Simpson & Vail

I had this last night, and unfortunately I can barely remember what happened five minutes ago, let along a whole 15 hours ago. But I do remember some things about this tea. It was delicious. I did sweeten it, which brought out the sugary creaminess that was layered over the medium bodied black tea flavor. I loved this and will have it again.

Now this, I like. I have never had any other East Frisian so I can’t compare the quality of this to other companies.

I didn’t do it quite like the traditional method. I skipped the sugar but I did add the cream, though not in the same manner. First I tasted before adding cream. A nice malty tea but nothing super special. Add the cream and – Wow! What a change! Just a little bit of cream and this becomes excellent. Now I’ll have to go back and do it with the sugar just to see if it becomes even better!

Oh, and I should mention that this was a nice surprise sample included with my order. Whoever did the choosing did good. This was right up my alley. :)

Smells of peppermint. A pretty blend. The red and green does indeed look holiday-ey.

I don’t get any vanilla, though. Thankfully, I also get no rooibos. :) I was a bit nervous about ordering this because of the rooibos inclusion. While I like this, it won’t be a reorder. If I could taste the vanilla and peppermint both, I might. This is a decent black tea base.

Okay. Upon another tasting, I can smell a generic fruit smell. I still taste nothing fruity. Still a nice basic tea with a bit of maltiness but I’m going to lower my rating a bit to reflect that I’m not tasting any of the flavors in the description.

Hm. Reading the other reviews and refreshing my memory about the description of this tea, I think I’ll hold off on a final verdict here. Tried this tonight. No fruit smell of any kind to the dry leaf. I did see small flowers in this so I assume I got the correct tea. :) A smell of malt and a hint of earth maybe. Steeped is about the same smell. It is a nice color of amber and the taste is smooth and relatively mellow. A nice overall cup, but again, not even the barest hint of fruit of any kind. Maybe it’s me, though I’m not sick (that I know of) and other things today and this evening have tasted as I expected them to. I will try this again tomorrow and see if I can find what others are tasting!

I am thrilled with the idea of a red velvet tea. The Republic of Tea developed their own red velvet blend a long time ago and I remember being so excited to buy a tin. That tea wasn’t too strong on red velvet flavor and left me hunting for a new red velvet blend.
Imagine my surprise when I discovered this tea on Steepster. Thanks to momo I was able to sample this tea. Thank you!

This tea smells like rooibos and creamy chocolate. Sipping.. it’s really, really yummy. I taste the nicest blend of rooibos and chocolate. The chocolate mixes so well with the rooibos. It’s almost a bit like baking chocolate in the way that it leaves your tongue a little dry. The raspberry notes are at the end of the sip. They add a nice tartness to the woody, milk chocolate. Yes, this definitely beats any other red velvet tea I’ve tried in the past. I only wish that there could be more of that distinctive crumbly, moist red velvet cake flavor.

This tea isn’t super sweet, but still manages to satisfy my sweet tooth for the night. It’s not my perfect red velvet tea, but it’s an awfully good chocolate rooibos tea.

Very noticeable grape scent from the steeped tea. Seems lightly sweet though there is no sweetener in the blend and I added none. I know that true currants do not come from grapes but the grape smell and taste is so distinct as to make me wonder if dried currants were used in this blend because I think most dried currants do come from grapes – Black Corinth grapes.

A very enjoyable blend. I may have to keep this one on hand.

Thanks to Jim at Simpson & Vail, for sending me a free sample of this tea.

It’s amazing that the dry leaf smells just like chocolate and the tea while it’s brewing is really sweet and malty smelling!

Unfortunately the tea itself was not really to my liking – it is pungent and bitter and required a lot of soymilk to mellow it out. I definitely prefer a more mellow assam – sorry S & V. :(

Both the loose “leaf” and the liquor have a scent that’s mostly rooibos with a hint of some kind of generic sweetness. The taste is a bit more interesting; I’m not sure I’d call it similar to red velvet cake, but it’s definitely cake-y and I can taste the hint of cacao and raspberry, and there’s a nice even balance between the base and the flavoring. I’m not in love with it, but it’s the best dessert rooibos I’ve tried (although to be frank, I don’t think rooibos and sweet tastes are really made for each other).

