Whenever I try out a Simpson & Vail blend, I know that I’m in for a treat. With the last days of summer upon us, I wanted to try Pomegranate Passion White Tea as an iced tea.
Scooped a few heap fulls into my pitcher, poured in fresh cold water, and a cup full of ice. Placed the pitcher into the fridge and allowed the tea to cold brew overnight. It was fun to see all of the gorgeous colors swirling around in the pitcher while it steeped. The pops of yellow and purple made this tea just holler “Summertime!”
The next morning I poured this cold brew tea into a tumbler with fresh ice. First sip in and this is the way this tea is supposed to be brewed!
Fresh vibrant complimentary flavors of white floral tea notes, hibiscus, and pomegranate said hello as I tried the tea. Each sip finished off with a sweet almost tropical feel that I’m assuming is coming from the passion fruit. Lovely, elegant, and the perfect tea to enjoy poolside or at the park.
Overall, I don’t think this is heavy on the tropical flavors like the description says but there are definitely notes and tones throughout each sip that make you like tropical and sunshine. To me this tea is blended perfectly and with just the right amount of tartness to keep the sweetness in check. White floral sweet notes and the passion fruit just kick this tea to the next level.
One of those teas that you are sad when your tea spoon hits the bottom of the pouch. Truly a tea that I could have pounds of and I still wouldn’t be sick of it.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: White
Where to buy: Simpson & Vail
Description:
Sweet and delicious! This blend of natural pomegranate and passion fruit flavors has a heady, tropical aroma that transforms perfectly into the taste in the cup. This extraordinary pink brew can be enjoyed either hot or iced.
Ingredients: White tea, organic hibiscus flowers, marigold petals, malva flowers and natural pomegranate and natural passion fruit flavors.
Brew: 2 tsp tea in 8 oz. water (at 175°), steep for 4 minutes.
Learn more about this tea and tea company here!
Eden Oolong Tea from TOCHA Tea
Eden Oolong from TOCHA Tea – I LOVE the name and the tea isn’t too shabby either. This tea is organic loose leaf inside sheer sachets. I can clearly see all of the plump ingredients in each bag. Once steeped the oolong leaves a nice lighter glowing golden hue in the cup!
Eden Oolong from TOCHA Tea is please on the nose and on the taste buds! It’s a florally-sweet flavor that is mild and pretty. It leave no specific aftertaste which I love. This makes a decent iced tea as well. I have to say I am pretty impressed with this tea!
I have to say I’m also LOVING the tea tin that Eden Oolong from TOCHA Tea came in. The labels are beautiful. Each tea flavor and offering have various colors flowing on the tea tin label that a dreamer like me could easily get lost in. The colors swim together like a watercolor painting! This tea puts a smile on my face!
Here’s the Scoop!
Leaf Type: Oolong Tea
Where to Buy: TOCHA Tea
Description:
Escape into a luxuriant garden with this fresh, lively blend of delightful oolong tea and the finest botanicals. This elegant, harmonious infusion eases body and mind, supporting a fit and trim physique while putting a blissful smile on your face.
Fresh, fragrant, enlivened by the sweet and floral aromas
Ingredients
Organic Whole Leaf Oolong Tea (China), Organic Lotus Leaf (China), Organic Whole Leaf Jasmine Green Tea (China), Organic Rose Petals (France), Organic Osmanthus Flowers (China)
Learn more about this tea and tea company here.
J’aime Caramel White Tea from Shanti Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White Tea
Where to Buy: Shanti Tea
Tea Description:
This flavored white tea is no longer available on the Shanti Tea website but I thought it was still worth a mention.
Taster’s Review:
Eventho J’aime Caramel White Tea from Shanti Tea is no longer available for purchase on their company website I thought it was still worth a mention. My first encounter with this tea was about 5 years ago and I knew awhile ago at some point the last of my stash would come to an end and it would be a sad, sad day. That day has come.
I don’t think I have ever had another caramel flavored white tea but even if I did this one would be hard to beat. It has that floral flavor that some white teas have but it also has a hardy caramel flavor to it too! The two flavors paired together work oddly well together. This tea is incredible smooth, sweet, floral, and a bit savory, too!
With the loss of this flavored white tea there appears to be a gap in the market. So if any of those creative tea companies out there are trying to think of a new flavor offering in their catalog – may I suggest a caramel flavored white? It’s shockingly tasty!
