Simpson & Vail
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I bought this a while ago now, but the flavor seems like it’s staying consistently vague since I bought it. I’ve been trying it with different steeping parameters and I think I’ve found the right way to brew it now. Two teaspoons for a full mug with a very short steep and cooler water makes the flavors pop better than if I just try to oversteep the tea on the first cup. I’ve found one minute steeps work best on teas with subtle flavoring, especially if there are not really any additional ingredients other than flavoring. Honestly, it would be difficult to make a tea taste like Salty Caramel Pumpkin with flavoring alone and that is what this is. Black tea and flavoring. Like possibly the flavoring was added to a tea, it was taste tested, and someone were asked to think up a name for it… it MIGHT be “salty caramel pumpkin”? It’s tough to tell what this tastes like otherwise. There is a hint of salt, sweetness, and maybe the savoriness of a pumpkin, but only if you’re really trying to reach. Raisins in the second cup when it’s cooled. I like the depth of the black tea – it’s comforting with these flavors in autumn. But I will definitely be steeping this tea like this in the future. Both steeps had equal amounts of flavor. Otherwise, any longer than one minute and it starts tasting like plain black tea.
Steep #1 // 2 teaspoons for full mug // 22 minutes after boiling // 1 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 3 minute steep
Also, how did I forget to mention? It’s The Morning News Tournament of Books Super Rooster time! Already in the thick of it. For any bookish fans… I’ve been following this for years and now the WINNERS are competing against each other. This is a highlight of a dismal year, for sure: https://themorningnews.org/tob/superrooster/welcome-to-the-super-rooster.php Yes, I have read all sixteen winners.
STTB Tea
I took a few cups worth of this out of the box before I mailed it off.
I’m not too impressed with this blend, but I’m glad I could try it before I order from S&V (which will be a long time from now…why do I end up with more teas that I started with every time I do a sipdown challenge?) I like rooibos, but I find most fruity rooibos blends are overpowered by the rooibos and there isn’t much in the way of realistic fruit flavour to come through. This blend has some little cubes of dried fruit (maybe mango, it is lightly yellow, almost clear) but the fresh fruit flavour just isn’t there. I couldn’t make out the papaya, but I did get some fruity (generic) and some mango notes. I had to concentrate to distinguish it as mango.
Oddly enough, the hot cup had more distinct fruit flavours while the coldbrew was mostly rooibos. This is the opposite of what usually happens for me with rooibos blends.
Overall, not a bad cup but nothing that stands out from the many other fruity rooibos blends in my cabinet. The fruit flavours aren’t strong enough (or perhaps the red rooibos wasn’t a great choice for the base – I could see this working out with a green rooibos)
Flavors: Fruity, Mango, Mineral, Rooibos, Wood
Preparation
Oh man, I would love if this had a green rooibos base!
Agreed! I’m fine with red rooibos hot, but for some reason when I try icing it, I then get a “cough syrup” note from it (especially if it is paired with fruity flavors). But I LOVE icing/cold steeping green rooibos, which I don’t have such issues with! I actually prefer fruity flavors on green rooibos than red for that reason.
I think I must have ordered this a while ago, but the flavor seems like it’s holding up anyway. I’m always searching for that perfect vanilla tea. The description says the base tea is from China and Sri Lanka. To me, it tastes like Ceylon, for some reason especially on the first sips I can taste distinct notes of the black tea but then the flavoring tends to take over and hide the black tea. (Or since it’s from China it might be S&V’s China black I don’t really like that also tastes like Ceylon to me?) I kept trying this with one teaspoon, and I didn’t prefer it that way — then I tried it with two teaspoons and that was plenty more flavor while also not being too astringent. The resteep is also fairly flavorful. I’m also not sure how this is different from S&V’s “Vanilla black”. What makes French vanilla different? Not sure. But I haven’t tried their “Vanilla black” blend, so I can’t say. This still isn’t my ideal vanilla flavor (what is, at this point?) and there is no actual vanilla pieces here, but I’m glad the flavoring is lasting this long. And I can actually tell the flavor is actually aiming for vanilla with two teaspoons, when sometimes with other vanilla teas, I can’t even tell.