Well i’m all out of the Kasmir Rose blend by Simpson and Vail so today I added some of my own cardamom to this and the taste is pretty similar. Who would have thought that roses and cardamom would be such a good combination? yum

Second rose-y tea of the day in honor of Valentine’s Day. This is a solid black tea with a subtle rose and sweetness. It isn’t the most overpowering Rose Congou I’ve had but it is good and relaxing.

It’s definitely been a weird day because I went back to the doctor and I need to stay at home for another 4 weeks due to my broken arm. My anxiety levels have shot through the roof because I cannot really afford this. At least I don’t have to buy more tea anytime soon. :-/

Tea of the afternoon here – I did jivamukti yoga this morning and am going to restorative yoga tonight. Pretty impressive for someone with a fractured finger but I did have to modify some of the standing poses.

Anyway this is a really nice rose congou but I’ve had it for a while and haven’t been drinking it fast enough (story of my life). I think it has lost a bit of the rose flavor. Someday I should try this as an iced tea.

Rose Congou… ahh

This is a great afternoon tea, I must say. The smell of the roses is very soothing and relaxing. I steeped it for 4 minutes and got a dark cuppa, which is very smooth and a tad bit malty. The rose is present but not overpowering, at all. I am glad I got a 4 oz. tin of this, I think it will be a new favorite. :)

Tea of the afternoon here, jasmine isn’t typically a favorite of mine so I’m not sure why I bought this – ha ha. I did finish off the ounce I had and as far as jasmines go, this is pretty nice. More natural tasting and less bitter than some I’ve had.

This is a lovely jasmine tea, I don’t usually go for jasmine but somehow I was in the mood for this tonight and I wanted to have a relaxing evening.

This is a really lovely cuppa – slightly fruity, smooth and even a bit sweet. The jasmine smells great and is not too soapy or perfumey. I steeped this in the gaiwan for 30 seconds and had 3 steeps of it like this.

So tonight I think I am staying at home to read Jane Eyre and I might have a few more cups of this. I know that’s kind of boring but I have a long day tomorrow with an all day ink painting workshop, tea and then meditation! wheee!

Finally! A satisfying tea today!
Thank you Amanda!!!
This is a well flavored tea – you can still taste the base in it – its not cloyingly sweet but it is sweet – taste like what it is supposed to – without a scummy oily layer on the top of the liquid!
Whew!
I like this one!

Tea of the morning here – I love this assam so it is a bummer that Simpson & Vail is not going to carry it anymore. I guess this will be the excuse I need to go look for a new assam!

Tea of the morning here, I love this assam, too bad S & V is discontinuing it. I slept in late today, post-Thanksgiving and I feel like I don’t need to eat for a week! Happy Holidays! :)

Recently I ran out of assam so I decided it was time for me to place an order with Simpson & Vail for some more black teas. :)

I went to their website a few days ago after getting my order and this tea is no longer there. I wrote and they told me they wouldn’t be getting anymore because the price would have almost tripled. Maybe I got the last of it, I don’t know.

This is really a lovely assam, though. Sometimes they can be a bit on the bitter of “winey” side but this is luscious and smooth. It has a slight floral nose and the flavors are definitely of malt and a dark European bread, perhaps of pumpernickel origin. I added some soymilk and it is delicious that way, but I can also drink it plain which is unusual for an assam. I’m a bit sad I won’t be getting any more, this stuff is great!

Back at work already… sigh

This is a nice cuppa! Did you make any New Year’s resolutions? To drink more tea, perhaps?

This was the whole reason for me ordering again from S & V – this is a great morning breakfast blend! see previous notes.

I had two cups of it this morning so far… I know this tea will not last me very long at the rate I am going. It’s so good!

This is a delicious blend of black teas, I got this one for the office and to drink in the morning. It is fairly bold and hefty, there’s definitely some malty assam in here but I’m also getting a nice fruitiness which makes me wonder if there’s a ceylon in here, perhaps a keemun?

This is really delightful with a splash of soymilk, which is the way I will be drinking it. I did try a sip of it plain and it didn’t seem too bitter at all. Great breakfast/morning tea and even better than I was hoping it would be. Highly recommend it this if you like this type of tea.