Edgar Allan Poe's Black Tea Blend

Tea type
Black Herbal Pu'erh Blend
Ingredients
Not available
Flavors
Bergamot, Cream, Earl Grey, Earthy, Smoke, Wet Wood, Campfire, Earth, Tart
Sold in
Loose Leaf
Caffeine
Medium
Certification
Kosher
Edit tea info Last updated by Cameron B.
Average preparation
Boiling 4 min, 15 sec 7 oz / 206 ml

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9 Tasting Notes View all

  • “A smokey Earl Grey? I’m in! This blend was the perfect amount of smokey swirled with a nearly perfect Earl grey with bits of beetroot to give it a blood red color, or a bright hot pink as a latte!” Read full tasting note
    90
  • “Part of the Literary Tea Collection Gift Box I bought a while ago. I have to say, reading the ingrediants and descriptions, this is not something I would purchase. I had a friend over the other day...” Read full tasting note
    89
  • “Love the tin, so I picked this one up from positive reviews, description, and yes the tin (I have a small Edgar Allan Poe and Raven thing) Happy to say I actually really enjoyed the tea. Pleasant...” Read full tasting note
    93
  • “Sipdown! Sometimes the last cup ends up being mediocre at best, usually because I didn’t plan ahead and either have just a little too much or not quite enough tea leaf to make a single cup. This...” Read full tasting note
    86

From Simpson & Vail

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 Pu’erh 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, pu’erh tea, lapsang souchong tea, beetroot and bergamot oil.

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9 Tasting Notes

90
246 tasting notes

A smokey Earl Grey? I’m in! This blend was the perfect amount of smokey swirled with a nearly perfect Earl grey with bits of beetroot to give it a blood red color, or a bright hot pink as a latte!

Flavors: Bergamot, Cream, Earl Grey, Earthy, Smoke, Wet Wood

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 30 sec

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89
231 tasting notes

Part of the Literary Tea Collection Gift Box I bought a while ago. I have to say, reading the ingrediants and descriptions, this is not something I would purchase. I had a friend over the other day who had shared in the disappointing experience with the Banana Bread Chai. I offered him a cup of tea and said I wanted to open a new tea. It was a gloomy night and Poe seemed appropriate. There was a party going on around us but we both were pleased with the tea and loved that it was a reddish hue (Tell-tale Heart Style, we thought).
Today is my second tasting of the tea. This time, it’s morning, and generally when I’m able to play on Steepster. I may have steeped it a minute or 2 more than recommended but it didn’t seem to ruin the cup. I love the earthiness and smoke flavors, which is something I didn’t ever think I would say. I don’t think this is a tea I would drink every day but it is one I definitely would repurchase and enjoy. Especially on a gloomy November day when winter is creeping closer.

Flavors: Campfire, Earthy, Smoke

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 30 sec 1 tsp 6 OZ / 177 ML
gmathis

It’s too dry here to be good Poe weather just yet, but that sounds absolutely appropriate.

Lupiressmoon

I love this one too, have a tin of it. Sometimes its better than other times (odd, I know), but I drink it quite a bit as one of my main go-to teas.

tea-sipper

I have a tin of it too!

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93
292 tasting notes

Love the tin, so I picked this one up from positive reviews, description, and yes the tin (I have a small Edgar Allan Poe and Raven thing)

Happy to say I actually really enjoyed the tea. Pleasant all-around black tea with a silky feel. Not bitter, strongly flavorful. Dropped in a cube of sugar. Would go well as a breakfast tea or if you do want a splash of milk. I oversteeped it the first time and it wasn’t bitter despite this. It is not strongly smokey, so if you do not like smokey teas, this description note shouldn’t be a big deal. I like smokey tea myself, and Earl Greys, so blending that with a subtle black tea and oddly beet note was a treat.

Second steep even better. I steeped from the same leaves at 5 minutes exactly. Oddly as this tea cools even more flavors come out of it, well rounded tea. Hopefully I still enjoy it as much when I drink more of it.

Preparation
Boiling 5 min, 15 sec 1 tsp 5 OZ / 147 ML
tea-sipper

Glad there is another fan of this blend out there! It’s one of the rare teas I have a tin for.