Steep #1 // 2 teaspoons for full mug // 22 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 3 1/2 minute steep
An interesting sounding green tea, mainly because it is a rare tea from South Korea. The dry leaf has a mix of sizes and the aroma of some kind of fresh vegetable. The brew is BRIGHT neon green but cloudy- cloudy with all those nutrients, I would imagine. The flavor is almost like, blindfolded, I would guess that it is a cup of matcha and that surely doesn’t usually happen with all the green teas I taste, or really any of them that aren’t specifically matcha. So if you want the flavor of matcha, without actually drinking a cup of matcha, here you go. Otherwise, there is a hint of beans yet something fruity hiding in there. But mostly it tastes like matcha. Very fresh and lovely on a day when I’m physically feeling cruddy. Quite good – bright in color and flavor and reinvigorating. Better than I expected!
Steep #1 // 1 1/4 teaspoons for full mug // 35 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // 43 minutes after boiling // 2 1/2 minute steep
Samuari TTB Tea
This is a standard black tea, sometimes similar to what I keep in my tea cupboard at all times. The tea is described as “well rounded” on the package, which I think is accurate. Some dark chocolate (cocoa) notes, some mineral/wet rock (Earthy?) tones, a good amount of tannin. No bitterness. The brew is fairly thick, but not sweet. Certainly a lovely, reliable tea for when you don’t feel like anything fancy.
Flavors: Cocoa, Dark Chocolate, Mineral, Tannin
Preparation
I thought I would try this herbal blend with my last order. S&V has quite a few Yoga blends which is a fun name, because I would never do yoga, especially publicly (I shudder to think at how this appeals to anyone — but to each their own!) I don’t think this is the Yoga that S&V means anyway. The nine Yoga blends focus on certain Chakras. ‘Shanti’ means ‘peace’. In my mind, “peace” means this blend should be calming and peaceful and reduce anxiety. It seems I need it now more than ever, especially for anxiety, especially for these times. A large mix of ingredients here (copied from the description): Birch Bark, Rosehips, Organic Cinnamon Bark, Orange Peel, Organic Cacao Nibs, Eleuthero Root, Damiana Leaf, Pau d’arco, Organic Spearmint Leaf, Cloves, Sarsaparilla, Organic Ginger & Organic Peppermint. It seems like a bunch of earthy ingredients, but the flavor is fairly pleasant. Mostly I’m tasting the sarsaparilla, with hints of mint, cloves and cinnamon. A fifteen minute second steep results in a depth flavor similar to the first steep, surprisingly none stronger. It seems like a thoughtful mix of ingredients. Did the tea bring me peace? I’m not sure if anything can. I try. Maybe if I mix all nine of the Chakra blends together and drink them at the same time? I’ll drink this blend anyway — maybe it helps some. Wishing everyone health and happiness.
Steep #1 // 1 1/2 teaspoons for full mug // 17 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 15 minute steep
It sounds earthy, warming, slightly stimulating and a bit astringent in the body. Grounding, not necessarily peaceful. May I interest you in a homemade blend? Health and happiness to you as well, tea-sipper.
I scoffed at doing yoga for the better part of my life. When I finally tried it, I spent the first 30 minutes of the class annoyed with intense inner chatter going on like a brass band. Then that chatter stopped and it was all I could do to just breathe and hold a pose. As someone with severe ADD/dyslexia (don’t ask me to tell left from right!), it was wonderful to be able to be mentally present and in the moment for a good part of the class. So-not pushing you to try yoga at all, just putting in my 2 cents.
My husband and I started with Healing Yoga for Aches and Pains from Amazon. It was free with prime and another by the same couple called Yoga for Common Conditions could be rented. We eventually learned the harder versions of each pose as well as some additional ones and now we go through streaks of doing it regularly. I need to get back to it. Yoga with a pot of tea on a warmer , sipped between sets while soothing music plays, is so peaceful and really helps me.
White Antlers – no ADHD here that I know of, but I have controlled mirror dysgraphia! I started out writing everything in a mirror image but learned to do it the normal way. I am a lefty and it happens to us more due to random lateralization. I can get really confused if I write backward “for fun” much.
ashmanra-That is so interesting! And what a unique talent! I was born a lefty but in that era, kids were leaned on very hard to use their right hands. We were told back then by parents and teachers that ‘life is very hard for left handed people.’ WHAT?!
