15 Tasting Notes
As I related in my notes for Milk Chocolate Caramel, the Smokey Mountain sTEAp sample made its presence known immediately upon opening the envelope. I waited several days to try each tea, but couldn’t resist giving this one an occasional sniff; it smelled SO good! After a few days the strong smokey smell subsided somewhat (sorry about the blatant alliteration… well… no, not really…), but the tea still smelled wonderful.
First steep (3 minutes): Odor still lovely campfire smokey, but not overpoweringly so. Taste has a bit of astringency (bitterness?), but it’s not unpleasant. Perhaps I should have given it a rinse, or perhaps it’s just the chicory. I generally like the odor of Lapsang Souchong better than the taste, but can’t recall ever having tried it in a blend. (I’ve lived a sheltered tea life.) This has a good, comforting taste; nicer and definitely more interesting than the straight Lapsang Souchongs I’ve had previously.
Second steep (4 minutes): I’ve never sweetened this type of tea, but while waiting for my kettle to reheat I idly took a sniff of the wet tea leaves in my infuser and was surprised to note some sweetness, so I decided to experiment and added a wee bit of stevia to my second cup in the hope that it might bring out some of the vanilla and/or cocoa. This resulted in a sweeter smokey taste, but the smoke still dominated (which is fine, as that’s what I love about LS tea!). I might add that it tasted suprisingly good with a bit of sweetener; something I would have doubted.
In conclusion, I can honestly say I liked this a lot and it’s going on my Shopping List. (I just received a sample order of Russian Caravan from another company expecting it to be mainly Lapsang Souchong but, to my disappointment, it contains not even a hint of smokiness. I can see I have a lot to learn about tea.)
This tea arrived as a small zip-lok sample, along with a sample of Smokey Mountain sTEAp. I immediately took a whiff of both teas and didn’t get much of any scent from this one, but thought that it might have been overwhelmed by its Smokey Mountain sTEAp travelling companion so I let it rest for a few days.
First steep (4 minutes): I smell mostly black tea with a hint of honey-like sweetness. Taste is pleasant, but pretty much a smooth, mellow black tea. (I’m unfamiliar with Assam teas, but this is nice.)
I don’t really taste vanilla, or caramel, or cocoa. I checked my spice rack for fenugreek but alas, I have none; so I can’t say whether I taste any or not.
Second steep (6 minutes): I added a touch of stevia (blend) to this, as I find that sweetener often helps bring out the flavors in dessert teas. The smell is faintly caramelly now, but still no smell or taste of what I would consider to be cocoa — although I realize these nuances can be extremely subtle.
To me it’s a pleasant, mellow tea with an interesting taste, but as a dessert tea I think I’d choose something else.
Confessions of a matcha newb: I purchased a tin of this with the intention of making green tea ice cream, which I never got around to doing. So there it sat in my cupboard for, um, several years. Now, armed with my new Steepster knowledge, I’m making a matcha latte every morning and feeling quite proud of myself! Nothing fancy — just sifting half a teaspoon of matcha into my 16 oz. mug, blending it with a bit of 1% milk and Torani sugar-free syrup, and then adding another cup of heated milk frothed with a Bonjour Caffe Froth Turbo. Having as yet nothing to compare this matcha to, possibly all I can say of any value would be that, even sitting unopened in a cupboard for several years, the color was still bright and the smell fresh and strong. (Now that I’ve opened it, I’m keeping it in the freezer.) I’ll definitely use this up.
Yum! I love flavored black teas, and this is delicious. Freshly steeped, I found peppermint to be most prominent in both scent and taste; but a packet of truvia (one packet for my 16 oz. mug) brought the chocolate out nicely. A great dessert tea.
Preparation
My first impression on opening the package was of pipe tobacco. Now, that’s not a bad thing, as I love the smell of fresh, flavored pipe tobacco. It was a strong, fresh, heady scent. Autumn leaves is a perfect name, as it reminds me of a crisp Fall day back in Michigan where I grew up. I started with 2 teaspoons in my large glass mug, steeped 2 minutes. Not a lot of flavor, so I steeped another 2 minutes. Stronger color and nice flavor, but my inner child forced me to add a packet of Truvia, which brought out the maple. (I confess I’m still learning correct amounts, temperatures and steep times.) I’m not a huge fan of rooibos, but have taken to drinking it at night when camellia sinensis might well keep me awake. To sum up, I am enjoying this tea and would not hesitate to order it again from Della Terra.
