Whenever I try out a Simpson & Vail blend, I know that I’m in for a treat. With the last days of summer upon us, I wanted to try Pomegranate Passion White Tea as an iced tea.
Scooped a few heap fulls into my pitcher, poured in fresh cold water, and a cup full of ice. Placed the pitcher into the fridge and allowed the tea to cold brew overnight. It was fun to see all of the gorgeous colors swirling around in the pitcher while it steeped. The pops of yellow and purple made this tea just holler “Summertime!”
The next morning I poured this cold brew tea into a tumbler with fresh ice. First sip in and this is the way this tea is supposed to be brewed!
Fresh vibrant complimentary flavors of white floral tea notes, hibiscus, and pomegranate said hello as I tried the tea. Each sip finished off with a sweet almost tropical feel that I’m assuming is coming from the passion fruit. Lovely, elegant, and the perfect tea to enjoy poolside or at the park.
Overall, I don’t think this is heavy on the tropical flavors like the description says but there are definitely notes and tones throughout each sip that make you like tropical and sunshine. To me this tea is blended perfectly and with just the right amount of tartness to keep the sweetness in check. White floral sweet notes and the passion fruit just kick this tea to the next level.
One of those teas that you are sad when your tea spoon hits the bottom of the pouch. Truly a tea that I could have pounds of and I still wouldn’t be sick of it.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: White
Where to buy: Simpson & Vail
Description:
Sweet and delicious! This blend of natural pomegranate and passion fruit flavors has a heady, tropical aroma that transforms perfectly into the taste in the cup. This extraordinary pink brew can be enjoyed either hot or iced.
Ingredients: White tea, organic hibiscus flowers, marigold petals, malva flowers and natural pomegranate and natural passion fruit flavors.
Brew: 2 tsp tea in 8 oz. water (at 175°), steep for 4 minutes.
Learn more about this tea and tea company here!
Caramel Walnut Shortbread Rooibos from Simpson & Vail
Ahhhhh…Caramel Walnut Shortbread Rooibos from Simpson & Vail…you fill my nose with wondrous aroma and my heart with incredible joy!
Caramel Walnut Shortbread Rooibos from Simpson & Vail is a Flavored Green Rooibos from their new line of Dessert Teas and I am so happy we are one of the first ones to try it here at Sororitea Sisters!
Both dry and wet the smell of this Caramel Walnut Shortbread Rooibos from Simpson & Vail is one for the record books! It’s completely reminiscent of shortbread! And if you are a fan of walnut flavored green teas give this one a whirl because it’s darn comparable sniff-wise and without the caffeine! There is a sweetness and a bit of green taste to it too thanks to the Green Rooibos – I’m sure! I think that it’s AWESOME that they used Green Rooibos in this offering instead of Red Rooibos.
I feel Red Rooibos is being over used most of the time and companies aren’t using enough of the Green Rooibos. Oddly, I prefer Green Rooibos over Red. Okay, Okay…rant over. YES I’m excited they used Green Rooibos for Caramel Walnut Shortbread Rooibos from Simpson & Vail can you tell?
The flavor of Caramel Walnut Shortbread Rooibos from Simpson & Vail is super, too! It’s very dessert-like and helps with not only sweet tooth cravings but potentially carb cravings! YUM! And Caramel Walnut Shortbread Rooibos from Simpson & Vail is tasty hot or cold! SCORE for S&V!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green Rooibos
Where to Buy: Simpson & Vail
Description: Featuring another delicious caffeine-free addition to our Dessert Tea line. This new blend was easy for us to agree on. This green Rooibos blend brews to an amber cup with a nutty, buttery taste and deep caramel overtones. A delectable brew that needs no sweeteners.
When I asked Jim for his feedback on this blend he gave it to me along with this “4 out of 4 people recommend this. I know usually it’s 4 out 5 but we didn’t like the 5th person’s comments so we threw his results out and him in the quarry”. I think this caffeine free blend might be just what Jim needs this afternoon!
Ingredients: Organic Green Rooibos, flavoring, safflower blossoms, and orange blossoms.
Brew tea at 212º – steep for 5 minutes.