No one ever addressed learning disabilities like dyslexia then, either. I was humiliated often by my teachers for not being able to do math (dyscalculia) and for my poor fine (writing) and gross motor skills. My handwriting is dreadful to the point where sometimes I can’t even read it after I’ve taken down a note or phone number. When I was in my 50s, I sought pharmaceutical treatment for the ADD but can’t tolerate stimulants like Ritalin and the off label stuff was completely useless. Yoga really does calm my mind and allow me to focus-at least while I’m doing it. Right now, it’s way too hot but I am looking forward to getting back into my practice come cooler weather.
White Antlers – I was very fortunate. There was no kindergarten here when I was growing up, except for private school which we couldn’t afford. My first grade teacher was fresh out of college and ready to tackle her class with modern methods. I was allowed to continue using my left hand. She told my mother to watch me write and gently remind me to go in the other direction. Since I did both without preference, it just became natural.
Now my cursive backward looks like a child learning cursive because I never really practiced it, but my manuscript writing backward is fine.
I am divided hand-wise. My fine motor skills are all left, and my major motor skills are right. I bowl and bat right handed – not that I ever bowl or bat – I play guitar right handed. I paint a wall right handed but paint a picture lefthanded.
I am sorry you did not have a good school experience.That is so disheartening for a child when it should be utterly magical!
Look how awesome you turned out!
WHOA, I’m loving this conversation. Learning all about mirror dysgraphia and math dyslexia, which cripe, I probably have math dyslexia. :X
White Antlers and Ashmanra – Thank you for your experience with yoga. I figured some around these parts probably practiced yoga. I do like hearing about previous expectations and opinions being flipped around anyway, Antlers. :D
DERK – This blend isn’t astringent at all, even with a 15 minute steep! Thank you for the well wishes and the offer of the homemade blend! I would love to try it, but I feel like the package you sent me is still very recent! Maybe we will remember the blend for a later package?
Last teabox black, from the Discovery Teabox, so thank you to Skysamurai for organizing and all who participated and shared teas in the teabox! (All I have left now are some very old teabox pu’erhs from the very last Here’s Hoping Teabox… and since pu’s aren’t my favorite, I’ve continued to sort of… uh… “let them age”? Hahaha.) Another floral tea, so of course I wanted to try it! Scooped a teaspoon (CBA to weigh this morning), 3 minute steep, 350ml of 205F water for my work thermos. Brewed to accompany my two pieces of toast with marmalade and then take to work with me.
This is a strongly lavender black tea. The florality isn’t perfumy but has a bit of a herbaceous bite, and that is with a short 3 minute steep (I bet any longer and it would’ve gone very bitter, as lavender in high quantities tends to do that easily). This is probably stronger in lavender than any Lavender Earl Grey I’ve ever had… but then, maybe the bergamot is cutting through the lavender some in those cases. I like lavender, but omph, it is very heady here, and if I knew it would be this strong, I would’ve prepared this as a latte (I love me some lavender milk). As a bonified, 100% loves-all-things-lavender fan, and even I feel this tastes like a little too much, I think the blend could’ve either done with a) a little less lavender in the ratio or b) a stronger black base to compensate. I’m really not able to pick out any particular notes from the base black tea against the lavender. That said… the base tea is supposed to be apricot-flavored?! I think that was what interested me the most about this blend, as apricot plus lavender sounded like an absolute win of a flavor combo. But I do not taste any apricot at all! That’s a bit disappointing too. Who knows, maybe it is in there, but with the lavender being so strong, there is just no way to taste it…
I added a teaspoon of honey and a dash of lemon juice to the cup to add a bit of a mellowing effect against the strength of the lavender, and that was actually quite pleasant (I somehow always forget additives are there to save an otherwise meh cup!) I will probably continue that going forward with future cups, or go with the latte idea, since the milky/vanilla flavor will help compliment/cut through the lavender flower as well.
