sTEAp Shoppe, Antioxidant Berry Burst

sTEAp Shoppe Description:
Young Hyson Green Tea Antioxidant Berry Burst is the perfect way to drink you green tea. Lingonberry, Raspberry and Goji berry with metabolism busting Cinnamon. This is the perfect way to start drinking green tea or for the green tea lover to enhance their experience.

Young Hyson Green Tea, Goji Berry, Raspberry, Cinnamon, Organice Wild Lingonberry

My Review:
sTEAp Shoppe offered 20 of us on Steepster the opportunity to sample their tea and participate in a live virtual tea tasting held on the forum September 23, 2012.
I was confused by this one. I expected it to be my favorite of the samples. I had a preconceived idea of what this would taste like without knowing what was in it. So, I set myself up for failure. To me, while this was quite fruity, it went through my senses as a mishmash of flavors. I couldn’t figure out what I was tasting. Then I read the ingredients on the website and found out I was tasting raspberry and lingonberry. What is this lingonberry? I know no lingonberry. Next, I read the always valuable reviews on Steepster.

Now that I have a better idea of what is in this blend and how others perceived it, I thought I would have another go at it. Steeped per instructions. The brew has a slight purple tint. There is a very light tartness that I now know comes from the lingonberry. I taste a fair bit of cinnamon. The main flavor though, and the one I couldn’t separate out before, is raspberry. That should be obvious but it blends seamlessly with the gojiberry and other ingredients to where my unsophisticated palate couldn’t place what I was tasting. If this were decaf my wife would probably love this. It is not something I would buy but I would never turn down a cup if offered. I think it is tasty, it just doesn’t grab my interest. Thanks sTEAp Shoppe for the sample.

Visit sTEAp Shoppe here.

sTEAp Shoppe, Smokey Mountain sTEAp

sTEAp Shoppe Description:
This is a smoky robust Tea is a blend of Organic Lapsang Souchong, Organic Se Chung Special Oolong, Organic Assam flowery Orange Pekoe. Each tea brings it’s own flavor profile and combined they create a smoky floral tea. With the addition of Chicory you will experience a coffee like tannins, Organic Cocoa Nibs & Organic Vanilla Bean introduce a smooth rich flavor and aroma and the Fenugreek seed helps bring all these unique flavors together as one with it’s milky sweet flavor. This tea has a muted smokey flavor yet rich and creamy with coffee undertones.

Organic Lapsang Souchong, Organic Se Chung Special Oolong, Organic Assam flowery Orange Pekoe,Chicory, Organic Cocoa Nibs, Organic Vanilla Bean, Fenugreek seed. Naturally Caffeinated

My Review:
sTEAp Shoppe offered 20 of us on Steepster the opportunity to sample their tea and participate in a live virtual tea tasting held on the forum September 23, 2012. This was an unexpected bonus tea sample for all of us.

Looking at the dry leaf you can tell it has pieces of vanilla and cocoa nibs. It also has lapsang soushong and oolong for the tea base. Interesting.

In the sip, the smoke is heavy by my standards, but it isn’t overwhelming and it never feels like someone dumped an ashtray in your cup. This is a good kind of smoky. It blends really well with the other flavors. There is a bite in the back of the throat. The smell, the bite, and the aftertaste remind me of rooibos – though this is better and more complex. A few more sips and now this reminds me of the smell of sawdust when you are running a dull circular saw through a fresh piece of pine – kind of woodsy, kind of burnt.

In cup two the smoke does not diminish, rather the oolong just comes out of hiding a little more. It gives it a nice floral note. The throat bite is not so noticeable in this cup. This is maybe even a little better than the first. If not better, at least different. Nice.

I went three cups with this one. It was lighter than the first two. Though the smoke still stands out this is a civilized cup. A pleasant ending to this tea.

One thing I noted is that if you let the cup get cold, the taste of this tea perks up even more.

It is pretty intense. Unless you are a huge smoky tea fan, I am not sure you would want it everyday. That being said, it is different than the normal fare and just happens to be really good.
 

Visit sTEAp Shoppe here.

sTEAp Shoppe, Green Apple Tea

sTEAp Shoppe Description:

Gun Powder Loose Leaf Green Tea combined with the brain boosting power of Ginko Biloba with the alertness only mint can bring makes for a spectacular day at the top of your game. A caffeinated, vibrant brain boosting cup of wonderful tea.

Green tea, Peppermint Leaf, Ginko Biloba Leaf and Stevia Leaf. Naturally Caffeinated

My Review:
sTEAp Shoppe offered 20 of us on Steepster the opportunity to sample their tea and participate in a live virtual tea tasting held on the forum September 23, 2012.

The dry leaf looks pretty fine in my sample. I am suspecting it got a bit crushed in the mail. It smells kind of like ginger (kind of peppery). I used a large spoon for my mug and heated water for green tea and steeped for 3 minutes.

As soon as water hit the leaf I could smell mint. I am not a fan of spearmint in tea, or candy, or even gum. It’s just not my thing. Surprise, this is peppermint! Peppermint I like. The brew is golden green in the press and a bit darker in the mug.

The sip is interesting. The mint is the main flavor, then directly under it is a peppery ginger flavor. There is no ginger listed so this must be the ginko biloba I am tasting. This has a sweetness to it from the stevia leaf. The green tea fills out the flavor, Green tea and mint are in the aftertaste.

If I were to ever want to sip mint tea this is one I would definitely consider. Bonus it leaves your breath feeling minty cool.

Visit sTEAp Shoppe here.

sTEAp Shoppe, Mind Boost Mint Tea

sTEAp Shoppe Description:
Gun Powder Loose Leaf Green Tea combined with the brain boosting power of Ginko Biloba with the alertness only mint can bring makes for a spectacular day at the top of your game. A caffeinated, vibrant brain boosting cup of wonderful tea.

Green tea, Peppermint Leaf, Ginko Biloba Leaf and Stevia Leaf. Naturally Caffeinated

My Review:
sTEAp Shoppe offered 20 of us on Steepster the opportunity to sample their tea and participate in a live virtual tea tasting held on the forum September 23, 2012.

The dry leaf looks pretty fine in my sample. I am suspecting it got a bit crushed in the mail. It smells kind of like ginger (kind of peppery). I used a large spoon for my mug and heated water for green tea and steeped for 3 minutes.

As soon as water hit the leaf I could smell mint. I am not a fan of spearmint in tea, or candy, or even gum. It’s just not my thing. Surprise, this is peppermint! Peppermint I like. The brew is golden green in the press and a bit darker in the mug.

The sip is interesting. The mint is the main flavor, then directly under it is a peppery ginger flavor. There is no ginger listed so this must be the ginko biloba I am tasting. This has a sweetness to it from the stevia leaf. The green tea fills out the flavor, Green tea and mint are in the aftertaste.

If I were to ever want to sip mint tea this is one I would definitely consider. Bonus it leaves your breath feeling minty cool.

Visit sTEAp Shoppe here.