Simpson & Vail

Drinking this with a bit of almond milk and brown sugar today. I still can’t really smell, but I’m determined to drink sample sizes.

With the almond milk and brown sugar, this is pretty good. No, the chocolate flavouring isn’t my favourite, but I’m enjoying it! I am finding these Simpson and Vail teas are better with a little extra leaf. Which means my next cup will be a blend!

Thank you, Fjellrev!

Thank you, Fjellrev!

This tea is indeed very chocolatey. But I prefer the Harney and Sons chocolate to this one I think. Still, it’s not bad. It would be better with some coconut milk, but I am lazy and don’t want to go into the kitchen to get it.

It is stupidly cold in my office. Really. Counting the minutes until I can go home (leaving after a lunch presentation), and trying desperately to keep warm with tea.

Thanks to MissB for this cup! I always take an opportunity to try out samples of S&V teas since they do have some good ones. Honestly I drank this one down pretty quickly, but it was definitely tasty. English Toffee? Well, maybe not what I think of as English Toffee. It was nice and nutty, but lacking the high-heat caramel toffee flavor I was desiring. At least, I think it was. Too cold to think straight? It was, in any case, tasty enough that I had no problem slurping it down in record time.

Additional notes: I had to get some of this with my order and oh my gosh so much delicious hazelnut! It’s even better when it’s fresh! So tasty and comforting! It’s safe to say I will be ordering from S&V at least once a year (which is probably more than I order from most tea shops, no matter how much I love them.) The only thing I don’t love is the packaging isn’t as resealable as I would like. Raising rating from a 93.

Yet another blend from MissB! thanks yet again! This is a lot like Adagio’s Hazelnut tea which I LOVE. Not quite the same, as I think the base is different, but I think the flavor is the same. I love the toasty tastiness of it. It does taste like genuine hazelnut. I’m not sure how they do it! It seems as it cools, the toastiness gets toastier. The black tea base is light enough to showcase the hazelnut flavor. I wouldn’t mind a stronger base though, since the flavor is decently strong. I wish I had more to say about this one.. it’s just nice. I think hazelnut teas are extra comforting. Another nice one from MissB’s package!

This is a warm, sweet, buttery cup of tea with the flavor of carmalized sugar, bordering on the side of burnt. Not bad at all. Thank you Dexter3657 for sharing.

Another sample from MissB! Thanks again!

This tea smells very clovey, but not in a hot-cinnamon-spice way, more like whole cloves, which of course there are many of in this blend. As it cools more, I’m getting a more balanced spiciness. I do get a sense of gingerbread from this, which is nice. A very spicy gingerbread, haha. I will say that the base is a little thin; a common problem with flavored dessert teas. Overall pretty tasty, and I’m glad I got a chance to try it out.

Sipdown!!

Thank you both Dexter3657 and Scheherazade for sharing this tea. It is sweet and fruity but not exactly what I would call Carrot Cake. I am glad I got a chance to try it but I don’t think I will miss it now that it is gone.

Thank you Dexter3657 for sending this my way. I was very excited when it arrived but I grew a bit hesitant after stevia overload in Candy Cane and the heavy rooibos-y flavor of Red Velvet Cupcake. However, I love all things carrot cake and am currently having a carrot cake cupcake and thus found it a fitting time to try this tea. I am happy to say that I have now found a S&V rooibos that I enjoy – and of course it would be carrot cake.

Rather than getting sweetness from artificial sweeteners, it has a fruity sweetness from the papaya which blends nicely with the carrot flavors. The cinnamon chips give it a bit of a spice while the green rooibos is muted and allows the other flavors to shine. This is good but I don’t know if I would choose it over the Della Terra version (which oddly enough, Dexter also introduced me to). I will have to compare the two side-by-side.

What a nice refreshing end to a crazy week. The aromas coming from the leaves the self just had me practically sticking my nose into the carafe as the tea was steeping! The mix of mellow reshreshing green tea combined with the perfect amount of mint, wow! It just lends to a great crisp sinus opening, relaxing cup of tea. Perfect with honey or even by itself… Only one word of caution, let this little guy steep too long and you may feel like someone mixed some hot water in your toothpaste, generally a little less than a boil and a shorter steep time seems to be
Effect, enjoy!!!

Sipdown!!

So I think this is better when it cools. The mint comes out and the stevia fades. Unfortunately it is still leaving me with the aftertaste of artificial sweeteners that I just can’t stand.

Thank you MissB for giving me the opportunity to try this. It almost definitely would have been something I bought and then had been very disappointed. Now I know that it is just not for me.