Not one of Simpson & Vail’s florals that I would purchase (it’s no Violet Black!) as without the novelty of the apricot with the lavender, I can easily add lavender buds to any black tea myself, and then control the propotions more to my taste. Definitely glad I got the chance to sample this first, since it’s the sort of thing I probably would’ve bought for myself and then been a bit disappointed that it wasn’t what I really wanted. Thanks so much for the sample, tea_sipper!
Flavors: Floral, Herbaceous, Lavender
Preparation
Yeah, nevermind the puerh. :D
I’m not ignoring the pu’erh, I’m aging it! :-D
Mastress Alita Me too! That’s why I haven’t been drinking or posting about any pu’erh tea. The last one I tried recently was White2Tea’s If your reading this it’s too late. I think it still needs to rest a bit.
It was kinda a joke, Kawaii, hahaha. Every pu I’ve tried thus far tastes like dirt or swamp water to me, and I haven’t liked it, so I’m kinda “putting off” drinking them. I’m just “rebranding” the “putting it off” as “aging them” :-P
A clean but bitter tea. It does have a bit of a malt grain red fruit flavor when the tea is still hot. It gets pretty bitter as it cools. It’s not organic but I think the growers didnt use too much pesticides. Pretty good overall wouldn’t buy again. Medium high caffiene.
Preparation
I thought this tea was complex but had a mild flavours overall. I got a biscuit citrus taste. Also a honey flavor with a hint of plums. Fairly brisk. I think the tea would have been great if it was fresher.
Preparation
Great Steepster Freeze of 2020 Review #1 (08/02/20)
Only two black teas left from my teabox stash, so I’m working through my sipdowns steadily! This came from the Discovery Teabox, so thanks to Skysamurai for organizing and all who contributed! I love floral teas, but have never had violet before, so I was definitely curious about trying this one!
I made my 5g sampler as a small 500ml pot of tea, western style, 205F for a 3 minute steep for breakfast. The aroma of the dry leaf is very interesting, a strong and sweet floral aroma, which comes out just as strongly in the steeped tea. It smells sort of like a candied or soda sweetness (though none I’ve ever had). It’s… really good! Easily on par for me with rose and lavender flavors… it’s a really fragrant and sweet floral flavor, and the black tea base is very smooth, with a subtle honeyed note that accompanies the florality nicely. I think this is a tea I could gladly keep stocked, and while I know florals are hit and miss for a lot of people I do wonder why I see violet as a flavor option so little now.
Thanks for the sample, tea-sipper!
Flavors: Floral, Honey, Smooth, Sweet, Violet
Preparation
Samurai Travelling Tea Box – Tea #48
Gongfu!
A late morning tea session that has some really brilliant brandied stonefruit notes!! The dry leaf aroma was sweet and dense, like stewed fruits and figs. Steeped up, that figgy aroma doesn’t translate as much into the taste but it’s still a very fruity profile – the aforementioned brandied fruit notes, but also cassis and cooked down red fruit w/ a pleasant malt and woody undertone and sweeping pleasant astringency over the roof of the mouth!!
Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/CDZXQ77gcw8/
Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyZzCR_kbdA
Still working through my long overdue backlong of teabox teas, so this is another sample from the Discovery Teabox (thanks to Skysamurai for organizing and all who contributed!) I am a fan of Vietnamese blacks and was excited to be able to sample this one!
2.5g sample brewed Western in 350ml 205F water for what should have been 3 minutes, but I got interrupted so it was probably closer to 5 (longer than I typically brew black teas, so hopefully this didn’t turn out too tannic for me!) It has a lovely malty, honey-sweet aroma, with a bit of a marmalade jam note and almost a barbecue-esque aroma. The flavor has a bit of malt, with some notes of leather, smoke, orange peel, and pepper, with a medium astringency and a subtle minerality left after the sip.
I wish I hadn’t steeped it quite so long since this is a rather hardy black, but it is still a pleasant flavor. A good breakfast tea! Thanks for the sample, tea_sipper!
Flavors: Astringent, Leather, Malt, Mineral, Orange Zest, Pepper, Smoke
Preparation
This was another sampler from the Discovery Teabox, so thank you to Skysamurai for organizing and to everyone that contributed! I took a 5g sample and used half of it for my travel thermos to take to an early morning staff meeting at work yesterday, and am finishing it up this morning.
