I have a confession to make. Edith Wharton isn’t an author I ever followed. That may come as a shock to many of you and for that I am sorry. After reading her biography I was intrigued, however.
Edith Wharton’s Black Tea Blend is one of the newest additions to Simpson & Vail’s Literary Tea Line. Ingredients include Darjeeling black tea, organic ginger pieces, mallow blossoms, marigold petals and flavoring.
So eventho I cannot speak/write about my personal love for Edith herself – I can tell you about my love for this tea. Of course I’m interested in just about ANY tea but Black Teas are the teas I always grab first and I start every day with at least one black tea (and then move on to the other types of tea as my day progresses).
The focus of this flavored black tea was true to its black tea base and the flavors accompanied it well. The ginger and mallow blossoms acted as a subtle yin and yang contribution in the flavor profile. The marigold petals gave it a more floral aroma and flavor, too.
I was worried that the floral and spicy notes would be a little loud but they were VERY NICELY done here and not shouting. For that I’m grateful and proud to add this to my favorites list of teas & literature.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Simpson and Vail
Description
For our Edith Wharton blend we pay homage to her descriptions of the undercurrents rippling through fashionable society. We have combined a refined, high-grown Darjeeling black tea with a little passionfruit and citrus flavor, a dash of spice and lovely flower petals to create a taste that is smooth and elegant. Perfect for an afternoon tête-à-tête.
Ingredients: Darjeeling black tea, organic ginger pieces, mallow blossoms, marigold petals and flavoring.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Moroccan Mint Teabags from Simpson and Vail. . .
Simpson and Vail is one of those hidden gems on the internet when it comes to tea. One of my favorite tea companies online, Simpson and Vail offer amazing customer service, a fabulous line of teas, and the satisfying thought that you are supporting a mom and pop family tea shop.
What Simpson and Vail do best is offer their customers a vast array of teas and their new line of iced tea bags is no exception. Being a huge fan of mint teas, their new Moroccan Mint Iced Tea bag had my name written all over it.
Cold brewed over night, this iced tea was absolute perfection. Fresh minty goodness combined with that familiar crisp green tea flavor greeted my taste buds. And not just any mint, but spearmint. I eagerly gulped this iced tea down today.
You really can’t go wrong with a mint green tea, at least for this green tea loving gal you can’t. And add in the added convenience factor of this tea being ready to go in a convenient iced tea bag that I can add into my pitcher at night, fill with water, and in the morning I am greeted with this amazing iced green tea to keep me going through out my day. . . I am just sold and in love!
Moroccan Mint Iced Tea is just one of the new flavors Simpson and Vail has added to their awesome lineup. I’m excited to check out more of these great iced teas flavors. I wish there was a variety pack of all the different iced tea flavors but I’ll just have to try them one at a time. . .
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Simpson and Vail
Description
Transport yourself to a land of desert sands, caravans and palm tree filled oasis, with this delicious blend of organic spearmint and organic green tea. Traditionally, Moroccan Mint tea is served sweetened with sugar, although you can always substitute honey, agave, syrup or whatever sweetener you prefer. This tea brews to a golden cup with a smooth mint flavor.
Ingredients: Organic green tea and organic spearmint.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Anything but Basic – Louisa May Alcott from Simpson and Vail
There is nothing better than sharing a hot cuppa with hot ladies. Wait, did that came out wrong? I mean strong, independent, educated ladies. Yeah, that’s who I’d have tea parties with! So, I invited two amazing students from my “Women’s Contributions to Science” class for a tea party. And, what better tea to drink than one inspired by the author of Little Women, Louisa May Alcott.
Simpson and Vail created fandom teas for several authors, and this green blend has a soft spice scent with the dried apple bits – is it nutmeg that it reminds us of? Pine? As we brew up this pumpkin pie colored treat, we bring up recent TED talks, STEM, swiping right… Hey, just because we love Autumn doesn’t make us totally basic! And neither is this literary tea – it’s good for multiple infusions and it builds flavor as you drink it. There is a midweight mouthfeel, and a certain sweetness from the Rose that lingers into the aftertaste.
