It’s always nice to step back every once and awhile to review those things that make a day of reading comfortable and cozy. There was a comic strip that was going around on Facebook the other day that illustrated what those things were just the other day. According to this, “Stage 1 Coziness” is simply a book. A cuppa and a sweater is all that is added to create “Stage 2 Coziness”.
So in the interest of creating some “Stage 2 Coziness” of our own, I’m taking a look at a tea brand that I just stumbled across this winter.
Founded in 2009 in Portland, Oregon, it’s no wonder it’s taken 10 years for me to be aware of this company. (Those of you who know me will be aware that I’m a bit of a snob when it comes to tea, and that my tea of choice is usually Whittard of Chelsea from London.) Steven Smith Teamaker is what one would expect of a boutique tea company in the age of hipsters and millennials. (In this case, I say this in complete good faith – we are the generation who cares about quality of goods.) Their packaging is clean lines and vintage fonts, and it is clear straight off the bat that they care about the finished product. The tea is well sourced and well blended.
I received a sample pack for Christmas from my sister, and within the sample pack were three black teas, three green teas, and three herbal teas. It was a nice broad spectrum, with most of the teas leaning into the pure tea leaf. Lord Bergamot was closest to an Earl Grey and was easily the most flavored of the set. Pretty much everything else was blends.
The best part of the package is the steeping instructions. When I opened the packet for Blend No. 13: Red Nectar, I was greeted by the instructions: “Bring filtered water to a rolling boil. Steep 5 minutes. A good time to see how your tea towel looks as a cape.” Or Variety No. 8: Mao Feng Shui’s instructions to: “Bring spring or freshly drawn filtered water to 185˚F. Steep 3 minutes. Move chair slightly to achieve the most harmonious effect.”
I would say this – if you don’t want to go all the way to Britain for a decent cuppa, Smith Tea is definitely on my high quality tea list.
Also on that note: If you do need a lot of Earl Grey of high quality, try Home Goods. My aunt stumbled across a 250 tea bag cannister of Whittard’s Earl Grey there just before Christmas. (Suffice it to say, I know this because I was the recipient of said massive cannister of tea. The cannister itself was just like their little caddies, but about three times the size.)