Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Simpson & Vail
Product Description:
Kenya, a country in East Africa, is known worldwide for its wildlife reserves, its lofty mountain peaks, and the high quality offerings from the country’s tea gardens and coffee plantations. For the past 10 years or so, Kenya tea producers have been focusing on more orthodox production methods to create high quality large leaf style teas. This tea is a relative newcomer to the Oolong tea market. It is grown in the Central Province District of Kirinyaga, where the rich earth and moderate climatic conditions help the plants to thrive.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This is a delightful Oolong. With the first sip, I noticed a fantastic apricot-peach flavor to it, reminding me a bit of a nice Formosa Oolong, but it is a bit more brisk. It is as if my treasured Formosa Oolong (Formosa Oolong was my very first Oolong, so it will always have a very special place in my heart) had a love child with a high grown Ceylon … and then moved to Kenya!
It has a pleasant sweetness, but, I find that with the astringency at the tail, the sweetness never gets to the point where it’s too much. It lasts as long as the sip lasts, and then the astringency cleanses the palate and readies it for the next sip. This tea is also earthy, and I pick up on the earthy tones especially at the start of the sip, and then the earthiness subsides into the sweet fruit notes, with a hint of flower (orchid, perhaps?) in the distance. As I continue to sip, I notice a citrus-y background begin to develop, by the end of my first cup (which is the combination of the first two infusions), the citrus-y note is well-pronounced.
This tea provided me six very wonderful infusions, and the flavors changed and shifted focus with each cup. This is a wonderfully contemplative cup, one that I could spend hours over, just examining the layers of flavor. It has such a complex character, very similar to other teas, but, different enough not to be cast into their shadows.
Cheers!
Chocolate Caramel From Simpson & Vail
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Simpson & Vail
Product Description:
Two of my favorite tastes – chocolate and creamy caramel – meet in this delicious black tea blend. Let the sweet chocolate aroma awaken your senses while the rich, smooth chocolate taste, and buttery aftertaste, thrill your tastebuds.
Ingredients: black teas, cacao nibs, flavoring, and safflower petals.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I have been looking forward to trying this tea. I mean, chocolate and caramel? YUM!
The dry leaf smells really delicious with its strong chocolate-y aroma. It has a very dark chocolate kind of fragrance along with a distinct caramel-y scent. I can even smell hints of browned butter in there! The brewed tea smells quite a bit softer, with much of the chocolate-y overtones having mellowed, but it is still a worthwhile experience to deeply inhale the aroma of this tea before taking a sip.
My first couple of sips, I found myself wishing there was more of a chocolate-y flavor. I didn’t really taste a whole lot of either chocolate or caramel, and I found this to be a bit disappointing. But, I didn’t give up on it, because there was certainly some promise in this cup. I could taste hints of chocolate and caramel in the distance.
After those first couple of sips, I noticed the flavor developing. Now that I am nearly finished with my first cup, the chocolate is much stronger than it was at the start. It tastes rich and very much the way the scent of the dry leaf intimated. It is a dark chocolate taste, with a pleasing bittersweet flavor. The caramel is there too, with a smooth, creamy flavor that is sweet and delicious. The finish is almost buttery, and the aftertaste is sweet and chocolate-y.
The black tea is there too. It is especially noticeable in those aforementioned first sips, when I had trouble tasting the chocolate and caramel. I still tasted a rich, rewarding flavor of black tea. Strong and brisk without being too stout, there is no bitterness to the tea, and just a wee bit of astringency.
This is definitely a tea that you have to be a little patient with, but, that patience is rewarded with the irresistible combination of chocolate and caramel. Sure, I am a chocoholic and that part of me would like there to be more chocolate here, but, as it is, I am finding this to be very satisfying.
Another awesome tea from Simpson and Vail!
Apple Cinnamon Coffeecake from Simpson & Vail
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Simpson & Vail
Product Description:
A new addition to our flavored tea line and already a huge hit with all of us here! This slightly sweet, scrumptious blend has a lightly toasted flavor with the delicious taste of apples and cinnamon. Sipping this tea reminds me of the Sunday morning breakfast treats of my childhood. Now that I’m all grown up I could have those treats every day of the week; however, I think I’ll stick to this tea blend instead. It’s full of the sinful tastes of childhood but, with no calories, it suits my adult metabolism!
Ingredients: Black teas, organic cinnamon chips, apple pieces, orange blossoms and flavoring.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This tea is incredibly fragrant. I had started a pot to brew in my Breville One-Touch and then went off to take my shower. By the time I emerged from the bathroom, the aroma of apples and cinnamon had permeated the house! It smelled like I had just baked a coffeecake!
And it tastes as incredible as it smells. As one who flavored and blended teas in a former life, I can tell you that apple flavor is one of the toughest flavors to nail in a tea, it is – for whatever reason – very difficult to get just right. But Simpson & Vail have done just that with this blend. The apple comes through very well, and it tastes like the real thing.
