Steeped Tea

Until recently, I refused to drink anything other than Earl Grey or Orange Pekoe. Challenging my purist tea drinking habits, I received samples of the most popular teas offered by Steeped Tea. Both samples arrived in simple, brown paper packages and directions for steeping were affixed to the back of each package. Met by lovely fragrances upon opening both the packages of tea, I eagerly rushed home to have my own little tea party that evening.

The first sample was Steeped Tea’s Creme Carmello, which is a rooibos tisane. Commonly referred to as red tea, rooibos is cultivated from the rooibos bush found in South Africa. Rooibos tea is a caffeine-free tisane, and is therefore a lovely alternative to green, white and black teas. Once poured into my teacup, Creme Carmello had a delightful caramel aroma and a pleasing reddish-brown colour. While I usually drink my tea with just a hint of sugar, the directions suggested serving this tea with both milk and sugar. Since enough tea was steeped for two servings, I opted to try the Creme Carmello both with and without milk.

With milk and sugar, the resulting beverage had a slightly sweet, nutty flavour, with just a hint of caramel. Given that the tea was very fragrant, I had anticipated a stronger caramel flavour, and was slightly disappointed that the flavour was masked by the milk. After pouring a second cup without milk, the flavour of the tea surpassed my expectations. This time, the delicious caramel flavour of the tea was accented by the sugar, making a near perfect beverage. Overall, this tea was very smooth and drinkable, with a faint nutty aftertaste. My only criticism is that the leaves were quite small and as a result, some rogue leaves passed through my tea strainer and into my tea cup. Ideally, Creme Carmello would be a perfect dessert tea, accompanied by a tea biscuit or a piece of almond biscotti.

The second tea sampled was a green tea, called Snow Cap. I will admit that I’m not usually a fan of green tea, as I find most blends to be overly astringent with an unpleasant grassy aftertaste. I was; however, pleasantly surprised by my cup of Snow Cap tea. In keeping with the directions, this tea was prepared directly in the tea cup and as it steeped, the large leaves daintily floated to the bottom of the cup. Once the tea was fully steeped, it had a slightly minty and spicy fragrance and was an extremely translucent yellowish-green. Although extremely fragrant, Snow Cap had a very mild, but pleasing flavour, with no overpowering aftertaste. To fully appreciate Snow Cap’s fragrance and flavour, and to avoid swallowing any tea leaves, I recommend taking time to slowly sip this tea.

Creme Carmello and Snow Cap are only two of the many blends available from Steeped Tea, and while Earl Grey tea will always be my favourite, both of these teas have earned their respective places in my cupboard and my teacup.

Founded in 2007, Steeped Tea is a Hamilton-based business offering in-home tea parties complete with consultations and tea samples as chosen by the hostess. With over 60 varieties of loose leaf teas available, a wide selection of tea-related accessories, and spa products, there’s something for everyone at these tea parties. Your own tea party and consultation can be booked by filling out the contact form on the company’s website www.steepedtea.com.