Simpson & Vail

Going through my S&V score, this is my favourite so far. Granted, I have quite a bit more to try out. Still, this is quite prominently chocolatey, with sugary caramel in the background. It’s really good on its own. I couldn’t imagine adding sugar to this since it’s already quite sweet.

My mom is working on a cup too and she commented that it tastes like a Bounty bar to her, which is a coconut chocolate bar. She happened to tell me that just as I took my last sip, and you know what? Concentrating on the aftertaste left in my mouth, she’s kind of right! It’s not an in-your-face coconut, but like rich coconut oil almost. I’ll pay attention to that next time.

This one is actually pretty good today. I shouldn’t be surprised that it’s better with half and half. It smooths out the sugary components and turns them into a baked good. I’ll most definitely be drinking this one like that from now on.

I ended up choosing this as my library companion, largely because I didn’t want to try anything new since it wouldn’t have my undivided attention, and because I wanted a flavoured black. And oh, because I’m lazy.

Timolino, no additives. I kind of watched the time to make sure I didn’t oversteep. It’s better this time around. Again, like cinnamon hot chocolate mix. For what it’s worth, this is a great tea for people who like those instant hot chocolate mixes but want to cut down on the sugar consumption.

And yeah, in a way, it kind of is like a brownie. When I unscrewed the lid, after a couple minutes, I was like, “Whoa, baked goods in the library?” Better than going to the library’s cafe and dropping $2-3 on an overpriced chemical-laden brownie. You’ve taken enough of my money already, university peoples.

Sadly, I’m almost finished it already and I’ve only been here for an hour-and-a-half.

Hmm, this is interesting. The dry leaf doesn’t smell like much. Maybe some cinnamon from the cinnamon chips. I think I over leafed, but as soon as I dropped the infuser ball into the water, I got instant cinnamon hot chocolate. You know, those packets of flavoured hot chocolates.

I steeped it up quite strongly, and was too afraid to taste it alone, so I thought, why not add some milk and sugar. But there is a sweet undertone that I swear isn’t coming from the ~tsp of sugar I added. Next time, I’ll try it without the sugar.

It’s not bad but I really need to experiment with these S&V teas. Figure out the steeping parameters, whether additives make them better, etc.

I did something terrible. Instead of truly sipping this down, I threw the rest out. There was about three cups worth of tea left in the tin, but the last few times I tried to drink this, it was basically undrinkable. The base has this weird overly sweet twang to it, no almond flavour to be had, and dressing this up with milk couldn’t save it. Why torture myself drinking something like that then, eh?

I’m giving this tea another shot today, trying the intentional overleaf strategy. But I ended up over overleafing. My tea ball is only so big, so I decided to directly pour the leaf into the teapot and then use a strainer as I pour. I ended up with a heap of tea leaves at the bottom of the pot. Probably 10-15g worth. Whoops? So I tried to even it out by steeping around three cups worth.

The liquor is incredibly murky. I have a bad feeling about this. Taking a sip, yep, this is like artificial sugar sludge. I don’t get any almonds whatsoever despite the fact that there is a healthy helping of slivered almonds in the mix. There’s a weird aftertaste going on too, vaguely sweet, not like cookies nor almonds. Like sweetened, stale paper.

I’m still not going to rate this, but next time, I’ll be sure to barely overleaf and retest. I still can’t help but wonder if the paper packaging is influencing the taste of the tea.

Yes, I’m alive! Hope everyone’s been having a wonderful holiday thus far.

One of the first things I did when I got to my mom’s was sniff my S&V teas. One criticism off the bat is the packaging, though. Paper bags? I swear almost everything smells the same because of it. I’ve been reaching way down into the bag with a spoon to take some and smell it more up close, and even then, they’re quite delicately-scented, save for the Root Beer one. That one is potent. And here these teas are known to be very potent in general. Hmm.

I went for this one this morning because it’s their most popular. I don’t seem to get much flavour from it? The base is quite strong. Adding a bit of 2% milk wakes up the nuttiness a bit but I’m having a hard time bringing this to life.

I need to figure out a way of transferring these teas to different bags or something. I don’t have enough tins, nor do I have foiled baggies. I’m concerned they’ll all taste like paper after a while.

For now, I’ll reserve rating. I’m tempted to put them in ziploc bags but I know that would only be a temporary solution.

This is my third attempt at drinking this tea before it goes cold. I got a few sips in while it was hot, then I got caught up reading an article on “How to Speak Like a Maritimer”. It was amazing. It described us to a tee, and I loved it. But, rookie mistake, now I’m homesick.

Okay this tea. I did enjoy the few sips I managed while it was hot, but maybe I’ll try again tomorrow after work. Definitely has some gingerbread going on. Very true to taste from the little amount I can base that from. I’m not so much loving it cold.