Caffeine Free. Certified Kosher.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
#FanaticFriday: Emily Dickinson’s Jasmine Tea Blend from Simpson and Vail
We at SororiTea Sisters adore our friends at Simpson & Vail so that is why we thought we would dedicate today’s posts to all things Simpson & Vail! We hope you enjoy our reviews and find some goodies to try for yourself! ~The SororiTea Sisters
I was a bit hesitant about jumping right in to Emily Dickinson’s Jasmine Tea Blend from Simpson & Vail Tea. Not because I don’t like Jasmine – it’s just not something I get overly excited and have to run right out and buy. I was torn, too, because I am a HUGE Emily Dickinson fan! Always have been! And I know I should judge a tea by its name but I would be lying if I said a little bit of that didn’t go on here. I knew I HAD to try it!
Emily Dickinson’s Jasmine Tea Blend from Simpson & Vail Tea was more than just Jasmine. This blend of ingredients and flavors also included rose petals, jasmine blossoms, marigold petals, and blue cornflower petals. That’s a LOT of petals! It did look pretty in the bag – I must say. It also had a delicate and ‘pretty’ aroma, too! I’m thankful it wasn’t an overpowering Jasmine aroma!
It brewed to a color of many green tea looking infusions would…a cloudy, pale grey-green. Emily Dickinson’s Jasmine Tea Blend from Simpson & Vail Tea surprised me with a creamier sort of Jasmine flavor. It wasn’t bitter but it wasn’t sweet, really, either. Honestly…the only word that comes to mind while describing this Jasmine is creamy. I don’t know if I have ever tasted a Creamy Jasmine before. As I continue to sip I realize just how much I enjoy this! I’m very surprised! This is a GOOD thing!
As far as Emily Dickinson’s Jasmine Tea Blend from Simpson & Vail Tea being a literary tea and tribute tea this all makes sense. Emily Dickinson often incorporated nature into her poems that is probably one of the many reasons I enjoyed her poetry. Emily spent years away from society and during those years she cultivated an extensive garden. It was said that she grew jasmine flowers, cornflowers, roses, and many other flowers, plants and herbs. I appreciate the research, selection, and effort that went into this tea. It was a pleasant surprise that I will remember for quite a while!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Simpson and Vail
Description
Emily Dickinson was born on December 10th, 1830 and lived in a home that was central to Amherst political society thanks to her father and brothers. Growing up around powerful men prepared Dickinson for a life of the same, but society dictated that, as a woman, she was relegated to seemingly less meaningful ventures. Her anger at this slight comes across in her poetry and letters where she explored complex ideas of meaning and self while examining the smallest details of the world around her. She withdrew herself from society and lived in relative solitude until her death. Only a few of her poems were made public during her lifetime, but four years after her demise, a collection of poems was published and met with popular and critical acclaim. Her poems reveal a complicated mind that examined itself with as much attention to detail as it examined the world. Dickinson’s defiance of categorization and simplification make her a popular poet to study even today.
In the years she spent away from society, Emily Dickinson cultivated an extensive garden. In it, she grew jasmine flowers, cornflowers, roses, and many other flowers, plants and herbs. These flowers appear repeatedly in her poetry so our blend had to be floral. We created a delightful combination of jasmine tea and rose petals that brews to a light ecru cup with long green leaves and rose petal accents. This delicate tea hits you with a strong jasmine taste that’s sweetened and mellowed with the subtle flavors of the rose petals.
Ingredients: Jasmine tea, rose petals, jasmine blossoms, marigold petals and blue cornflower petals.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
#Fantatic Friday: Louisa May Alcott’s Green Tea Blend from Simpson and Vail
We at SororITea Sisters adore our friends at Simpson & Vail so that is why we thought we would dedicate today’s posts to all things Simpson & Vail! We hope you enjoy our reviews and find some goodies to try for yourself! ~The SororiTea Sisters
Louisa May Alcott’s Green Tea Blend from Simpson & Vail Tea smells AMAZING. I mean A….MAZE…ing! Right away the aroma reminded me of strawberry Jolly Ranchers. This was even BEFORE I infused the tea! Once I did that it wasn’t as powerful aroma-wise but it still smelled like candy. This time around maybe more like Mike and Ikes. Regardless it was an impressive sniff!
The ingredients of Louisa May Alcott’s Green Tea Blend from Simpson & Vail Tea are as follows…Green tea, apple pieces, flavoring, strawberry pieces and rose petals. The strawberry flavor is prominent but the apple gives it a nice evening effect much like a teeter-tatter. The green tea base is medium in strength but it works perfectly with this flavored tea. The rose petals give it a bit of floral flavor especially at the end of the sip on to the after taste.
