Sampling Steepist's tea subscription service

Recently I was invited to sample Steepist's tea subscription service, and of course I was happy to accept their offer. When my sample box arrived in the mail I was impressed with both the variety of offerings and the packaging and … well, quite a few things impressed me!

The teas in this month's box are, from left, Organic Lapsang Souchong from Stone Leaf Teahouse, Traditional Guayusa Tea from Runa Clean Energy, Lychee Oolong from Naivetea (love that name!) and Fiji tea from SerendipiTea. Longtime readers of this blog are aware I'm not a fan of Lapsang Souchong, the tea with the distinctive smoky taste. I felt it only fair that I tell Steepist that I don't care for this tea, and they offered to send the box anyway since I was happy to try the other three teas. I thought it said something about their level of self-confidence in their teas that they wanted to send the box anyway, and that impressed me!

There was an additional envelope in the box, and it contained a handy package of tea filters. They'll come in handy since each of the four tea packages contains 4-5 servings of tea.

I must say I enjoyed trying the new teas, and I started with a tea company I was already familiar with, SerendipiTea. This Fiji blend was a Chinese green tea flavored with pineapple and papaya. This lightly fruity green tea was quite enjoyable in a season in which I've been drinking "heavier" teas, including lots of black teas and lots of spice teas. This tea was a refreshing change and a pleasant reminder that a good cup of tea of any variety is really seasonless.

I've had guayusa tea before, but it's been a while. Guayusa is, in the words of Steepist, "an Amazonian super-leaf in the Ilex genus. It is naturally packed with caffeine, polyphenol antioxidants, and chlorogenic acids, providing you with a clean, focused, and healthy energy. Unlike its cousin yerba mate, guayusa has no tannins, so it is naturally smooth and sweet." I think guayusa has an earthy sort of taste, and I enjoyed it as well.

The biggest taste surprise was this Lychee Oolong tea. This oolong is flavored with "lychee essence," and the fruity flavor was surprisingly sweet and delicious, simply lovely to find in an oolong. I later learned that this tea won First Place for a flavored oolong in the 2009 World Tea Championship. While my box of tea was complimentary, I looked online and found that Steepist's tea package costs just $23, including shipping, which I think is quite reasonable for a service that lets you enjoy new teas from around the world. If you have a tea friend you'd like to send a gift to, this would certainly be an easy way to do so. Click here to visit Steepist.com to learn more about this unique company and find out how you can sample these delicious teas yourself. (And though I don't *drink* Lapsang Souchong, I don't mind cooking with it, so next time I use this as an ingredient in cooking I'll be sure to let you know!)