Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
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. Kenya tea is a main staple in Irish and English tea blends, and for years it was mostly produced for the tea bag trade. For the past 10 years or so, the Kenya tea producers have been focusing on more orthodox producing to create high quality large leaf style teas.
Read more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This Kenyan black is delightful.
It is bold, rich and malty – reminiscent of a high quality Assam – but it lacks the bitterness and is less astringent than a typical Assam. Instead, this cup is incredibly smooth with a very pleasant mouthfeel.
The sweetness here is honey and caramel. The malty tones enhance not only the sweet notes of this tea but also accentuate a biscuit-y sort of flavor – very rich and bread-y. I also taste a hint of citrus here – a flavor that can be enhanced with a thin slice of lemon.
This is a tea that would not only make an outstanding breakfast tea but also a very enjoyable pick-me-up for those afternoons when you’re dragging and need something to get you back in the swing of things. It takes to the addition of milk and honey well, but I personally prefer this one served neat and clean.
I prefer this tea hot, but, not piping hot. By allowing it to cool to a drinkable temperature, I find that the richness of this tea develops into a full-bodied, satisfying cup of tea!
Assam Kama from Simpson & Vail
Tea Information:
Leaf type: Black
Where to Buy: Simpson & Vail
Product Description:
In the northeastern state of Assam in India, along the Brahmaputra River grow the hearty, malty Assam teas. The heavy rainfall and hot, humid day time temperatures in this area create the perfect green house like environment for growth, as well as helping to create the unique taste found only in Assam teas. Their distinct flavor can be enjoyed “as is”; however, Assam teas are often used in conjunction with other teas to create numerous blends, specifically breakfast teas.
This outstanding jet-black, long, twisted leafed tea from the Satrupa Estate in the Tinsukia district of Assam has a clean, fresh, mountain aroma. The tea yields a bright copper cup with a smooth, rich taste and is one of the thickest, creamiest and most malty Assam teas we have ever cupped.
Taster’s Review:
Looking for an Assam tea? Simpson & Vail has one of the largest collections of Assam Teas that I’ve ever seen! Among them is this Assam Kama. And if you love the malty character of an Assam, this is the Assam for you!
The flavor is indeed smooth and rich. Typically with an Assam, you’ll encounter some astringency, and there is some astringency with this Assam, but, I must say that it is a bit lighter than I was expecting. The sip is smooth throughout, and the astringency is barely noticeable until I arrive at the aftertaste, where I notice a slight dry and tangy sensation on the palate.
The flavor is delectable, with a thick, sort of bread-y kind of taste. It has a real heft to it, making it an excellent choice for a breakfast tea. It also has an enchanting sweetness to it which enhances the caramel-like tones of the malty qualities of the tea.
This tea takes the additions of milk and honey well, if you care to add them, but it is also quite nice served neat and clean with no additions. However you choose to serve it, you’re in for an incredibly satisfying cup of Assam with this tea.
Groovy Guava from Simpson & Vail
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Simpson & Vail
Product Description:
A wonderful afternoon tea! This fabulous blend of delicious fruits is melded with colorful herbs and our delicate White Monkey tea. The pale ecru cup emits a scrumptious fruity taste that is certain to please.
Contains: Green tea, Orange Blossoms, Raspberry pieces, Cornflower petals and flavorings.
Taster’s Review:
Delicious!
This tea really is fabulous! From the very first moment when I opened the package I fell in love with this tea. Well, actually, I think I fell in love with it before that – because I love the name too. The fragrance of the tea is exotic and captivating, smelling a bit like a tropical paradise … or at least, what I would imagine a tropical paradise to smell like!
This luscious aroma translates to the flavor to a T (tea?) It is nectar-like and sweet, like a tropical smoothie, only thinner. There are hints of tartness throughout the sip, but they really reveal themselves in the finish. The aftertaste is sweet yet tart, complete with that tart-y tingle on the tongue.
The flavor of the green tea almost gets lost in this blend. Almost, but not quite. I can taste the light, crisp flavor of the green tea. One thing this mild green tea lacks, though, is the grassy/vegetative taste that so often accompanies a green tea … making this tea a perfect choice for those who generally find that grassy taste off-putting. The flavor is very smooth, mellow and fruity … but it doesn’t taste like a tropical fruit punch. It has that sweet, fresh flavor of green tea but without the grassy tones.
This tea wins big points with me. It’s awesome iced, but also very good served hot too … and with winter around the corner, it would be nice to keep this tea on hand for those times when you’d like to take a little tropical getaway, even if it is just in your head … and teacup!
Almond Sugar Cookie from Simpson & Vail
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Simpson & Vail
Product Description:
Heavenly! That’s the best word to describe this black tea blend. You’ll think you’re in a bakery when you open the bag and the aroma of nutty goodness wafts out. The brewed tea is divine – with no calories!
Ingredients: Black teas, almonds, flavoring and safflower blossoms.
Taster’s Review:
Wowza! As I sit here, preparing to write this review, my favorite tea mug is filled to the brim with this tea. The aroma is almost too much to take. It smells like freshly baked cookies, and it’s making my stomach growl! My tummy thinks that cookies are sitting in front of me, not tea!
So, finally, I must cave in and take a sip. YUM!
There are several “almond cookie” type teas out there, but I can’t recall any that I’ve tried that were better than this one. The flavor is sweet – but not too sweet – and there is a baked cookie kind of taste to it too. It’s slightly buttery. The black tea base is strong without overpowering the sweet almond flavor.
And it is the almond that is the star of this cup. From the aroma that is experienced before even taking that first sip, right down to the last sip and the aftertaste, the almond is front and center. It is sweet, nutty and has a pleasant roasted/toasted kind of taste to it.
I think that the perfect temperature for this tea is hot, but not freshly-brewed, still piping-hot hot. Allowing this tea to cool ever so slightly will allow some of the cookie taste to emerge without losing any of the almond or black tea flavors. The slightly cooled tea tastes like a bit like my favorite almond biscotti that has just been dunked in black tea. Delicious!
Blue Mist from Simpson and Vail
Tea Type: Black Tea
Where To Buy: Simpson & Vail
Product Description:
Blue Mist is a blend of Jackfruit (a fruit from India with an aroma of banana and pineapple), Apricot and Mango black teas with cornflowers and marigold petals. Brew tea at 212º – steep for 3 minutes.
Tasters Review:
Thought I would step outside my comfort zone with this one. I HATE Bananas!!!! I mean HATE them! When I read this had Jackfruit in it – which is supposed to smell like Pineapple and Bananas – I thought I would try it! I love Pineapple but not Bananas but I gave it a whirl…
It smells nice…you can tell Mango and Pineapple but there is a little hint of something else which I will ‘chalk up as’ that banana illusion. Nothing is too over the top to make me change facial expressions – like I normal would when smelling bananas – but it does have a different sort of aroma, that is for sure!
It’s VERY dark in color.
It tastes like a HOT tropical smoothie. Not really floral but fruity and not like Pina Colada but truly unique. Almost like a tropical drink with NO Pineapple, Coconut, or Flowers in it…if you can picture that. It’s much different than ANY flavored black I have tried to date. If you are looking for something different this just may be it.
