This yummy papaya-and-raspberry blend was inspired by the Brontë sisters’ orchard. It’s a thick, rich berry-and-black combo. It’s very, for lack of a less icky word, juicy. Like biting into a real piece of fruit. I’m not sure I’ve ever bitten into a real papaya, but I have a vivid imagination. This is the real McCoy.
The description for the tea mentions that the ladies had an orchard. The tea is supposed to include “pear, apple, and gooseberry flavors,” but doesn’t include any of those ingredients. It doesn’t matter, however. It’s still an orchard — it’s simply a more warm-climate sort of orchard.
This tea is also giving me an identity crisis. Or, rather, the Brontë sisters are. Did you realize that the oldest-lived Brontë was 38 upon passing? They did ALL THAT WRITING before 38.
Do you realize I am 32 and have only succeeded at NaNoWriMo once? What. am. I. doing. with. my. life?!
I’m drinking this tea, that’s what I’m doing. It’s a good start.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black Flavored Tea
Where to Buy: Simpson & Vail
Description
The Bronte sisters, Charlotte, Emily and Anne, lived and wrote in Yorkshire, England. Born in 1816, 1818 and 1820, respectively, the sisters lived very short lives, with Charlotte living the longest at 38. During their unfortunately short lifetimes, each sister produced novels that would become cornerstones of western literature and inspire studies for generations. Emily’s Wuthering Heights, Charlotte’s Jane Eyre, and Anne’s The Tenant of Wildfell Hall each found an audience and acclaim that continues to this day. With their novels, the sisters introduced the world to a starkly honest portrayal of English womanhood that didn’t hide the ugliness and intrigue many novels of the time shied away from. Although tame by today’s standards, their inclusion of independent female characters, alcoholism, and abuse meant that the Bronte’s novels faced their share of controversy.
The Bronte family kept an orchard and garden where the sisters spent much of their time exploring, drawing, and writing. Charlotte was more inclined to draw the flowers and the plants than to stop and smell them, but Anne and Emily were happy to get their hands dirty with a little gardening. Emily especially, who was known to be a bit of a recluse, could often be found taking long walks and enjoying nature. Our Bronte Sisters tea blend combines pear, apple, and gooseberry flavors to make a sweet and fragrant blend that’s reminiscent of an orchard stroll. The flavors in this blend meld together in perfect harmony and the taste lingers deliciously on the palate.
Ingredients: Black teas, papaya pieces (papayas and sugar), flavorings, raspberry pieces, alfalfa leaves and marigold petals.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Holiday Tea Alert! Snickerdoodle from Simpson and Vail
Snickerdoodle from Simpson & Vail was a sweet, simple blend, perfect as the weather gets cooler. The tea has true cinnamon-stick flavor– not at all like cinnamon candy– definitely the cinnamon flavor of baked goods. The warm, spice flavor goes well with the gentle dry grass and honey notes of the green rooibos. Let me put the emphasis on “green” rooibos. Unlike red rooibos, which can have a tendency to get a little medicine-like, or cloying, the green rooibos always stays smooth, sweet, and mellow, so feel free to brew this gentle decaf cinnamon blend as long as you like.
In fact, I had to brew a much stronger cup to get beyond the simple, warm cinnamon notes and find more nutty, vanilla-cookie flavors. Don’t skimp on the leaf amount or brew time with this blend: steep it strong for the best Snickerdoodle flavors.
It’s no secret that I love teas with lots of bold spices like ginger and cloves, but I do realize these are not everyone’s favorite flavors. If you want something comforting and festive, but without all the overdone pomp and circumstance of a holiday chai, Snickerdoodle might just be the perfect tea for you.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal/Green Rooibos
Where to Buy: Simpson & Vail
Description:
When we were kids Jim came home from elementary school with some recipes his teacher had given him (perhaps for an upcoming bake sale). I’ll never forget the day our Mom made a batch of Snickerdoodle cookies. They were an instant favorite in our house! The recipe was lost for awhile and we would continually ask Mom for “those lovely cinnamon cookies”. You never saw four happier kids than when she found the recipe again.
If you are a cinnamon lover then this Rooibos blend is for you! When you open the bag, the aroma of cinnamon cookie happily greets you. The brewed cup is amber colored with the taste of fresh baked snickerdoodle cookies. The sweet cinnamon taste lingers deliciously on the tongue.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Lewis Carroll’s Black Tea from Simpson & Vail
Is there anything in the world better than snuggling up under a blanket with a good book and a cup of tea?
Right. I didn’t think so.
So when this tea arrived for me to sample on the SAME day as my copy of the new book, Heartless, by Marissa Meyer (a reimagined origin story for the Queen of Hearts from Carroll’s own Alice in Wonderland) I knew they had to be paired together.
Now, I’m going to be honest– I’ve never read Lewis Carroll’s original Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (GASP).
But I am familiar with the movie, and any story centered around a tea party is a-okay with me. I do, however, know that no matter what– if there are any ties to Wonderland, there needs to be some whimsy. And both this tea and the book deliver on all accounts!