OMG this is sweet. Like really, REALLY sweet. When I took my first sip I was expecting far more mint but this really puts the “candy” in candy cane!

I want to love this but I can’t help but wish for less stevia because I am picking up on that and not much of anything else. The peppermint is almost a background flavor.

I am sorry MissB because I know how much you love this but it is really not for me. Thank you for sharing though because at least now I know that.

Sipdown!! (197)

Thank you Dexter3657 for the opportunity to try this tea. Given Simpson and Vail doesn’t have sample sizes I would have ordered a lot of this and been stuck with a surplus that I never would have gotten through.

Tastewise, this second cup is better than the last. It is not as burnt tasting, though there is still a burnt quality. This is creamier than I recall and also sweet and has a nice caramel quality. This is actually reminiscent of a creme brulee, just one that got far too charred.

This smells SOO GOOD! Definitely getting strong notes of caramelized brown sugar both in smell and taste. Alas, I am finding the base to be a little overwhelming and that is drowning out any possibility of cream or custard. Rather, it is adding almost a touch of “burnt” flavor to what smells like a perfectly caramelized treat. I had such high hopes for this but it is falling short of what I was expecting. Perhaps brewing for less time at a slightly dropped temperature might fix that? However, using Simpson & Vails parameters, this was a bit of a miss. Nonetheless, thank you Dexter3657 for the sample. If nothing else, you helped me realize this was just not the tea for me which is good as I would most definitely have bought this and then been disappointed and sad that I had so much.

My plan was to sip on this as I ate an actual Red Velvet Cupcake. In theory, that was a pretty awesome plan. In practice, not so much. This tea is very heavy on the rooibos and the fact that it is being had next to the real thing is just highlighting how off the flavor is.

It is weird because a little while back, I did not mind rooibos but lately it really puts my off when it is not hidden under flavor. Alas, that seems to be the case with this tea. Thank you Cavocorax for sharing! This is certainly one I expected to enjoy but I just don’t think it is for me :(

Sipdown!!

Thank you MissB! I finally got to try this hot but tbh it was actually much fudgier once it cooled. The cinnamon is more prominent in this cup it is still reminiscent of a brownie. I am not sure if I would get more of this but I am glad I got try it.

I made this tea hot about 6 hours ago. Unfortunately, just as it finished steeping, I realized I was late and had to run out the door leaving this cup on the counter :(

When I arrived home, it was still on the counter and pretty cold. Nonetheless, it is still quite good. This is definitely a cinnamon brownie. As cold as it is, I am still getting the chocolate fudginess and the cinnamon spice. If it is this good cold, I could only imagine what it must taste like hot. Luckily MissB was kind enough to send a generous sample so I have enough for a couple more cups at least. Thank you for sharing, MissB! I am sorry I didn’t give it the attention it deserved, though it all worked out in the end.

A lovely sample from wheezybee!

It’s definitely an Earl Grey. The Grapefruit Earl from Bayswater blows this one out of the water, I’m afraid, for a grapefruity tea.

Still, this is lovely. I haven’t been having Earl Grey teas lately except as swaps.

It’s just making me crave the grapefruity one from Bayswater. :)

Thanks, wheezybee!

This tea was okay, I will be able to more accurately comment on this tea when I haven’t put Nutella in it. I thought it was a really good idea, but not so much… oops!

Yep, just as delicious as the first time. Bang-on Irish Cream flavor, minus the heaviness and sugar of the real thing.

Expected little out of this, especially since I’d had Butiki’s Irish Cream Cheesecake just prior, and it underwhelmed me. Then, surprise, surprise! The flavor is bang-on. It’s missing the thickness of Irish Cream, and it’s lighter than any Irish Cream I’ve ever had. It IS a green tea though, so this makes perfect sense. Folks who love Irish Cream flavor yet would rather nix the heaviness of the drink should most definitely try this out.

Properly leafed, this really does taste like baked coconut. Lovely, yet there’s something that’s sitting off with me. I have to wonder what it is, because it’s enough for me to put it in the swap pile for someone else to love.

1.5 tsp in 12 oz.

Overleafed slightly, because I wanted to make sure I loved this yet again, instead of the last time where it felt a bit thin. It tastes like baked coconut chips, to be frank, which is a lovely thing in my books.

Success! I can post this tasting note! Woot!!

Tried this for the first time last night, and will have some more again here shortly. Sweet cup of coconut bakery-ish tea. I’m missing the macaroon part, however it’s still very tasty. Interestingly, I would have said prior to this incarnation of my tea-drinking obsession that I disliked coconut, and yet I’m finding that about 80% of the time, I love the creaminess it puts in the cup.