Simpson & Vail

I got this and Almond Sugar Cookie, and we’ll see how they compare.
You do get the almond out of this, but its a little life. I’m not entirely sold on the S&V black tea base here.
Hmm.

Of the Simpson & Vail teas I ordered, this is the most distinct of the ones I’ve tried. I do get gingerbread, though the ginger is not as intense as I could hope.
I had just a bit of this left, so I overleafed a little and brewed it up. This tastes just about the same as before overleafing.
As much as I like ginger, its time to sip this one down. Goodbye Gingerbread black! I’ll move on to other gingerbread teas.

This is a very nice gingerbread black tea. And appropriate. I’m going to bake up some gingerbread today. And to that end, I must go off to the market.

Ginger! I do love Gingerbread. And this has got plenty of quality ginger flavor. Huzzah!

This is pretty nice. The ginger and the gingerbread spices are really noticable, which is exactly what I wanted. And I love gingerbread.
Important to have a holiday themed tea today, as its Tree Day. My family has very few traditions, but this is one of them. We go and select our tree, and spend the day decorating it. We have a huge and impressive collection of ornaments, which we’ve collected on our travels.
I love tree day. Holiday teas ahoy!

I’m finishing up a paper and something soothing is needed! Rooibos is usually a good choice and as this one is new to me (Thank you kittylovestea!) it seems perfect. I have such a soft spot for french vanilla. It’s perhaps my favorite ice cream flavor and I always love the combination of a french vanilla/cream + rooibos tea. The scent is very much like other rooibos blends — there isn’t anything that would distinguish this from another.

Sipping… this is nice and smooth. There is a prominent woody note, but the actual mouthfeel of the tea is nice and milky – no dry, splintery sensation. Sadly, I don’t taste any french vanilla. I know that there is something that makes this tea different from just a plain old rooibos, but it’s very, very light. I’d probably describe it as a regular vanilla, if anything, and not a french vanilla at all. It is a nice cup of tea to have right now, but there’s not enough of that creamy vanilla beany flavor I love.

I have a feeling this will be my last cup of the day, but it’s a good one. Coconut and mint all rolled into a nice nighttime tea.

I’ve had the worst craving for something sweet for hours, and I finally gave in and made a peanut butter mug cake. So delicious.

I don’t always crave this one, and I often forget about it because it’s high and semi-out of reach in my cupboard. I do really enjoy it though. The peppermint is bright and revitalizing, but the creaminess of the coconut makes it so it isn’t too intense. A great herbal to have around. I also threw some of this in the fridge to cold-brew for later on, but I have a feeling it may just be minty water hah.

It seems I popped a blood vessel in my eye, and not a small one. Last night it appeared there was blood dripping throughout my eye. This morning rather than a concentrated area, it’s spread out through a significant portion of the white. So that’s delightful. My friend asked if I was turning in a zombie. :P

This tea is delightful. I was a little sad when David’s discontinued Cocomint Cream, but I actually prefer this one due to the unsweetened coconut. David’s was getting slightly cloying towards the end of the bag.

Today I mixed this two parts Cocomint and one part guayusa. Yum. I love finding new mixes for my guayusa. I’ve been pretty productive today preparing swaps, started and finished an assignment, and finished a significant amount of cue cards for an exam later this week. I plan on doing a few more cue cards and then starting and finishing one more assignment before the night is up.

This tea is such a delight. I’m so happy I noticed Jaclyn’s review of it, and remembered it when I placed my S&V order. The smallest size available was 4 oz., which I originally thought was a bit much, but seeing as I have only two herbals in my cupboard, I’m actually going through this somewhat quickly.

I may slightly prefer this one over Cocomint Cream, purely because of the unsweetened coconut. I recall towards the end of my Cocomint Cream package, being overwhelmed by the sweetness.

