Simpson & Vail

Since we were feeling chilly again this morning, youngest and I decided to try a couple more lapsangs from Hesper June!

This one tastes more like natural smoke to me than the Mountain Rose Herbs tea did. The base is medium strength, plenty fortifying for a chilly morning tea! I wonder if they mix this with a bergamot tea to get Morgan Blend, or if that one is entirely different? (Yesterday I didn’t pick up the bergamot so much in the Morgan Blend but this morning when I cleaned the pot I really could smell it and don’t know how I missed it! I think I remember my guest even saying something about it being fruity. Now I want to try it again!)

This is a good warming cup, and I am having trouble choosing which Lapsang I like best!

Thank you, Hesper June! We are having fun trying all of these!

Sample sipdown! Thanks to Hesper June for this one. It is the last of the last of the box you sent!

Woke up to clouds and rain again. Cooked the chickens breakfast, ran out to the coop in the chilly damp, and vowed to have tea. This was a nice warming cup to follow my breakfast! The Lapsang aspect is not too smoky, and the bergamot is a nice light touch, not enough to offend those who don’t like heavy bergamot, and a pleasant surprise addition to the smoke for those who do!

Many thanks to Hesper June for this tea! What a puzzlement when I looked this up, because I did got detect bergamot AT ALL which goes to show that I need a lot more development in my tasting ability!

I was making Snickerdoodles when youngest made this tea so I didn’t get to smell the dry leaf. Had I done so, I would definitely have picked up a lovely, fruity, juicy bergamot aroma. By the time I sat down at the tea table think we were trying two different plain lapsangs, the tea was made and I gave each pot a sniff. This one had the richest, most bacon-y aroma, nice and smoky for this chilly, rainy day. I tried this one first because I thought it smelled the smokiest and the best.

It was very good, with rich layers of flavor. It was heartening and delicious with our cookies. The result of this tea tasting was a bit of a surprise, though, as we ended up being joined by a new tea drinker halfway through who had fun lending his opinion as well.

The final word, both were great! Thank you, Hesper June!

This sample was included with my recent order. I’m impressed by this because I ordered via Amazon. But it looks as though the order was filled by the fine folks at Simpson and Vail. I’m glad they included this sample as it was one I had in and out of my cart while looking at what to order.

So dry the leaves smell super hearty and robust. I’m already in love. But the same taste doesn’t carry over like I thought it would when it came time to try the tea. But then again I had it straight up with nothing in it. Thankfully I have enough for another sample where I will try milk and sugar perhaps that will help. I won’t rate until I give that a shot.

Another sipdown…
Just decided to polish this one off tonight while I’m watching my grammar class on Udemy. I’m trying to use my unemployed time to further my education and I’m also starting a writing class at UC Berkeley extension tomorrow.

This is a lot more flavorful when it’s been steeped for around 7 minutes, it’s still not going to be a repurchase for me however.

Tisane of the afternoon here…

I don’t quite get all of the wonderful reviews with this one. Although there are several teas from Simpson and Vail that I really like, this doesn’t seem to be one of them. It’s an okay rooibos, I do get a bit of chocolate but not really the other flavors. I also don’t see a lot of rose petals in the tea like the one that is in the picture.

New order arrived today from Simpson and Vail, based on the reviews I was really looking forward to trying this one.

So I agree it is somehow “cake like” but I guess I was hoping for something more on the flavor, it’s better than the version I have from RoT, but the flavor is a bit light. Don’t get me wrong, it’s enjoyable, but mostly what I am tasting is rooibos. I think this needs a much longer steep before I can rate it properly. I know sometimes rooibos benefits from an 8 or 10 minute steep.

Stay tuned!

I was hoping for something tasty but all I could really taste was cinnamon. I am also really tired of writing after writing two made up informal reports (my trucking company had an unfortunate tire blowout where $200 in Cabbage Patch dolls were lost) so I have nothing else to say, other than needs more chocolate.

I was a little nervous about this tea, but excited too. Especially after smelling it – it smells like coffee and almonds. As I’ve mentioned before, I have had a bad history when it comes to coffee, which is why I switched to tea. I’m really glad that I did switch, because I now love tea more than I ever loved coffee (I would have never gone to a “Brewster” site that embraces coffee the way we embrace tea here at Steepster!)

So, when I smelled the coffee, the first thought that went through my mind was ‘Yum’ – because even though I love tea, there are times when I miss that warm, delicious smell (and taste) of coffee – and then I worried that this might make me sick the way that coffee did. Let’s hope not.

The flavor is wonderful! I do taste the coffee, it is bold and rich, and I taste the almond. But I also taste the black tea in there too. It’s really quite a delicious blend. Very robust, hints of bitterness, and a delicious sweetness too. Nice contrasts throughout.

It’s still too early to determine whether or not I’ll feel ill from this… but for the moment, I’m actually really enjoying it. I’ll rate it later once I’ve been able to ascertain whether or not it affects me adversely.

Early today I had a cup. I think this is a good tea. I like how the pear tastes light and natural and the mild green tea here that luckily is not over the top for me. This would probley be good iced to

I drank a cup of this earlier. I can see the ingredients. Dry I can smell both the green tea and the pear. I steeped it up. The to me Is a balanced tea where I can taste both the green tea and the pear.which Is a medium taste and natural also. This tea Is really good.

Sipdown! 815. Hmm, I don’t quite seem to have the same impression of this one as Indigobloom… definitely not better than a dragonwell for me. While it was steeping, it smelled almost metallic, but the flavour was much better, a bit of that chewy vegetal flavour. Unfortunately this cup fell victim to clumsiness, as I knocked it off the table :( Luckily for me it was a short drop and not hot tea, so no injuries or breakage were sustained, but it also means that I really can’t tell you much more about this tea. I would certainly try it again, but don’t think it would beat my more favoured green profiles, which are heavier on the boiled veggie/beany flavours or sweet, rock sugar notes.