The base of this tea has a really lovely flavor that makes is apparent that the black tea leaf blend is using at least some Chinese black… there are those notes of burnt toast, smoke, molasses, and a hint of leather and fruit (cherry? mandarin? a bit hard to peg under the flavoring…) Mostly, the natural slightly burnt/smoky flavors come through, and the salted caramel flavoring in this tea is actually really good. Usually even teas that call themselves “salted caramel” just taste like “caramel” to me and don’t have that distinction to me, but this one does, and I quite like it! With the natural smoky notes and rich molasses from the base, I get a bit of a burnt sugar/melted caramel vibe from it. I don’t, however, get any of the proposed “pumpkin flavor” from this tea at all. I realize pumpkin is a difficult flavor to pull off (especially when you are separating it from all the spice) but with such strong flavor notes in here, I’d be curious what the blend would be like if that was turned up a bit. I like pumpkin. Even savory pumpkin. And it isn’t used enough, it’s always the spice blend that gets all the cred.
So some points off for no pumpkin, but I am still a big fan of this Chinese black-heavy base and nailing a salted caramel flavor. Thanks for the sample, tea_sipper!
Flavors: Burnt, Burnt Sugar, Caramel, Fruity, Leather, Malt, Molasses, Salty, Smoke, Smooth, Toast
Preparation
Samurai Travelling Tea Box – Tea #32
Finished off the sample of this as a teacup of tea this morning; it was very nice! I don’t think I’ve explored enough of Simpson & Vail’s catalogue of teas, so I pulled some from the box to try – mostly black teas…
This was smooth and full bodied with robust malt and cocoa powder/baker’s chocolate notes and a pleasant sweet raisin or brandied fruit note on the finish.
I hesitated before buying this tea because I didn’t think I’d like the rosemary in the blend. Thankfully, I had no reason to worry, and this one might be even better than their regular decaf EG. The flavor is so complex without being harsh. The rosemary definitely works with the black tea and the bergamot. I’m drinking it as a latte, and it’s great! The second steep is as tasty as the first. And I love the lavender in here! It adds such a perfect softness. This is a great tea.
Aw, I should have brewed this one up today. Oh and I hope Lewis Carroll was one of the blends I sent you? If you liked this, I think you’d like that one.
It was! I have way too many caffeinated teas in my stash, so I’ve been very slowly getting through them all, but I look forward to trying that one for sure! S&V rarely goes wrong with their black teas.
Oh good, I’m glad it was in the swap! :D
Continuing to work on teas from the Discovery Teabox (thanks to Skysamurai for coordinating and all who contributed!), I brewed this up for my breakfast this morning. I had a terrible migraine yesterday (which I worked through 8 hours at work, then promptly passed out the second I got home and fed the cat yesterday) and it still isn’t quite broken and I have another 8 hours of work ahead of me, so I wanted some caffeine against the lingering pain. Hense, a hardy black for breakfast. Used a 2.5g sample in 350ml 205F water, western brew, for a 3 minute steep.
This tea had long, twisty dark leaves, and the brew has a deeply malty aroma, that smells very warm and bready, with a hint of cinnamon. The flavor has notes of malt, baked bread, a bit of lemon citrus, and a very subtle hint of spice. There is a bit of mild astringency and drying on the tongue after the sip. It’s a quite solid breakfast-type tea, deep, malty, and satisfying. It would probably take additives well, if I felt in the mood for that.
Thanks for the share, tea_sipper!
Flavors: Astringent, Baked Bread, Citrus, Drying, Lemon, Malt, Spices
Preparation
Samurai Travelling Tea Box – Tea #13
Finished off the single serving that was in the box, and it was very good.
Definitely reminded me of French Toast – the good brioche kind! Sweet with maple and brown sugar notes, the perfect amount of warming cinnamon and a kiss of sweet apple. This is a tea that I would totally want in my cupboard for a decadent fall/autumn type of sweet flavour profile!