The cinnamon is also expertly blended here as well. Cinnamon is one of those spices that can easily overwhelm a blend; however, here, it is done so well that it comes through as a gentle, warm accent to the apple without taking over.
And I can even taste a bit of pastry in this cup! There is a buttery, cake-y kind of taste in the background. This really is like a coffeecake in a teacup, and it’s so yummy!
But (and I know I’ve said this before) a tea isn’t a tea without the tea, and thankfully the black tea is not overpowered by the strong flavors of apple and cinnamon. I can’t say that it is the strongest flavor of this cup, because it isn’t; however, it is there and what I’m enjoying here is how well it integrates with the other flavors to create a very unified kind of flavor. This isn’t one of those teas where I taste apple AND cinnamon AND tea AND cake… but, instead it is a tea where I taste notes of apple, cinnamon, tea and cake. That is to say, the distinctions between each flavor is not as apparent as I sip this as it often is in some other flavored tea blends. This is a very synergistic cup, where each of the flavors seamlessly comes together to create a very harmonious, unified flavor that represents each of the elements deliciously.
A very tasty way to start one’s day!
Hazelnut Black Tea from Simpson & Vail
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Simpson & Vail
Product Description:
This black tea blend has a strong aroma and a nutty flavor. Reminiscent of the winter holidays when the tastes of warming hazelnuts pervade the senses. Can be enjoyed as is, but is also delightful with a little added cream.
Taster’s Review:
The aroma of this tea is unbelievably delicious. From the moment I opened the pouch, I could smell the delightfully warm, sweet nutty fragrance of hazelnuts. Now that the tea is brewed and sitting in front of me, I am finding it difficult to not want to just hold my head inches above the rim of the cup, taking in the radiating warmth of the cup while at the same time enjoying the yummy scent. It’s one of those kinds of teas that you just want to grab a blanket and a good book, and just curl up and get cozy with tea in hand.
The flavor (as well as the incredible scent) is very reminiscent of the holiday season for me, which is why I chose to schedule my review of this tea just a couple of weeks before Christmas. The delicious, nutty fragrance and flavor reminds me of Christmas at my Gramma’s house, which was always warm with inviting aromas and flavors. Gramma made the most incredible cookies and other yummy foods this time of year, and hazelnuts (she called them filberts) were one of her favorite nuts (along with pecans) to include in her baking.
The black tea base here is fairly mellow and seems to help inspire (along with the flavor of the hazelnuts) that cozy sort of feeling that I described earlier. It isn’t one of those “get up and go” kind of black teas … and therefore isn’t a tea I’d recommend for breakfast unless you’re enjoying a leisurely breakfast in bed and do not need that gusto that black tea can often deliver. This isn’t one of those teas … instead, this is a “slow down and enjoy life” kind of tea. Take time to smell the roses … or… tea.
The hazelnut flavor is in keeping with this mild attitude of the tea. It doesn’t overwhelm, instead, it delivers a gentle, delicious nutty flavor that tastes of sweet roasted nuts fresh from the oven. YUM!
This tea would make a delightful gift for the tea lover on your shopping list! And, while you’re gift shopping, check out Simpson & Vail’s fantastic array of tea gift packages. You’re sure to find something that will please even the most difficult tea enthusiast on your gift-giving list!
English Toffee from Simpson & Vail
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Simpson & Vail
Product Description:
English Toffee is a sweet made with sugar and butter. This decadent tea has a sweet, creamy taste with no calories! Blended with black teas from China and Sri Lanka, our English Toffee tea brews to a deep amber cup with a light butterscotch taste.
Ingredients: black teas, flavoring, and marigold petals.
Taster’s Review:
I’m liking this one a lot. I have to admit that there was some initial disappointment because the chocoholic in me wanted some chocolate flavor in with the English Toffee flavors (when I think of English Toffee, I think of the candy bars like Heath or Scor, or even the decadent gourmet toffees from Cary’s of Oregon, all of which are enrobed in chocolate). That chocoholic sometimes forgets that “English Toffee” is that yummy, buttery, caramel-y crunchy candy under the chocolate coating!
And, this is indeed yummy, buttery and caramel-y rich. All that’s missing is the crunchy texture. There is a bit of a burnt sugar – I almost want to say bitterness, but I mean it in the most delicious way possible – taste to it, reminding me of the days when I was in my early 20s and I actually had time to make confections such as English Toffee (I used to make my own toffee, break it into tiny bits, and then mix it to cookie dough with chocolate chips to make my own homemade toffee cookies. YUM!)
This English Toffee tea has all the flavor that I’d experience with my homemade English Toffee, plus the delicious taste of black tea. The black tea base lends a solid background of flavor and a bit of astringency to this cup without overwhelming the buttery sweet flavor of the toffee. I would categorize this black tea as a somewhat mild black tea – it is strong but not overbearing – and it makes a delightful base for the flavors of toffee.
A delightful autumnal blend that would be delicious to serve any time of year!