Second infusion is very meh, standard green tea-ish. Can’t blame the tea though, because I know better than to let greens sit in the infuser for a while. They just don’t last like everything else does, and that leads to losses of yummy flavours.

Thanks for letting me sample this one Indigobloom :)

This was one of the samples provided for my Battle of the Earl Greys project, and it made for a fun morning of sharing the kitchen with my husband!

The dry aroma was definitely my favorite part – you can definitely pick out the elements of the traditional Earl Grey flavor profile, with its rich black blend of teas and the spicy punch of bergamot oil. The orange and lemon peels added their own layers to the wonderful smell, although they did not translate as overtly into the steeped tea.

It actually tasted more like a straightforward Earl Grey than a variation blend, and I think I’ll wait until I have some fresh lemon on hand to brew the rest of this up. The cold version had just enough of a citrus kick to make you crave more, and I think an iced cup with some floating lemon would be absolutely delightful!

You can read my full review at:
http://wordsabouttea.blogspot.com/2013/07/mrs-greys-blend-by-simpson-vail.html

Ahhhhh! Smooth and somewhat creamy! Naturally semi-citrusy! Cooked Greens! This is delicious! Completely fresh! The end-sip on to the after taste is a bit drier but pleasant! Lovely!

Oh, this was just delightful! I wanted to add to the Battle of the Earl Greys blog this morning, but found myself craving something a little different. This was the perfect choice.

With my allergies, I can’t often stick my nose into a bouquet of flowers. This tea gave me the experience without the sneezing! I was very pleasantly surprised by how fresh the three floral notes both smelled and tasted. I’ve tried floral teas before which smelled and tasted more like perfume than fresh flowers, but this tea manages to overcome all that.

It’s not the strongest Earl Grey, but the bergamot and black notes of the usual flavor profile do make themselves known. Overall, I found myself really enjoying this tea – and I will go back for a second cup!

You can read my full review here:
http://wordsabouttea.blogspot.com/2013/07/victorian-earl-grey-by-simpson-vail.html

Backlog:

This is a rich, delicious, malty Assam … and I loved it!

It’s got a good morning kind of GUSTO to it … you know, that extra kick in the butt that we need in the morning sometimes to get our rear in gear? Yeah, this one has that!

It’s a very finely chopped CTC but don’t let that dissuade you … but do let it persuade you to watch how you brew it! The smaller the leaf, the less time it needs to brew because there’s more surface area and the smaller cut to the leaf, the faster it will brew strong to the point of bitterness!

Here’s my full-length review: http://sororiteasisters.com/2013/04/03/beesakopie-estate-assam-black-tea-from-simpson-vail/

I really thought I sampled and logged this already but I’m thinking it was a straight-black base with flavoring instead of a black/herbal blend. I remember really enjoying that other one. This one is pretty good, too, but not as drawing for me…I think it was because of the minty notes being more intense in the other one. This one is not as flavored. It taste more herbally. The black tea base isn’t as pronounced. Perhaps this one is a more laid-back version. I can understand why – I know some people don’t care for mint and most people don’t like mint as much as I do so I totally understand this flavoring. It lingers nicely. Just a hint of freshness. This is pretty good!

This sample was given to me for review, and came with six of their other Earl Grey blends. I’ve made my way through over half of them now, and this is by far the best Earl Grey in the lineup. The general Earl Grey was a bit of a mild cup, but this one packs a lot more punch!

Most of its assertiveness is due to a much larger dose of bergamot – it smells amazing and translates very well into the cup. There is a slight astringency, but adding a dash of milk is all you need to balance it out.

You can read my full review here:
http://wordsabouttea.blogspot.com/2013/07/earl-grey-extra-by-simpson-vail.html

The name is perfect for this one – it’s summertime in a cup! From the gorgeous Baltic amber color to the absolutely wonderful peach flavor, I’m really, really enjoying it!

Now, that said, sometimes for your own happiness you just have to take a piece of information and drop it. For example, I can’t watch The Queen of the Damned if I try to line it up at all with the books. I have to think of it in its own alternate universe. That’s how I stay in my happy place. For this tea, well, drop the “Earl Grey” from the name. This is a peach-flavored black, and a good one at that.

It’s delicious hot, and pretty good iced as well. It’s one that I’m going to keep in my cupboard… with those two words crossed off the title! ;)

Pictures and full review here:
http://wordsabouttea.blogspot.com/2013/06/summertime-earl-grey-by-simpson-vail.html

The latest contender in the Battle of the Earl Greys! This was a very interesting and somewhat playful cup, and the dry smell was completely different from the steeped taste. Dry, this blend smells like you just cut into a juicy grapefruit – it actually makes me crave one!

Steeped, the black teas take the helm and the grapefruit fades into the background. To me, this tastes more like a grapefruit black than an Earl Grey, but for the most part that’s because I can’t pick out the bergamot. Still, a tasty cup and a nice way to wake up!

You can read my complete review here:
http://wordsabouttea.blogspot.com/2013/06/citrus-paradisi-earl-grey-blend-by.html

I love to start the day with Earl Grey! This is the latest tea in my summer project, and it was given to me to review. This is a nice, fragrant tea with a smooth, mild citrus taste. The bergamot is actually pretty light, which makes the black blend the focus of the cup. It’s a matter-of-fact Earl Grey, but a good place to start before moving on to their other variations.

You can read the full review here:
http://wordsabouttea.blogspot.com/2013/06/earl-grey-by-simpson-vail.html

Delicious! Very fruity, mellow tea. The liquor is very light, and the leaves are beautiful once they unfold to their full size. Definitely a new favorite oolong for me.