Steam Tea House

(10 second wash, 1 minute steep) Are green oolongs supposed to taste like seaweed? That’s what I smell, and that’s my initial impression of the taste. But there’s so much more going on with the seaweed taste that I can’t say I don’t like it. It’s smooth, it’s not bitter at all. It’s reminiscent of a grassy green tea drunk with a side of miso soup, but the mouth feel isn’t nearly as delicate. Overall, this is a REALLY interesting tea, but I can’t rate it till I taste more oolongs for comparison. (Edit. Wakame, or spinach. That green, almost salty smell with a hint of astringency. But it doesn’t taste like spinach. IDK. Tea is weird.)

This tea is still tasting lovely (as much as I can taste) on the third steep. Still reminiscent of seaweed (maybe wakame?), but that could be due to my cold!

This is the first oolong I’ve ever tried, so I had no idea what to expect. I brewed as suggested, with 1.5 tsp of tea in 250 ml of water. A 10 second rinse, followed by a 1 minute steep.

I… actually really like it. It’s not bitter at all, it smells kind of green, and it tastes really smooth. My sense of smell is impaired due to a cold, but once I’m better I’m going to try it again, and probably go buy 50g to share with my mom. This won’t be an every day tea for me, but I do like it.

I’m going to hold off rating it until I can smell.

PS. I’m down near the bottom of mug 1 now, and I’ve figured out what it smells and tastes like. Seaweed. No, really. In a good way. Fresh and green.

This is not my favourite Assam. Even with the addition of soy milk, the mouth puckering dryness seeps through. Without milk, this tea may not outright own it, but I’m pretty sure it has partial claims to the term “astringent”. A definite “wake-me-up-kicking-and-screaming” tea, at least for me!

The liquor’s aroma is malt, honey, and raisins, which is per usual. I do like that the tea tastes as if a tablespoon of honey has been stirred in. It’s a nice, crude morning cup.

Thanks, OMGsrsly, for this sample from Steam- this is the last of them!

I’m weird and prefer my blacks steeped at a lower temperature, for a longer time. Partly because I’m too impatient to wait for my cup to cool enough for me to drink, but also because a lower temperature lets me make a stronger cup with less astringency.

I will admit, I’m not usually one to reach for a straight Assam. I prefer Ceylon, so if I’m wanting a single-source I usually grab a Ceylon, but honestly, most of my straight blacks are blends (Irish Breakfast generally, which is funny since it’s largely an Assam blend, yet I never reach for a straight Assam!) or Lapsang Souchongs.

I got a sample of this from OMGsrsly back when we had our Victoria swap and tea crawl. I’ve been terrible at not going through all my goodies, partly due to not having the best access to my collection/kettle due to renos on the house (specifically my room/the stairs next to my door, blocking my only path into my room), so I’m finally catching up, bit by bit.

The leaf smells a bit malty, and somewhat stronger than the steeped liquor. The liquor is a really lovely deep red, richer in colour than my usual go-to Ceylon from Silk Road. But the liquor itself is actually quite mild. The richness is more of an aftertaste vs a kick in the teeth, which while extremely pleasant, is VERY different than my usual black picks.

I was expecting a bit more “oomph”, going by the scent of the leaf and the colour of the liquor, but I’m pleasantly surprised! It’s extremely smooth, despite the longish steep, rich, comforting, but not so bold that it leaves your mouth feeling dry.

I’ve been munching on banana chips while typing this, and the combination of flavours makes me feel like I’m eating banana bread! So decadent!

I think that after this, I’m going to need to give Assams more of a chance, and let my Ceylon addiction simmer down a bit. This turned out to be nothing like what I was expecting, and I’m pretty darn happy!

This is a lot more floral than the other cherry green I’ve had in the past, but that’s not surprising since there are rose petals in this blend.

The liquor smells like sour cherry blasters. The flavour reminds me of those same cherry blasters, coupled with Turkish Delights (it’s the rose). It’s a very, refreshing dessert-like cup that I enjoyed most when it naturally cooled. If I ever crave cherry blasters without wanting all that extra sugar I’ll probably reach for this.

Thanks, OMGsrsly! I only have one Steam Tea packet left to try from you.

The lavender is strong with this one.

So strong that it’s actually giving the bergamot a run for it’s money. I’d like to think that lavender and bergamot are partners in crime here, as they seem to be working well together, but the lavender definitely has the upper.. er.. petal here.

