Tea Party Sonnet in honor of William Shakespeare black tea blend from Simpson and Vail

by TeaRax

 

TEA-ming up with Tiny Salutations again for your reading pleasure with this sonnet:

Harken back to a faire of the 16th century
With “William Shakespeare’s black tea blend”
In each cup a wistful reverie
And a moment for your soul to mend.

It’s rosy liquid, by any other name,
Would it smell as sweet?
Inspiration my mouth doth claim
In framing Sonnets in my seat.

Intense floral aromas enhance
The Bard’s many tales
Of tragedy, comedy, and romance
Such a tea of Simpson and Vail’s.

Made of lavender and rose
And fresh plucked rosemary
A delight to eyes, mouth, and nose
As good a tea as potpourri!

The flavor is smooth
The rose aftertaste BOLD
A pleasant scent in truth
The color a rich chocolate gold.

This tea we doth surely keep.
Huzzah for a second steep!

Here’s the scoop!

Loose Leaf:   Black tea Blend

Where to Buy:  Simpson and Vail

Description:  Gardens, herbs, and flowers appear in many of Shakespeare’s plays and oftentimes play a critical role in his stories. Our William Shakespeare tea blend is a combination of a few of the many herbs he references: lavender, roses, rosemary. The wit and playfulness of his verse means that Shakespeare’s plays can still be enjoyed today, ideally with a warm cup of tea.

This black tea and floral blend brews to an amber cup with a sweet, floral taste. The slightly earthy and woody notes are rounded out with the citrus taste of bergamot and sweet rose petals.

Certified Kosher

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

TeaRax

My favorite tea is always changing, like a typical Gemini. When I was a teenager, my native Washington Starbucks coffee was forbidden, but I occasionally snuck in a chai latte, so black teas have been my go-to morning drink when I feel feisty. As an adult, I spent 3+ years living in China and Japan where I learned about green, white, oolong, and pu'er teas origins. I was even prescribed traditional medicinal teas while I was there and that's a taste you don't soon forget! But it didn't scare me away from herbals - I really like cold brewing rooibos and tisanes now because I can share them with my toddler. I am back in school to become a geologist, and these science textbooks can be difficult to get through without a strong cuppa. When I'm not studying, I love pairing my teas with my BFFL and salted caramel macarons, or having existential chats with my dad.

This post was posted in Black Tea, Simpson & Vail

Rooibos Renaissance from Rooibos Suite

by liberteas

Tisane Information:

Leaf Type:  Rooibos

Where to Buy:  Rooibos Suite

Tisane Description:

Chocolate and pineapple waft gently through premium rooibos. A light nutty finish.

Learn more about this tisane here.

Taster’s Review:

At first, I found this tisane to be slightly disappointing.  It tasted like pure rooibos, not a chocolate and pineapple flavored rooibos which is what I was looking forward to trying!  However, after about two sips, the chocolate and pineapple emerged.

This is really quite good … not disappointing at all!

While I would like for there to be more chocolate (but then, is there EVER enough chocolate?), there is a pleasant amount of chocolate-y flavor and I like the creaminess that the chocolate flavor brings to the cup.  The same is true for the pineapple, I should like to have a slightly stronger pineapple note, but, I like the way the pineapple brightens the overall flavor of the tisane.

The rooibos, which was quite prevalent in the first couple of sips, seems to taken a back seat to the chocolate and pineapple notes now.  I do taste notes of nutty flavor from the rooibos, and this melds quite nicely with the chocolate-y flavor.

An enjoyable cup, one that requires just a bit of patience from the sipper, but, that patience is rewarded.

 

liberteas

Anne (aka the Mad Tea Artist) has celebrated her 29th birthday for many years now. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her hubby and her youngest daughter. Her oldest daughter is married and has bestowed Anne with the proud title of "Gramma" and her grandson is about the cutest boy you ever did see. Anne started her journey with tea as a casual drinker and became more serious about her tea drinking when she realized that she couldn't drink coffee. Shortly thereafter, she started becoming obsessed with the beverage and she started creating small-batch, artisan blends of tea that she sold online as LiberTEAS. After a few years, she realized she wasn't cut out to be the sole proprietor of a business so she closed LiberTEAS and started reviewing teas online. She met Jennifer through another blog that they both reviewed for and they decided to start their own review blog. This review blog! Throughout her journey as a tea reviewer, she discovered 52Teas and became enamored with the idea of creating a new tea every week. When the founder of 52Teas decided he wanted to move on, he offered the business to Anne but knowing that she wasn't cut out to be a sole proprietor, she instead offered the company to her oldest daughter who employs her as the Mad Tea Artist for 52Teas!

This post was posted in Rooibos

Renaissance from Design A Tea

by liberteas

Tea Information:

Leaf Type:  Oolong

Where to Buy:  Design a Tea

Company Description:

A whimsical touch of Blueberry and woodsy Nutmeg flavoring mixed with an ORGANIC Oolong earthy base from Taiwan.

Taster’s Review:

Renaissance is one of the “Signature Blends” offered by Design A Tea.  And it is delightful!  The complexity of the Oolong tea and the sweet-tart flavor of the blueberry, together with a dash of nutmeg creates a uniquely wonderful taste.

The base is a Formosa Oolong base – which is one of my particular favorite types of Oolong tea.  It has a pleasant mouthfeel – silky but not too thick.  I love the fuzzy peach-like tones of a Formosa Oolong, and that fruity character blends well with the blueberry and the earthy, nutty taste of the nutmeg.

The blueberry tastes fresh and sweet – it’s a very authentic blueberry taste.  There is a berry-ish tingle that hits the tip of the tongue – a little tart… but not too much.  But it is the nutmeg is what really makes this tea unique.  The nutmeg isn’t strong at first, but the flavor develops as I continue to drink the tea.

This has to be one of the best blueberry blends I’ve ever tasted.  I love the addition of the nutmeg, and as I continue to sip, I find myself adoring it even more.  It adds such a beautiful depth of flavor, and it reminds me a little bit of a baked blueberry confection – blueberry cobbler, perhaps?  This is especially true when this tea is served hot with just a sprinkling of sugar (brown sugar would be especially nice to expound on that cobbler taste).

However you choose to serve this tea, I have to say that the yum factor is extremely high here.  Yummy, yummy, yummy!

liberteas

Anne (aka the Mad Tea Artist) has celebrated her 29th birthday for many years now. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her hubby and her youngest daughter. Her oldest daughter is married and has bestowed Anne with the proud title of "Gramma" and her grandson is about the cutest boy you ever did see. Anne started her journey with tea as a casual drinker and became more serious about her tea drinking when she realized that she couldn't drink coffee. Shortly thereafter, she started becoming obsessed with the beverage and she started creating small-batch, artisan blends of tea that she sold online as LiberTEAS. After a few years, she realized she wasn't cut out to be the sole proprietor of a business so she closed LiberTEAS and started reviewing teas online. She met Jennifer through another blog that they both reviewed for and they decided to start their own review blog. This review blog! Throughout her journey as a tea reviewer, she discovered 52Teas and became enamored with the idea of creating a new tea every week. When the founder of 52Teas decided he wanted to move on, he offered the business to Anne but knowing that she wasn't cut out to be a sole proprietor, she instead offered the company to her oldest daughter who employs her as the Mad Tea Artist for 52Teas!

This post was posted in Oolong