This delightful blend from my beloved Simpson & Vail elevated your traditional black tea with bright, floral notes and a little ethereal sweetness. The perfect cup to sip while reading all about Lady Catherine’s (that’s our Queen of Hearts, in her pre-royalty days) journey from young and in love to cold, calculating and off-with-their-heads-ing all around Wonderland.
I preferred this tea with milk and a touch of sweet– and if I’d had my way, I’d have had the Hatter outfit me with some fanciful millinery for my own little tea party. Maybe on my next trip down the rabbit hole!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black Tea
Where to Buy: Simpson & Vail
Description:
The man who would become Lewis Carroll was born as Charles Lutwidge Dodgson in January 1832. He spent his happy childhood under the tutelage of his Reverend father, and enjoyed creating fantastical stories for his ten siblings. It was not until after he had graduated university and became a lecturer of mathematics that he met Alice Liddell. He would entertain her and her sisters with the absurd stories that he later published as Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. His most famous novels conveyed a childlike look at the seemingly arbitrary rules and customs of adult society.
A tea party plays a memorable role in Carroll’s most celebrated novel as the setting for Alice’s nonsensical meeting with the Mad Hatter and the March Hare. “A large rose-tree stood near the entrance of the garden” where, as the Mad Hatter told Alice earlier, “it’s always tea time.” To make our Lewis Carroll blend, we added our fragrant violet flavor to an Indian Black tea and Rose Congou tea, a China black that has been scented with rose petals during the drying process, to create a deep amber cup with an incomparable bouquet and a flavor that is absolutely heavenly.
Ingredients: Black Tea, Rose Congou tea, flavoring, malva flowers.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Apple Cinnamon French Toast from Simpson & Vail
I respect you guys, so I’m not going to beat around the bush. This tea is a solid two thumbs up. Respectful thumbs, angled straight up at the sky. (Which, today, is actually very sunny and pleasant. Wishing you the same.)
You get apple. You get cinnamon. You get maple. You get a little bit of a malt note that I might be imagining. But I’ve now put the idea of malt in your head. You’ll therefore taste it when you try this. There’s a deep black tea note that hangs out in the background, letting the sweet kids romp around on the main stage.
It’s definitely a “romp” kind of tea. This is not your Serious Business Tea at A Somber Board Meeting tea.
Um, what kind of tea would that even be? Probably a smoky lapsang. Or maybe some very straightforward, mind-stirring green. If it’s a fancy bank or tobacco company, the black. If it’s a hip tech company, definitely the green.
Regardless, this is Bring Along In A Travel Container While You Babysit Some Kids At A Park In The Fall tea. Or maybe you have your own kids. But I have to borrow some occasionally. You’d think that someone wonky and soft like me would be a terrible babysitter, but I can attain a good balance of fun and firm.
Especially if I have caffeine.
Praise be black teas and their energy-inducing properties. The black tea in this will give you the nudge needed to be a better business person, mom, babysitter, or basically anything you’d like to be on this lovely day.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Flavored Black
Where to Buy: Simpson & Vail
Description
Apple and cinnamon goodness with a hint of maple flavor. The aroma is pure lazy Sunday morning. Breakfast on the griddle, hot tea in your hand, your favorite book waiting to be read. The sweet apple and the heady cinnamon flavors dance on your tongue, while the rich maple taste offers the base note in this amber colored cup.
Ingredients: black teas, apple pieces, organic cinnamon pieces and apple cinnamon french toast flavoring.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Spiced Mulled Wine from Simpson & Vail- A Black Tea for the Holidays!
When I first sipped this deep red tea, my first thought was, “what a tasty hibiscus blend.” Turns out, there isn’t any hibiscus in this, so apparently my palate has quite a way to go.
This tea ALSO lacks actual wine. Those of you who thought you could have spiked tea on the clock are going to be disappointed. Or, at least, I was. “It was tea, boss! I didn’t KNOW!”
What this tea DOES have is black tea (my bae), beet root (probably the source of the color & flavor), orange (citrus zing!), and malva blossoms (attractive!).
It’s super-rich, and has a sort of hibiscus/cranberry tartness that I really like — and that I associate with red wine. This bite, plus the black tea, gives off the low note that rich red wine does.
If you like wine, you’ll probably like this tea. Heck, I like this, and I don’t even like red wine all that much.
Plus, you won’t get drunk off this. I suppose that’s an advantage if you care about being a productive member of society. You’ll actually get things done instead of napping it off.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Flavored Black Tea
Where to Buy: Simpson & Vail
Description
Looking for a winter concoction without the alcohol? Then, this brew is for you! The blend produces a reddish cup with a sweet fragrant aroma and taste. The tannic taste is reminiscent of red wine and it is perfectly complemented by the light spice taste and the earthy undertones.
Ingredients: black teas, orange peel, beet root, spiced mulled wine flavoring and malva blossoms.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!