This tastes the best lukewarm- it prevents lavender from getting too cocky and blundering up the situation. Milk also keeps everyone together.

Silliness aside, this is actually a nice Earl Grey and the bergamot dosage is at a level I can handle. The lavender is extreme, and while I appreciate the hefty flower punch and its lingering sensations it’s not for everyone. I like the thin, twiggy loose leaves here too.

Thanks, OMGsrsly, for this sample and introducing me to Steam!

Edit: Just to get a couple other perspectives on this, my mom said this was delicious and my dad thought it tasted like dishwasher soap. Definitely not everyone’s cup of tea.

I need more information about these teas! I’m starting to want to track locations and types, to see if I can figure out why I prefer certain teas.

Anyways. I have a whole pile of this for my mom, so I thought I’d try it for her today since it’s Mother’s Day. :D See if I can figure out why she likes this one more than the Hathikuli Estate Assam. Because I don’t get it.

Comparing to the Hathikuli, this tea has smaller leaves, some in pieces. There are less golden tips. The smell is stronger and earthier. The colour of the brewed tea is darker and redder. It’s strong and fairly thick, a chocolatey and malty, a little bitter, and verges on being quite astringent. This is a morning tea for sure. Hathikuli Estate Assam is an afternoon tea in comparison.

I much prefer an Irish or English breakfast tea in the mornings, as they seem to be blended with things that tone down the astringency and bitterness while still delivering a tea with huge morning impact.

I don’t get why my mom prefers Oats and Honey – she goes on about how she seems to prefer floral teas, and doesn’t like earthiness. So I’m confused. Maybe we’re just identifying flavours differently? IDK. It makes it really hard to pick and choose teas that she would like.

Without milk I found this to be a somewhat sweet but boring black tea. With milk it becomes a syrupy, creamy cup of goodness that wants to be besties with my pancakes. Of the five big mugs that I had over the last few days I never got past the analytical point of deciding it was delicious.

I can’t tell you all if it had nutty notes (I think it had nutty notes), or if its base was interesting or not, but I can say for sure that I drank it very fast and it was a challenge not to have a mug full on hand 24/7. I’ll be revisiting this tea in the fall, on miserable rainy days, and on lazy weekend mornings when I want, but don’t have access to, pancakes.

Thank you, OMGsrsly!

Here’s another sample from OMGsrsly. She describes the flavour very well and I’m feeling lazy, so I’ll just add that I enjoyed this one with milk despite it being fruity. It also paired well with a mango gummy.

This is just the thing to have while reading on the patio and catching the last bit of “warm” sun. That sun after 5pm isn’t so hot.

Thanks, OMGsrsly, for sending me some of this tea. I’m going to stick with my previous judgment of this, and say it reminds me of strawberry kiwi juice with a grassy nip.

Thank you, OMGsrsly, for this sample from our Victoria crawl! I’ve enjoyed all of the Steam teas I’ve tried so far.

Drinking this tea hot to lukewarm right now. This one as a strong juicy aroma that is reminiscent of SunRype Strawberry Kiwi juice that my roommate and I liked to put vodka in last semester. The flavour is similar although it’s not as sugary as the aroma would lead on. It’s still sweet, however, and with a little bit of puckering dryness. The overall affect reminds me of a iced fruity alcoholic drink. The name of this tea further emphasizes that association. There’s a syrupy aftertaste.

Oh, I should make a note of the base tea. It’s green, a little seaweedy, but very subtle and soft in this blend- I’m willing to gamble that it’s a sencha. Probably. I think the pieces of fruit are papaya.

I’m using the rest of this sample for a mug of iced tea tonight. Mmmm… that sounds good. I kind of want to take some of this down to Palm Desert with me. Eh, I’ll likely and up with a travel bag full of fall themed rooibos blends.

OMGsrsly is quite awesome, and swapped me this today, along with seven other samples from Steam Tea House. Only downside is my cupboard count; just when I think I’m starting to creep below 90 an order comes in, I get samples, and I’m back to over 100 again. Grr.. Seems to be my steady state.

The liquor smells like just what I need right now: malty, and fresh. There’s something vaguely cocoa-like and nutty about it but it’s only a light impression. It’s a bit nippy. I can’t tell if there is something inherently sweet about this cup or if it’s the strawberry cookie I recently ate.

I’ll add a bit more after I’ve played around with it and cleaned my palate!

