Tea Type:
Rooibos
Where To Buy:Simpson & Vail
Product Description:
I’ve often thought it was a shame that candy canes are only commercially popular in the winter season. Our local candy shop makes them in about 4 flavors, but only during the winter months. I know that’s when they sell the most, of course, but I want them more often. I love the refreshing, sweet taste of these holiday treats. So naturally I was determined to make a tea blend that would allow me to enjoy this taste all year long. Through much testing, we decided we liked the taste best on our organic green rooibos. And since the candy cane flavor is natural we were happy to be able to offer this organic herbal blend that will delight young and old alike.
It’s fabulous hot or iced (so yes you can enjoy it in the summer too!) and with no added sugar, this calorie free blend is sure to please. The aroma of the dry leaf is amazing – a definite mood booster – with its euphoric aroma of minty sweetness. When brewed, this herbal blend has a taste that is tingly, refreshing, and harkens me back to my childhood – or rather just last December….. The taste lingers delicately and deliciously on the tongue. A cup of this tea brings joy to our day and we hope it does the same for you!
Ingredients: Organic green Rooibos, natural candy cane flavor, organic stevia, and red and white organic cornflower petals.
Brew tea at 212º – steep for 5 minutes.
Caffeine free
Tasters Review:
Who made the rule we are only to enjoy Candy Canes during the Holidays? Certainly NOT I!
This smells and tastes like Candy Cane! I’m super excited S&V made this with a GREEN Rooibos Base…I don’t think I have had a Candy Cane Flavored GREEN Rooibos before so that’s cool!
There is that lovely candy cane flavor with a sweet green rooibos but there is also a hint of stevia in there and S&V did the Stevia RIGHT 🙂 Not by over doing it! YAY! The Red and White Cornflower petals are more for show, I think…but I am cool with that.
This is tasty! I’m partial because I am a MINT freak but I love this!
Apple Cinnamon Coffeecake from Simpson & Vail
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Simpson & Vail
Tea Description:
A new addition to our flavored tea line and already a huge hit with all of us here! This slightly sweet, scrumptious blend has a lightly toasted flavor with the delicious taste of apples and cinnamon. Sipping this tea reminds me of the Sunday morning breakfast treats of my childhood. Now that I’m all grown up I could have those treats every day of the week; however, I think I’ll stick to this tea blend instead. It’s full of the sinful tastes of childhood but, with no calories, it suits my adult metabolism!
Ingredients: Black teas, organic cinnamon chips, apple pieces, orange blossoms and flavoring.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This tea from Simpson & Vail is all things a flavored tea should be! There is no artificial flavor, the after taste is lingering and delightful, the flavor elements are perfectly bleneded. An all around excellent cup!
The aroma of this tea is something I can’t leave out of this review. It smells so good both in dry form and when steeped! The aroma fills the home and is a great way to scent your home without incense or candles, or that nasty artificial air freshener! My home smells like the holidays which is a lovely aroma anytime but especially this time of year!
I also want to mention the cinnamon in this blend. Often times cinnamon takes over a blend or is simply too spicy for some, the cinnamon in this tea is reminiscent of a cinnamon sugar cookie, sweet, not spicy. I love the way the cinnamon works in this tea.
The mouthfeel is slightly creamy and full. The color is a lovely festive orangish, brownish, red color.
Overall the flavor is sweet but not overly so, delicate on the spice notes, the apple is lovely in this tea, its quite fresh and delicious without coming over as a cider like tea. There is a wonderful baked goods flavor to the tea that again reminds me of cookies, christmas cookies. I think it is the toasted almonds that give off the baked goods flavor.
One could add some sugar or sweetener to this tea and it would hold up very well and give it an added dessert flavor.
I have been impressed thus far by Simpson & Vail teas although I would love to try more from them. I have only had their teas due to the generosity of others in tea trades but I look forward to making an order soon, perhaps after the holidays! For now, this sample is a wonderful treat for me while wrapping holiday gifts for others!
Strawberry Cupcake Black Tea from Simpson and Vail
Tea Type:
Black Tea
Where To Buy:
Simpson & Vail
Product Description:
Tasters Review:
I first tried this when I was in MAJOR need of some comfort food and let me tell you this sure did do the trick!
