sure worth picking up and trying :) Thanks again terri!

Dear Sil,
Please forgive me, but I really had to have this today. I hope you don’t think I’m drinking it to spite you, as I know you’ve been hoarding that last cup. Drink up, my friend! Drink up & enjoy! Drink up & savor the bold malty sweet wine like awesomeness that this tea has to offer, for the world could end tonight, or there could be a zombie apocalypse, or anything could happen, & it would be a shame for this tea to have gone to waste!
No more hoarding! : D

Damn you Terri! No orders until June! WANT! MOAR! NAO!

Holy hannibel, i had this in the morning and let me tell you, i have a single normal person cup’s worth left and it might just be hoarded. Because i am trying to commit to no tea orders until June. It’s going to be hard because i have been thinking about this tea most of today. This is a great assam! mmmmm i have no words beyond “now accepting donations to get me through the month of may” lol I kid! but seriously? This has me wanting to try many more Steven smith teas since this was my first taste of their teas.

This is another one of those things I have been holding on to forever, but I wanted something robust and tasty to have at midnight so I didn’t fall asleep on my paper. Surprisingly this was REALLY good despite being old and in a zippered plastic bag.

So. Much. Caramel. Very malty too but in that ice cream malt kind of way. I noticed Whole Foods has some Stephen Smith tea, but in sachets, but I think I may have to try more anyway and that’s an easy way!

asSAMica!
Whew! I brewed this a little strong this morning, & it is AsSAM!
Bold, Malty, Wine like, & a little on the astringent edge today, WoWza!
Still very drinkable, it is, & it will liven me up for the gig I’m playing today from noon – 4.

I served this to one of my students today, & he loved it!
Without a doubt, this is the BEST earl grey I’ve tried so far, & although my relationship with the earl has been a little rocky, I’m starting to enjoy my time with him, when he doesn’t taste phony.

One of the thinks I like about this one is the boldness added by the inclusion of Assam!

Nice and citrusy. Lots of chamomile, of course, but there is some other stuff going on here. a nice blend for relaxing.

This was my first cup of the morning, so satisfyingly sweet, malty, & bold.

In an effort to broaden my SO’s horizons, I have been providing him with samples of various Earl Grey’s, since EG is his preferred tea (although he’ll also drink straight black teas).

He loved this one! He especially liked the lingering aftertaste, & his actual words were, “Where can I get more of this?”
Win!

I don’t always get along with Bergamot flavored teas, but lately I’ve been getting them for Tony to sample, since he loves Bergamot, & sampling them myself, & some of them are better than others.
Like other flavorings, Bergamot can be aweful, using chemicals to create the flavor & aroma. I think that’s why some Earls are definitely a “NO” for me, creating an acidic feeling that I hate.

I like this Earl Grey! First off, the base is a mix of Ceylons & Assams, a really nice blend that is a malty, sweet, bright, & smooth, with more substance than your typical Earl. I like that!
Also, the bergamot is REAL bergamot oil from Italy! It says so on the package, which is nice because so many flavored teas don’t really tell you if the flavorings are real or artificial.

One more thing: I steeped this 4 minutes. 2nd steeping was 5, & for the 3rd steeping I combined the leaf from this & #49 for 6 minutes. All 3 cups were awesome, & the bergamot held up nicely into the 3rd steeping.
Admittedly, I don’t always resteep teas, especially flavored teas. I may even try a 4th…

Two of my tea orders arrived! Yeah!
This is the first tea I’ve ever had from Steven Smith Teamaker.
When I was in 6th grade I had a crush on a boy named Steven Smith, LOL.
Anyway, this tea is VERY assam! Malty, caramely, fruity in a bright wine like way, & there is an undertone of allspice here too.
It also resteeps very well!

A very balanced Earl Grey. Soothing, elegant, ideal for sipping and enjoying slowly while relaxing. Almost no bitterness and very light on the bergamot.

Thanks for the sample, Sara!

This one came in a nice sachet and was a decent cup of tea. Slightly astringent, brown in color with mild flavors of the breakfast tray: buttered toast and a tiny bouquet of wildflowers. I wouldn’t buy it, just because there are so many other darjeelings out there I love more (I miss the big floral, big orange-squash flavors), but it hits the spot well enough.

I liked that the steeping instructions on the box literally says to play some opera in the background. I played “the Diva dance” from the fifth element because that totally counts.

I like it. dark tea without the bitterness, nor an overwhelming taste of bergamot like so many earl grey teas have. very smooth and easy to drink. love it. will definitely try with some honey next time.
I steeped it to about 200 degrees Fahrenheit and steeped for 3 minutes rather than the 5 minutes recommended on the box and it tasted perfect for me. I would definitely drink this tea again. :)

Having another cup of this today … so nice. I am really glad that I decided to pick this tea up the last time I was at Steven Smith’s tea shop. It is sweet, grape-y with notes of currant, savory herbs and a touch of deep oaky flavor … very nice… relaxing to sip

I really like this.

Today while running around, I got to the point where a stop for tea was required. I could feel the beginnings of that lack-of-caffeine headache. Here in the Pacific Northwest, there is a starbucks at nearly every corner (seriously, if you miss the starbucks at this corner, you don’t need to turn around, just keep driving and there will be another one within a mile). But, I don’t like starbucks, and I like Teavana even less. So, hubby was nice and took a detour and took me to Brewed Awakenings where they serve Steven Smith teas. I don’t like that they serve the tea in paper cups because I can taste the paper, but, at least I got some good tea on the go. It would be better if they found a better way to serve it, but, at least I don’t have the caffeine headache now.

I do love this tea, definitely one of my favorite Earl Grey teas out there.

I got this tea during my last visit to Steven Smith’s tea shop, I know that these teas that he scents in aging barrels are of limited quantity, so I grabbed one.

I’m glad I did … this is remarkable. It tastes like Ceylon tea, but, the flavors of the wine are also present, it’s beautifully subtle, but at the same time, so very wine-like. It’s really beautiful.

I was planning on writing a full-length review on this one today for the SororiTea Sisters blog, but I think I need to spend more time with it before I do that.

Morning Light for this Sunday morning. I love how convenient tea bags are and this is an excellent sachet tea bag. Makes it easy for me to enjoy tea at church. Sad to see this sample gone. Thank you again, LiberTEAS for sharing.

This is an amazing malty and rich black tea. I love how smooth it is. It’s also very convenient because it’s in a sachet. I took it to my small group gathering this evening and steeped it 3 times. All three were absolutely delicious. Gonna try for a 4th in the morning :) Thank you so much for sharing this LiberTEAS!