White Cherry from Tea and Absinthe
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Tea and Absinthe
Tea Description:
Ingredients: white tea China Pai Mu Tan, green tea Darjeeling, green tea China -Fog Tea, -Lung Ching, -Jasmine Jade Pearls, cherries, coconut chips (coconut, coconut fat, sugar), flavor, rose buds
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
A couple weekends ago, my hubby and I had an amazing experience at St Louis’s Wizard World. My hubby had bought me a Doctor Who VIP package where I had my picture take with and met David Tennant and Billie Piper. I was crazy excited since they are two of my favorite Doctor Who characters and arguable the most iconic. While wondering around the convention, I stumbled upon a tea shop. I couldn’t believe it. Not going to lie, I think I squealed a little. It was a pretty neat set up and I couldn’t wait to check all of the teas out. I picked up a few and have started to finally dive into them.
Let’s start off with saying this tea is gorgeous to look at. Huge roses, cherries, gorgeous tea leaves. . .everything you would want to see in a tea, this has it. The dry leaf mixture has a lovely sweet floral smell. One that I couldn’t want to steep up.
While steeping this tea, I could definitely still smell the same sweet smell with a hint of an almost kool aid smell as well. Not offensive at all. Almost made this tea a bit more appealing. I was in the mood for a sweeter fruity tea.
I brewed this up per the package instructions, and about 4 minutes later, I was pouring the tea into my Doctor Who mug. The smell of the tea had a lovely almost bakery smell to it with a fruity sweetness. This is one of those smells that actually makes you hungry!
I allowed the tea to cool for a few and took my first sip. In the words of Doctor Who “Hello Sweetie”! This tea is incredible and a taste profile/experience I can’t say I’ve ever had before. And that is pretty crazy to say. I drink a crazy variety of teas each and every day and am always looking for something new. I can’t believe I have never came across a tea like this before.
Each flavor comes thru. You can pick up the flora white notes, the distinct Darjeeling touches, a rich buttery green tea base, with a lovely jasmine hint here and there. Throw in the sweet robust cherry (almost Kool-Aid like) flavor with hints of coconut all surrounding by again another sweet floral touch and you have yourself one amazingly complex tea. The tea isn’t so sweet that it is overpowering. I think the green tea and Darjeeling go a long way to tame the crazy sweet flavors down and bring a bit more vegetal feel to the tea. In just about every other sip you get a nice tart almost wine like flavor.
I am insanely impressed with this tea and can not wait to see how many infusions this tea will provide. I’m also excited to try this as a lovely cold brew tea. Especially for the summertime. I bet this tea will make a marvelous iced tea!
Really well done! If you haven’t checked out this tea company before, I encourage you too. So far I have had two of the 5 blends that I picked up from them and I’m impressed with both.
Nepal – Aarubotay Plum Tree Gardens White Tea Organic from Simpson & Vail
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White Tea
Where to Buy: Simpson & Vail
Tea Description:
Located 6000 feet above sea level, in the misty hills of Pashupatinagar, Ilam, is this family owned Organic (EU) and ISO certified garden. The teas grown here are some of the most interesting and spectacular teas that will tempt your taste buds into new levels of enjoyment. This garden is the first one in Nepal to use the technology, machinery and expertise available from Japan. The Aarubotay tea bushes are a combination of Japanese, Chinese and clonal varieties that produce the best of Nepalese teas. Try some today and, from the first smell of the dry leaf to the taste of the brewed tea, you will be convinced that this family has achieved success!
These over 1 inch long, pale white, downy tipped gray-green leaves brew to a pure white liquor and a sweet, delicate apricot cup. It truly is unlike any other white tea that we’ve tasted!
Brew: 2- 4 minutes @ 158-167ºF. Multiple infusions are possible.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I have always been a fan of Simpson & Vail. Their customer service is top notch and their teas are fresh and delicious. A great company to pick up a few blends from for sure!
This particular tea sounded amazing from the description and I couldn’t wait to try it. I brewed it up per the instructions above and couldn’t wait to try this tea.
I will admit, I had to allow this tea to cool but I think that just deepened the flavors. I will admit the flavors of this tea remind me of a black tea. There are definite similar notes with a slight maltiness but in that maltiness is a sweet yet floral flavor that sings. A crisp white flavor that really hits that note that gives you that warming feeling inside. Really lovely and one that you could sip on each and every day and not get tired of it.
This tea gives you the best of all worlds. The richness notes that give black tea that umph with a delicate side as well. This may be my new to go tea in the morning! I could see this being pretty fabulous for my commute into the office.