This flavored black tea has a strong black tea base. Followed by a strong Strawberry flavor. There’s also a dark chocolate flavor in there that is just as sturdy as the strawberry! There is a crusty type taste doing the jive in the middle of the sip. This has a slight bitter taste in parts of the sip but in a good way where it contributes to the overall flavor of this flavored black tea. As it cools it does seem to get a bit creamier…like frosting.
Comfort…in a cup…in more ways than one! YUM!
Toasted Nut Cafe Black Tea from Simpson & Vail
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Simpson & Vail
Tea Description:
For some people, desserts can only be served with coffee. For others, desserts and tea are perfectly complementary. With our Toasted Nut Café you don’t have to be one or the other! This blend combines black tea, almonds, coffee beans and flavors to produce a hearty cup that has a toasty coffee flavor. The black tea flavor comes through with the coffee and toasted nut flavors as an aftertaste. A perfect beverage to accompany a wide range of sweets: truffles, tortes, pies, cakes and more. Or enjoy as is or with a little sweetener and a dollop of cream.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I was a little nervous as well as excited to try this new tea. As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve had quite a tumultuous history with the coffee bean. There was a time when I really enjoyed coffee and drank it every morning, but, by about eleven in the morning I would start to feel sick to my stomach. It didn’t take too long for me to realize that it was my morning coffee habit that was causing the nausea, so, it was at that point that I switched to drinking tea. I don’t regret that switch, of course, because I have fallen deeper in love with tea than I ever felt for coffee.
But that being said, there are still times when I miss coffee. Specifically, I miss that bold, rich fragrance of coffee, and I do also miss the robust flavor – but not so much as I miss the aroma. Tea aroma is – of course – amazing, however, there is something that is very eye-opening about the smell of coffee. I miss that sometimes. But I certainly didn’t miss it this morning when I deeply inhaled the bouquet of this tea! It smells rich and delicious with notes of coffee and almond. The faintest smell of black tea is there too, but the coffee notes do overwhelm it just a bit.
My first thought when I smelled it was YUM! Then, thoughts of dismay came to me … what if this makes me sick just like coffee did. I know I’ve had this thought before with other coffee flavored teas, and I think that this will always be a worry whenever I encounter a coffee flavored tea. I guess, when a person goes through that … that always stays with them, right?
Anyway… after brewing, I took a tentative sip, but, was very pleased by the flavor. Yes, it tastes of coffee! Rich, bold coffee notes are the strongest that I taste, followed by a hint of toasted almond that sort of weaves its way through the sip, but is most noticeable toward the finish and in the aftertaste. The tea flavor is there too, and it adds a nice complexity to the cup. I find that this coffee-ish tea is much more flavorful than I remember my morning cup of coffee ever being – even when I’d splurge and indulge in a mocha! The tea really seems to bring out more of the complex notes with hints of dark cocoa, and a smooth earthiness.
Overall, the cup is rich, smooth, and delicious. There are hints of a savory bitterness from the coffee, a sweet undertone from the tea as well as the almond flavors, and a very roasty, toasty sort of feel that is invigorating. It’s really very good.
The word is still out on whether or not this will leave me feeling sick in an hour or two… but, after that time has lapsed I’ll come back and edit this post to add the update!
UPDATE: Well, it’s about four hours after finishing a cup of this tea, and I’ve experienced no nausea. Yay! A great alternative to those who need to steer away from coffee, but still want to experience that flavor every once in a while. This tea gets two enthusiastic thumbs up!
Chocolate Caramel Tea from Simpson & Vail
Tea Type: Black Tea
Where To Buy: Simpson & Vail
Product Description:
Two of my favorite tastes – chocolate and creamy caramel – meet in this delicious black tea blend. Let the sweet chocolate aroma awaken your senses while the rich, smooth chocolate taste, and buttery aftertaste, thrill your tastebuds.
Ingredients: black teas, cacao nibs, flavoring, and safflower petals.
Brew tea at 212º – steep for 3 minutes.
Tasters Review:
I know it seems that I have a major sweet tooth lately but I really don’t. It’s just that Simpson & Vail have all these new tea offerings and I can’t contain excitement! I really LOVE them all!
Chocolate Caramel Tea…need I say more? Buttery smooth but velvety caramel and chocolate! This is Really amazing! Nice! Many of you know I hate to use the term “mouth feel” but that’s the only way I can explain it! It has a nice mouth feel (I cringe every time I say it! LOL) and the flavor is amazing!