19 February 2014
Steenbergs New Taster Panels Report - Tea Tasting 1
Welcome to Steenbergs Tea Taster Panel's first review of some of our teas! Back in October 2013, we asked all of our lovely customers if any of you would like to be tea and spice tasters for us and luckily lots of you agreed! Thank you so much to all of you who have kindly spiced, seasoned and savoured for us, so that we can help improve our products and ultimately give you all more of what you would like to see from Steenbergs.
Tea Tastings
We started our Tea Tasting Panel with two very different flavour teas: Steenbergs organic Green Tea with Lemon Verbena and Gingerand Steenbergs organic Gingerbread Chai, to see whether indeed there was a difference in where, when and how you liked to drink them (and who with!), and if you had any comments for us. We also asked you to say which music genre the product made you think of – just to spice things up!
1. Green Tea with Lemon Verbena & Ginger
Many of you found this tea to be a subtle blend with a fresh taste and a bit of a zing. However a few of you did comment on the need for more ginger or lemon and that maybe it was a little bitter or a bit too subtle. With this fresh blend, all of you decided to drink it with no added milk or sugar and only one of you added lemon. 62% of you chose to enjoy the tea without food, although biscuits were a favourite option. There was a pretty even split between morning, afternoon and evening drinking so you obviously found it to be a versatile tea. Many of you imagined enjoying this, relaxing with family and friends at home (although George Clooney and Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall did get a mention) and by the sounds of it, chilling out to some classical or folk tunes (with a bit of hippy psychedelic music thrown in!).
Key Phrases for Green Tea with Lemon Verbena and Ginger:
‘Lovely subtle verbena and ginger flavour’; ‘Dry with a zing’; ‘clean, refreshing’; ‘subtle, satisfying delicate taste of green tea ending in a lemon zing;’ light & fresh’
Whereas many of our tasters found the Green Tea blend refreshing, their second tea conjured up something totally different. According to the panel, Steenbergs organic Gingerbread Chai is a spicy, warming blend, redolent of wintery evenings and Christmas and full of the flavours of ginger, cinnamon & cloves. It was much stronger for many of you and this time 30% decided to add milk, although there were still very few who sweetened or added lemon. 60% opted to enjoy without food, but when you did, mince pies or biscuits were the chosen indulgence. There was a really even split between morning and evening drinking, with many of you looking to enjoy it during the festive season to ward of the winter chills. Being an authentic chai blend, some of you thought nostalgically about homemade masala chai, whilst others pondered wistfully about dinner in Mumbai or a boat on the Ganges. The Indian influences were definitely carried through to the musical choices, although folk, rock, reggae and Christmas songs also featured – definitely an eclectic mix!
Key Phrases for Gingerbread Chai:
‘Very pleasant & refreshing’; ‘warm & unique’; ‘spicy but not overpowering’; ‘An authentic masala chai’; ‘warming with a touch of spice’; ‘spicy, soothing, tasty’; ‘A warm aromatic blend with mild spicy hints’; ‘warm, comforting & easy’
If you have an opinion on either of these teas that you'd like to share. Please feel free to comment at the bottom of this post.