Edit: Palate cleansed, and tea somewhat cooled after 15min- I can definitely confirm that there is something deliciously oozy at the finish, that toys with the idea of being sweet and smoothly creamy. I can’t describe it very well but it’s amazing. Most of the astringency is gone too. Yunnan blacks like this are magical.

2nd Edit: I can taste the walnut skins OMGsrsly mentioned in the room temperature 6min second steep. It’s prevalent and lingers in the aftertaste.

I may have gone a little nuts, but bear with me. These are GOOD.

Steeped 3 tbsp tea in 1.5-ish cups (organic, 3.5% aka “homo”) milk. I heated the milk, then steeped 5 minutes at a not-boiling temperature. Then I strained the mess, and added in 1.5 tbsp corn starch and 3 tbsp maple sugar. Back on the heat, stirring until it started to thicken. Strained back into my pitcher. Poured into popsicle molds.

SO GOOD. And the texture seems right, too! This is exciting. :D Maybe a little less sugar next time, maybe not. I’ll have to try this with other teas now. I wonder if corn starch works at all with non-milk teas, or if the texture/taste/look would be terribad. I ordered some beef gelatin, so I should be able to try a Jello-style tea popsicle by the end of next week. So excited! :D

Om nom nom.

With a tsp of sweetened condensed milk today, to make it more like maple ice cream. Only hot, and in tea form. So not really like ice cream at all.

:)

So mapley delicious with some maple syrup and whipping cream. The base is somewhat… frosty, is how I would describe it. Sometimes I would rather a more hearty an warm base. But still. This tea is delicious.

Umm, oops? Sipdown! (248)

I’ll have to go get more later this week. They close at 7, and since they’re across a bus zone, I don’t like going down there before 6:30. :/

Oh well. Delicious as always. Today I added 1/2 tsp maple sugar to my mug. Mmm. Mapley goodness. I think this could be really nice mixed 50/50 with a smoky keemun or something. The sweetness from the maple, the smokiness from the other tea. The base of this is a little icy/frosty feeling, which is neat.

(Don’t worry, Courtney, I’ll get more this week so I can send you some! I’ll see about snagging a couple other samples for you as well, since I’ll be there. :) )

Today, with maple syrup.

I had a bit of a ridiculous day today, and now I’m still at work waiting for Science! to finish.

I hope the science works.

(Also, it is SO WRONG to still be at work when the f.lux activates. That’s supposed to be an at home thing!)

Had this with sweetened condensed milk this morning. Although I love this tea iced with sweetened condensed milk, I prefer it with just cream hot.

Still, it was yummy. And I drank it all.

Heck yeah. Made this double strong, poured it over a spoonful of sweetened condensed milk, then poured THAT over ice.

So. Good.

Yay Canada!

I made this one as a Hong Kong style milk tea earlier this evening. Om nom nom! I steeped it extra strong, poured it over a teaspoon of sweetened condensed milk (I have some in my fridge since DavidsTea posted that recipe and I decided I had to try it. Now I have to use it up!), then added ice.

This tea is EXCELLENT served this way. The sweetness, maple and milk all blend together, and oh, I wanted more. But I’m not having any more caffeine tonight, so I have to wait till tomorrow. Hopefully it’s nice and hot and sunny. I might make a big jar of this and take it to the park and read on the grass while sipping tea.

Yum. I think I need to buy more of this tea.

That’s actually all I have to say. Time to get back to studying!!

Brought a travel mug to meet up with CrowKettle today. Hope they like all the Steam Tea House samples! :)

I over sweetened it with 1/2 tsp sugar in my travel mug. I need to make note on the label that I don’t need sugar. I do like it with soy or almond milk, though. Very mapley, and the base adds a nice background for the flavour. I keep expecting the tea to be stronger than what it is, as I’m used to maple americanos, not teas. :)

Still. It was delicious again.

Umm, oops? I was picking up some samples for CrowKettle since we’re trading for moar matcha, and I ‘accidentally’ purchased 50g of this.

So. Worth. It. Delicious, delicious tea. I was talking to the lady working there and she said it smells so strong because they use sliced almonds as a carrier for the flavour. Well. Almonds and alcohol, which explains the boozy scent I get from the dry leaves.

Edit: Super hot and fresh, the tea tastes a little light – both on base and flavour. Just let it cool a bit, so it’s more of a drinkable temperature rather than a carefully sip-able temperature. The maple really comes out, and the base holds its own. Don’t underleaf this one like I just did… (My 500ml tea pot is more like 20oz. Oops?)