This tea is part of the Literary Tea Collection at S&V. Louisa May Alcott’s Green Tea Blend from Simpson & Vail Tea shows off Alcott’s appreciation of flowers much like many of her works seemed to include. There was also a nod to strawberries in Little Women where this tribute of a tea seemed to stem from. I really enjoyed this flavored green tea. The aroma really sucked me in – I have to say! I played along for the taste and ended up LOVING it! YUM!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green Tea
Where to Buy: Simpson and Vail
Description
Early in Little Women, while visiting a sick Laurie, Jo says that her sister Meg’s blancmange is made “very nicely.” Later, her own attempt turns out “lumpy” and accompanied by strawberries that were “not as ripe as they looked.” Our blend follows Meg’s example and is almost, as Laurie says, “too pretty to [drink].” Combining almond and strawberry flavors, this blend brews to a delicious tea that is fruity and aromatic. It manages to be both sweet and light thanks to the Chunmee green tea base and the gentle floral notes added by the rose petals.
Ingredients: Green tea, apple pieces, flavoring, strawberry pieces and rose petals.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
#Fanatic Friday: Walt Whitman’s Green Tea Blend from Simpson and Vail
We at SororiTea Sisters adore our friends at Simpson & Vail so that is why we thought we would dedicate today’s posts to all things Simpson & Vail! We hope you enjoy our reviews and find some goodies to try for yourself! ~The SororiTea Sisters
Walt Whitman’s Green Tea Blend from Simpson & Vail is the tea of the moment here at Sororitea Sisters!
Walt Whitman’s Green Tea Blend from Simpson & Vail is inspired by his beautiful nature imagery in Leaves of Grass, especially the poems he wrote about roots and herbs.
In one of his memoirs, Whitman describes a man who “express’d a great desire for good, strong green tea.” This blend is an earthier and more mature variation on Simpson & Vail’s Lemon Ginger Green Tea.
A few things I noticed right away about Walt Whitman’s Green Tea Blend from Simpson & Vail was that it first and foremost smells like green tea and ginseng right off the bat – both dry and wet. Then when I poured the water on top of the leaves to infuse there was a natural froth that swam on top in the infuser pot. This fascinated me
The color of the post-infused liquor is quite glowing. That is the best way to describe the color of tea that Walt Whitman’s Green Tea Blend from Simpson & Vail produces
If you are a fan of herbal tasting green teas Walt Whitman’s Green Tea Blend from Simpson & Vail will be right up your alley! If you are a fan of ginseng – Walt Whitman’s Green Tea Blend from Simpson & Vail might just be your cuppa! If you are into literature, nature, and tea connections with the appreciation for good tribute teas – you are going to want to check Walt Whitman’s Green Tea Blend from Simpson & Vail out! A lot of thought and passion went into this flavored green! Bravo!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Simpson and Vail
Description
Walt Whitman was born May 31, 1819 to a housebuilder and his wife in Brooklyn. He was introduced to the written word at the age of 12 when he began working as a printer’s apprentice. There, he taught himself to read and devoured the classics. When the printing house burned down, Walt taught for five years until he decided to pursue journalism. The first edition of Leaves of Grass, a rough self-published volume of only twelve poems, was printed in 1855. Whitman would continue to revise and reprint Leaves of Grass until he died. Though his contributions to poetry are considered some of the most important in American history, Whitman did not enjoy success in his lifetime. He spent much of his life struggling to get by with only a meager clerk’s wage to support himself as well as his mother and invalid brother. An 1882 edition of Leaves of Grass finally afforded him enough wealth to buy a house in Camden, New Jersey where he would work on Good-Bye, My Fancy until his death in 1892.
Our Walt Whitman tea blend is inspired by his beautiful nature imagery in Leaves of Grass, especially the poems he wrote about roots and herbs. In one of his memoirs, Whitman describes a man who “express’d a great desire for good, strong green tea.” This blend is an earthier and more mature variation on Simpson & Vail’s Lemon Ginger Green Tea. It combines an unobtrusive green tea base with the earthiness of ginger and eleuthero roots and the sweetness and acid bite of lemon (with lemongrass, lemon peel, and lemon flavoring).
Ingredients: Organic Green Tea, organic ginger root, organic lemon peel, organic eleuthero root, organic lemongrass and natural lemon flavor.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!