It’s a heartwarming blend, and we have high spirits for the coming equinox, including brainstorming for Halloween costumes. If our Louisa May tea was alive today, we picture her costumed as T.Swift in a flannel, and this tea is the perfect embodiment of that. Now if you’ll pardon me, I’ve been inspired to go crochet a scarf for some eligible but aloof bachelor.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Simpson & 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.
Certified Kosher
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Louisa May Alcott from Simpson and Vail. . .
I was devastated to find out that I’d missed out on Starbucks’ Free Tea Friday. My body melted into the floor. I had to be picked out of the carpet and reassembled.
Then I remembered that I had some samples left. (YAAAASSS.) Lo and behold, this Simpson & Vail blend was batting its eyelashes at me.
“Hello,” Louisa May Alcott purred. “I am a light flowery green berry thing, and would probably be the bomb if you iced me.”
“You aren’t free,” I whispered, dabbing a tear from my eye.
“I am,” the tea said. “You get a lot of free samples from the SororiTea Sisters in exchange for reviews.”
“But… I have to, like, get the steeper, and make sure there’s ice,” I whined.
“Ugh, come on,” the tea said. “You don’t even need to boil the water. It comes out of your work’s water cooler’s hot side.”
I finally submitted to the tea’s taunts, and I’m very glad I did!
This tea does a lot of things very well that I’m often on the fence about:
1) Rose petals. Sometimes there are too many and the tea tastes like soap. These petals, on the other hand, are blended with a light hand.
2) A little bit of tartness. JUST A LITTLE. I need everything in my life to taste light and candylike. (My wines. My teas. Even my beers need to be light wheat-plus-fruit offerings.) The tartness here comes from the green tea, and it totally works.
3) Strawberries. This blend uses ACTUAL strawberries, not the fake mix-in stuff. This makes a big difference. It’s the difference between a juicy, authentic taste and a face-smack of Stevia.
4) Apples. They sweeten this blend up and go with its fruit-fiesta theme. Sometimes I wonder what apples are doing in a blend. They seem like a thing most tea-makers have in the cupboard and gleefully toss in there, crying, “WHY THE HECK NOT?”
My general thought here is: yum. This is a great iced tea. My sample is pretty big, so I think I’ll continue to give into its cajoling ways.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
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 peta
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Edgar Allan Poe Black from Simpson and Vail. . . .
My first thought about this brew was “WHO DIED?!”
As you’re steeping, your cup’s contents very swiftly become a really disturbing dark red/black/maroon color.
Which is, of course, SO fitting for an Edgar Allan Poe blend. You’re launched headfirst into a vat of the macabre. If someone asked you what you were drinking, you could deadpan “the blood of my enemies.” IT WOULD LOOK LIKE YOU WERE RIGHT.
The flavor is tart, earthy, smoky, and rich rich rich (yes, I typed it thrice). It’s a blend of black and pu’erh with bergamot and beetroot. I couldn’t pick up any of the bergamot in my spoonful, but such is the Luck of the Flavored Tea Lotto.
I think that the smoky lapsang is the star of the show. If you want to go into a smoking parlor to torment yourself over your writing, this is the perfect thing. You can sip it between smashings on your keyboard or dips into your ink.
This isn’t a good tea for writing on your computer, unfortunately. If I were really a Method Writer, I would have written this out longhand with a dip pen. Then scanned it. And posted it as a series of .jpegs. Part of me wants to transcribe this RIGHT NOW. It’s NOT TOO LATE
Except I’m lazy, and plus, this is easier for you to read and enjoy anyway.
~Eternally yours in gothiness,
Super Starling!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Simpson and Vail
Description
This dark, earthy blend evokes the damp tombs of Poe’s stories. While it is perhaps the most well known, The Cask of Amontillado is not Poe’s only story in which his fear of being buried alive becomes a major plot point. His vivid descriptions of “utter darkness among a quantity of loose earth” that “threaten[ed] to bury [him] entirely” offered a direction for our blend. It combines the earthy tones of Puerh black with the mellow smokiness of Lapsang and the slightest citrus hint of an Earl Grey. The dried beetroot turns the brewed tea a deep blood red.
Ingredients: Black teas, puerh tea, lapsang souchong tea, beetroot and bergamot oil.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!