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!
Colombian Black Tea from Simpson and Vail. . . . .
Simpson & Vail has announced a few new Colombian Teas and I thought I would share with you their Colombian Black Tea today!
Their Colombian Black Tea is from the mountainous region of Colombia, in an area steeped in biodiversity, along the western slope of the Andes, called the Bitaco tea estate.
The gentle mist from the mountains, rich soil, and ample rainfall stimulates the growth of the tea bushes and produces this tea shouting its unique characteristics.
The large, black wiry, slightly tippy leaves have a light malty aroma and brew to an amber cup with a smooth taste and delicate fruity notes according to S&V! And I would have to agree!
I have been sipping in this one for a while. It hails a fairly sturdy 2nd infusion, too!
Even tho this is a pretty strong black tea it’s not OVERLY strong – like you need someone to break your morning zombie trance – but it’s a nice bolder cuppa to sip though out the day or even in the afternoon or early evening! Another DANDY of a black tea from Simpson & Vail!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Simpson & Vail
Description
From the mountainous region of Colombia, in an area steeped in biodiversity, along the western slope of the Andes, is the Bitaco tea estate. The gentle mist from the mountains, rich soil, and ample rainfall all stimulate the growth of the tea bushes, producing a tea with unique characteristics. The large, black wiry, slightly tippy leaves have a light malty aroma and brew to an amber cup with a smooth taste and delicate fruity notes.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Dragonfruit Fusion Teabags from Simpson and Vail.. . . .
June was National Iced Tea Month so I thought a few Iced Tea attempts were surely in order! To kick things off I brewed some Dragonfuit Fusion Tea Bags from Simpson & Vail.
As many of you know Hibiscus scares me and Rosehips are creeping on that list as well. When I saw how intensely pinkish-red this was after brewing I ASSUMED it was going to be that dreaded tarty-sour Hibiscus I was so frightened of. BUT…I don’t know how S&V did it but it worked well here! It wasn’t overly tart or overly sweet. Perhaps it was the Green Rooibos base that helped even it out?
Ingredients include Organic green rooibos, organic rosehips, organic hibiscus, organic orange peel, organic lemon peel and natural flavors. I will say that I could taste the citrusy peels mentioned in the list of ingredients and that seemed to really contribute to the overall flavor of this tea!
The rebel that I am – I sipped a half of a cup of this tea hot before icing and it was pretty good hot, too!
I have a very large thermo container that I will be traveling with a lot this summer and I can see myself keeping iced teas in there very soon! I’m looking forward to Iced Tea Season. Are you?
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal/Tisane
Where to Buy: Simpson & Vail
Description
Perfect for lazy summer days, this organic herbal blend brews to a ruby red color with a tropical fruit taste. Caffeine free and bursting with flavor, this “tea” will be enjoyed by young and old alike. Add a little sweetener or seltzer to brighten up the taste!
Ingredients: Organic green rooibos, organic rosehips, organic hibiscus, organic orange peel, organic lemon peel and natural flavors.
To brew:
Put teabag in a gallon container. Pour boiling water over the teabag to cover, steep for 5 minutes then remove the bag. Add cold water to fill the container and stir. Refrigerate. Serve over ice as is or with your choice of sweetener.
Iced tea in the refrigerator may turn cloudy. If this should occur, pour a little boiling water into the tea after removal from the refrigerator.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Jasmine Tea Blend from Simpson and Vail. . . . .
I haven’t quite made up my mind on whether I like jasmine or not. When I think I do, I try something else that includes jasmine and then I wonder if I actually don’t. I was hesitant to try this Jasmine Tea Blend by Simpson and Vail because of this. However, I persevered and decided to go ahead and try anyways.
Jasmine smells really sweet and tastes that way too. I did not even add sweetener to the steeped cup. I do like this, but being 100% honest I feel like I need another component here. Like, maybe, apple jasmine…or vanilla jasmine…or maybe like a jasmine tangerine or something. But, just plain jasmine tea isn’t really doing it for me. That said, this is definitely a rich jasmine flavor. Its sweet, its floral, and its smooth.
I think that this would be a great cup to drink if I want to unwind in the evening after a nice bath. The smell of jasmine is definitely relaxing. I just don’t know if i’m all for straight floral tea. Like I said, I am longing for a second component. I do think that this is yummy, though, and I think that someone who enjoys floral teas or jasmine teas would really love this. Even if you aren’t sure whether you like floral tea, this would definitely be a tea to try it out. It is authentic and yummy. I have had great luck with Simpson and Vail and I really always enjoy their blends.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black Tea
Where to Buy: Simpson and Vail
Description
The process of producing Jasmine tea started in China sometime during the Song Dynasty (960-1279) using tea blended with Jasmine blossoms. Jasmine teas are created using different types of tea: white, oolong and green predominantly. The base teas used are picked, depending on the type of tea, from March to June, but the Jasmine blossoms do not bloom until the summer. So the teas are picked, processed and stored until the fresh blossoms can be added. The blossoms are picked in the morning when the dew has dried off the closed buds. The buds are then kept cool during the day and then in the evening, when the buds begin to open, they are mixed into the tea. After at least 4 hours, when the tea has absorbed the jasmine scent, the blossoms are removed and fresh buds are added. For standard grade jasmine teas, the blossoms are added 2 or 3 times. For premium grade jasmine teas, this process may be repeated up to 8 times. Once the blenders are satisfied that the tea has the appropriate amount of aroma, the tea is re-fired to remove the moisture that was introduced to the tea by the fresh jasmine blossoms. Jasmine tea destined to remain in China usually has the spent blossoms removed from the finished product, but with teas that are exported, jasmine blossoms are sometimes left in the finished tea for their appearance.
Historically the aroma of Jasmine blossoms was recommended for stress relief, depression and relaxation. For us, the aroma of Jasmine infused teas does have a profound ability to calm and relax!
This Jasmine tea, from the Fujian Province in China, is a scented oolong tea with a delicious jasmine flavor. The medium size tea leaves brew to a pale ecru cup with a strong jasmine bouquet.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