Just not loving this as much as I did when I first got it, so the rest is getting sent to the lovely Cavocorax shortly. It’s still tasty – especially with some Truvia – I’m just not in love with it anymore. Poor tea. I’m sure your new owner will shower you with hot water and sighs of delight.

This is almost completely missing the burnt taste from the last time, and more raspberry this time. I still have other teas from S&V that I enjoy more, however this one is still quite nice.

Buying a Breville tea maker was the best thing I ever did. Then I got lazy, and stopped using it to steep my teas. Instead, I now make one cup at a time using a teabag, and use the Breville to boil the water to the perfect temperature. I think I need to go back to Breville-making tea, and just accepting I’ll have to brew up 4 cups at a time. Wow. First world problems.

What all this means is that I grossly oversteeped this tea as well – by 20 minutes. It got a bit bitter when I finally got to it, however sweetening it helped dramatically. It does taste like a sweet cupcake. Red velvet? Perhaps, more raspberry cake, but I’m okay with that.

Sip. Down.

Not a favourite. The flavour just isn’t quite there. Still, I got through the 2 oz I bought through MissB’s group order. :)

A toffee tea would be nice to have around (I’m starting to identify flavour groupings I really enjoy, and am hoping to narrow it down to under 100 teas… O.o ), but this isn’t it. Too bad, as by the scent it had a lot of promise.

Right now, this is amazing.

Thank you, tea.

(With coconut cream.)

2.5tsp/16oz

Had this morning, but Steepster was taking FOREVER so I didn’t log it. It was tasty, overleafed and drunk with honey.

Not a favourite, but tasty all the same.

Today I’m having this with my coconut-egg creamer of weirdness.

It’s pretty good. Better with regular milk though. Or commercial coconut milk creamer. Mostly because the toffee comes through better.

I need ALL the caffeine. All of it. But not coffee because I had coffee yesterday and my tummy was so angry.

Overleafed and steeped for 2 minutes = amazing toffee tea. I added a little honey and cream.

Mmm.

Hope it goes well with my gingerbread cake!
http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2013/12/gingerbread-snacking-cake/

I need to preface this by saying I don’t like it nearly as much as the Gingerbread.

This tea brews up very light, and IMO makes a better afternoon or early evening tea. And as strong as it smells, the flavour does not come through nearly as much as I had hoped based on the other tea I tried.

So while it’s a decent tea, it’s not a favourite. Gingerbread is a favourite.

I ended up adding a little milk and sugar to this. The second steep is OK, but there’s even less Toffee flavour.

This one did get to cold brew for 12 hours. After I put this one in the fridge I thought to myself I should’ve perhaps cold brewed it in soda water, but that will be next time.

This one turned out quite well. I would say the root beer flavour is more apparent as a cold brew. And I have a feeling, brewed in soda water would be like some sort of healthier root beer. Interesting.

I couldn’t decide what to have and my S&V teas have been neglected lately, so I chose this one. The scent is so root beer-like it’s amazing. The taste less so, but still I really enjoy this one.

My next exam is 9am tomorrow, so it will be a full night of studying. But each exam down, is one step closer to Vancouver!

Having this lovely tea as a bit of a pick-me-up. I took a break to throw ingredients in the crockpot for chicken tortilla soup, but I’m back to work here now. I feel like I managed to get a substantial amount done today. I still have a good hour to get some more done too, before I start falling asleep at my computer.

I keep this tea in a plastic bag, inside a tin to keep the scent from leeching out. The scent is wonderful, and so very root beer-esque, but not all my teas need to smell like that! I think S&V teas lose their potency a little quicker than other teas, but they all start out incredibly potent smelling, so I don’t really mind.

I’m really enjoying this tea. The smell was awesomely root beer. I don’t enjoy pop at all, the carbonation makes me eyes water bleh, but this is delightful instead!

The root beer scent is much stronger than the flavour once it’s brewed, but it really is a nice addition to the black base. I don’t generally do black teas cold, but this one may be in order.

Thanks MissB for letting me in on the S&V order :)

Mmm, sipdown!

If I get a chance I’m definitely getting more.

It’s turned into more of a delicious spiced cake flavour, especially with cream. With some molasses (not enough!) and a bit of gingery warmth. So good, especially since our mornings have a bit of a chill to them now.

Sadness! This one is almost gone. :(

Oh well. It’s delightful, and I know I need to get more if I or anyone close by does a S&V order. :)

Also, meet my cat!
http://omgsrslyfolks.tumblr.com/post/88975034566/oh-cats-meet-princess-shadow-destroyer-of-knit

Good this morning, but slightly over steeped. It was a bit dry, even though the flavour was there.

The heat was off in my building again this morning, so I am dressed ridiculously in a 2-sizes-too-big jacket that is pinned smaller. Because it will probably rain and my down shouldn’t get wet. Brrrr. (This is gonna make my next tea seem weird.)