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86
2170 tasting notes

Sipdown! Sometimes the last cup ends up being mediocre at best, usually because I didn’t plan ahead and either have just a little too much or not quite enough tea leaf to make a single cup. This last cup is just as delicious as all the rest and confirms that this blend needs to be on my next order with Simpson & Vail, no question.

Flavors: Smoke

Preparation
Boiling 5 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 6 OZ / 177 ML

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70
961 tasting notes

Samurai TTB #31

I’ve been LOVING The London Tea Room’s “Churchill” blend, which is a smoky Earl Grey, so I was excited when I realized this was a similar blend. While I do enjoy the combination of the lapsang souchong and bergamot, the addition of puerh and beetroot add an earthiness to the scent and a tartness to the aftertaste that mar the experience for me. (Though I do appreciate how appropriate the red color is to the author who inspired the blend!) Overall, not a favorite like I hoped, but I’m still glad I got to try it!

Flavors: Bergamot, Earth, Smoke, Tart

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 12 OZ / 354 ML

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1233 tasting notes

Didn’t know what I was getting myself into when I chose this one. It is a sample from a friend. Mr. Poe, if you were alive today I wonder if this would be your tea of choice? Based on his work one would think a dark, earthy, and thought-provoking blend such as this would be exactly the thing but I feel he would surprise us with a white tea or some such. For those who are fans of his ‘darker’ works, this will quench your thirst while adding a 4th dimension to his story. I personally do not like Lapsang but I appreciate that the pu erh stands out enough to tame it a bit. Every tea deserves a try, even if it has an ingredient you don’t fancy. I’ve decided not to give it a rating since Lapsang isn’t my thing.

Shae

That’s a fun idea, matching authors or other famous historical figures with the teas they might have enjoyed. I don’t know much about Edgar Allen Poe as a person, but it sounds like this blend would be perfect while reading one of his stories. I really love this descriptive note!

Mastress Alita

I’ve always been sad that S&V doesn’t offer ALL their author blends in sampler sizes. As a librarian, I’d totally try them all if they did, but I have no interest in 4 oz. tins.

Cameron B.

I thought about getting the literary sampler with my order, but I already had so many other things and it didn’t make the cut this time. :P

Mastress Alita

But even the literary sampler doesn’t include all the author blends in it. :-(

tea-sipper

If my sampler was fresh, I would totally send you some samples of them! But like you said, not all of the literary teas are included… which S&V should really remedy.

Cameron B.

It’s odd that they don’t offer the literary and National Parks teas in 2-ounce pouches…

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439 tasting notes

I really want to like this blend, but to me I taste the bergamont more than the Lapsang . I’m not a big fan of bergamont so that makes this blend not so tasty to me. I like smoky teas, so in sips where the LS comes through, this blend is okay. It seems like a missed opportunity to get a more balanced blend, and actually taste the beetroot or the puerh which, to me, seem more Poe than bergamont or LS (which seem rather ordinary for an author like Poe). I like the second steeping better than the first, but it still has too much bergamont and not enough other flavors for my taste.

Flavors: Bergamot, Smoke

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85
4170 tasting notes

I’ve had a tin of this but haven’t reviewed it yet. Now is the time! Any tea named after the morbid Poe must be blood red, and thanks to beet root, this is a mighty red cup. I love that touch. Poe is a mix of ripe pu-erh, lapsang souchong black tea, bergamot and beet root. The black tea seems to hide under the pu-erh, but the pu-erh isn’t overwhelming. Immediately on opening the tin, the smokiness makes itself known. But I love a smokey tea once in while and this just fits with Poe anyway. Really this entire blend is perfect for Poe. The classic bergamot mellows out the not-too-strong smokiness. Both black tea and ripe pu-erh seem essential for Poe. So for the creativeness for a Poe blend, this gets an A+. Not to mention the blend is very unique and very tasty. This is very worthy of having an entire tin of.
Steep #1 // 2 teaspoons for a full mug// 10 minutes after boiling // 3 minute steep
Steep #2 // few minutes after boiling // 5 minute steep

Kaylee

Sounds like a very apro-poe blend.

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