My stomach is a wee bit upset tonight, so hopefully all the mint here will work some magic. I’ve decided to take this night off from the excessive amount of studying I’ve been doing. I will probably regret that decision tomorrow, but I’ve had weeks and weeks of 12-15 hour days at school and my brain needs a break. Therefore, I’m catching up on tea and re-watching Heroes. Star Trek is next, yes!

Goodbye, English Toffee. You will not be missed, or be returning.
Begone!
Sipdown!

I think I understeeped this. Despite the overleafing, all I got was hot water with a hint of black tea. Phoohy.

Today no toffe, just hot, black tea, with the tiniest hint of nuttiness. I would be more annyoed, but I’m almost asleep, so I’m ok with this being just wake up juice, instead of a properly delightful cup of tea.
Why, S&V, why? Gah.

English toffee, why must you defy me? Where does your flavor lay?
Overleafed, understeeped, and I still cant make this tea do what I want.

Overleafing and a short steep has made this more toffee like, but still not quite what I want. And this pot has an oddly bitter aftertaste, which is bad news.
Hmm. Well, not a lot of this left.

Today I am tasting the black tea base, and nothing else that has been advertised. Gah. Where is my toffee goodness.
I am still not finding a solution for these teas from Simpson and Vail. Bah.

This is a light cup of tea. The toffee flavor is mild. Not getting as much as I would really like.
The base isnt overpowering, but I’m tasting more of it then I am of the toffee

Done it! Goodbye, French Vanilla.
With a name like French Vanilla, it should be smooth, warm, and with a ribbon of silky vanilla running through every sip.
Instead, this is a somewhat uninspired black base, with the vaugust suggestion of vanilla as an aftertaste. Hmph.
The base, at least, is not at all bitter, and you get slightly more vanilla as it cools, but all in all I am glad to be done with this.
Sipdown!

Why, goodness me, Steepster. What has come over you?
I left for the weekend, out to have adventures and watch Cirque du Soleil (magical. I love Cirque), and I come back, eager to drink a proper cup of tea, and log it.
Its like seeing a friend after a long time, and the friend has changed their look, got a haircut and new clothes. You recognise them, but you still quietly check the URL to make sure that you have not gone somewhere else….
Well, I like it so far, and am eager to run around and see it.
This tea. I am almost done with this tea. Thank goodness. I am well and proper ready to be done with this.
Oooh, I get to use the not recommended button!

Oof, this was a tough morning section.
I have returned home, before a busy afternoon of errands, to drink tea and have my favorite mid-morning snack, of an english muffin with local honey on it, paired with the tea.
This is what I grabbed today, not so much out of a love of this, but more out of the desire to get rid of it.
Its not bitter, or bad, but I do not get the vanilla in the amount I want. Its the slightest suggestion of aftertaste, rather than a full and flavorful vanilla cup.
Well, a quiet morning before off the races again.

Not a lot of vanilla here. Tastes mostly of the black base.
My quest for a perfect vanilla tea is ongoing.

This is not my favorite vanilla. I’m trying all the tricks, overleafing, lowering the steep time, rasing the steep time. Its all resulted in a dusty tasting black base, with a suggestion of vanilla following afterwards.
Its not a bad tea, I should say. So far I havnt found it bitter, but its not the highly coveted perfect vanilla tea that I am questing for.

This tastes mostly like base, and not like vanilla. Just the faintest aftertaste.
Hmm. Well, I will try the next time to overleaf this, and see what that does.

The first of the Black Friday orders came in. I am now up nine teas. I can only honestly be blamed for eight of them, as one was a sample. And this is only one of my three orders. But this is the big one.
The dry leaf doesnt smell like much, but the addition of hot water gave it a slight smell of vanilla, a but like the grocery store bottled vanilla.
I do not get as much vanilla as I would like out of the taste. Its there, but mostly towards the end of a sip. And its sweet, like a hint of frosting, instead of actual vanilla.
Its pleasant enough, but the quest for the most perfect cup of vanilla tea ever remains to be found.
Nine more teas! And at least five more teas on the way. Eeeee.