Continuing to work on teas from the Discovery Teabox (thanks to Skysamurai for coordinating and all who contributed!), I brewed this up to have with my mandarin for breakfast this morning. I only took a 3g sample from the box, and I normally use more leaf with herbals (especially fine rooibos/honeybush), so to compensate I dropped my water from a 12 oz. cup to an 8 oz. cup, and hopefully that will balance things out. If it doesn’t, well, that was just me being stingy and trying to not take much leaf from the box, I guess.
The aroma is very pleasant, though! It definitely has a pungent scent of blueberries and cinnamon, and a sweetness that makes me think of something warm and gooey and pastry-like. The blueberry isn’t as strong on the tongue as it is on the nose (or maybe I’m just too spoiled by how juicy 52Tea’s blueberry comes off), but it is definitely present. The cinnamon is a bit of a stronger note than the fruit but not overwhelming, and is very sweet; it tastes like a cinnamon-sugar toast spread to me. The base is sweet, and while some rooibos waxes more woody or medicinal (I especially get medicinal notes often when its paired with fruit flavors, ala cough syrup), I am not getting that in this tea at all… I’m picking up more on notes of honey and vanilla.
This is a really nice tea! Maybe not quite as good as the Apple Cinnamon French Toast, but close!
Thanks for the share, tea_sipper!
Flavors: Blueberry, Cinnamon, Honey, Sweet, Vanilla
Preparation
As a chai, this is pretty weak. Very mild spices. It tastes mostly like rooibos and sweetness, though it’s not a super pleasant rooibos. I really love S&V’s green rooibos and their black tea, but maybe their red rooibos isn’t for me because none of these blends are working for me. It’s not like this tea is horrible. It’s just really not what you would expect. It’s not chai at all.
The few Simpson and Vail teas I’ve tried have all had a sort of artificial, plastic-y scent. This one has that, but it’s super sweet smelling too. I can smell chocolate and caramel, especially after steeping, but in the sip it’s mostly that fake chocolate I don’t like in teas. Plastic cocoa butter. Fjellrev said that this one tastes like it has coconut in, and I have to agree. The sip is dominated by artificial chocolate, and closely followed by a fairly strong coconut note. I’m surprised it’s not actually a coconut tea, because the note is very definitely present. I actually really like coconut teas, so I’m not complaining about that. I just wish it were less generic artificial tasting. Not my favourite, but I’m happy to have tried it. Thanks for this, MissB!
Sipdown 218/399
Preparation
Thanks for adding this one to the tea box, tea-sipper! I’ve been meaning to buy some plain lavender forever but never got around to it. I’ve been adding this to earl grey lattes at a ratio of 2 tsp decaf earl grey to 1.5 tsp lavender for a large mug. I’m afraid that regular earl grey will taste boring now! This offers a nice lavender flavor. I’d probably want to try another brand to compare, but I definitely want to buy some lavender from someone. Or maybe grow my own?
Not hard to grow!
I’m starting an herb garden in a few weeks, so I can definitely try it!
I get lavender at the farmer’s market. Lavender latte’s are fabulous, I especially love the flavor with coconut milk! I also make my own deoderizer spray for the house by steeping up a few teaspoons of lavender, letting the brew cool, then mixing it with a teaspoon of lemon juice and putting it in a spray bottle and topping with a bit of water. Has so many uses!
Oh, and with iced tea season here, I also love adding a few teabags full of lavender buds to a pitcher of lemonade! It’s a wonderful flavor combination.
Certainly you can grow it yourself :) And certainly the plant is very pretty in few years!
I absolutely love all these ideas. Another thing I want to try is mixing it with my taro powder and having taro lavender bubble tea!
Lavender black tea is my favorite flavor at my local bubble tea place! I have crushed lavender buds in a coffee/spice grinder to a powder and mixed it with sugar and cocoa powder to make lavender flavored hot chocolate, which is de-li-cious! (Rose cocoa also is great!)
Oooh these are such interesting ideas!
The scent here is definitely that of pear flavoring rather than authentic pear. The flavor is also rather fake and a bit chemically. The pear rooibos from Tebella was so well done, and I’m out, so I hoped this would be an adequate replacement. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. I don’t mind the fake pear flavor, but the chemical flavor that underlies it is a bit off-putting. I like it well enough to drink it, but I would not purchase this again.
