Simpson & Vail

They really have captured that breadiness that real gingerbread cake has. The spices are sweet and mild – definitely a kid-friendly type of gingerbread as opposed to a sharper, zingier one. (I’d personally like a zingier one, but I can’t fault them here.) I see cloves in the mixture, but I don’t really taste them – it’s primarily cinnamon and ginger to me. As per the usual for S&V, I need to use a lot of it per cup, and I’ve found all the dessert type teas are far better with a pretty generous sweetening. I haven’t tried this with milk, but I bet a little would be good.

Simpson & Vail Advent Calendar – Day 23

(originally written November 23rd)

I find I’m not minding red rooibos as much lately, which is nice. I guess it just depends on whether the added flavors are complementary.

I wish there was a bit more chestnut here. The rooibos base is woody and quite strong. I’m definitely getting a sort of caramel or butter rum flavor, and perhaps a little bit of dried fruit – I’m thinking golden raisins. There is a little bit of rich nuttiness, which goes perfectly with the other flavors. I do find myself wanting just a little touch more of that flavor since the base tends to overpower it a bit.

Nevertheless, this is a tasty blend. It’s sort of a more subtle take on a butter rum rooibos in my opinion. I’m not sure I would guess that it’s meant to be a roasted chestnut flavored blend.

Simpson & Vail Advent Calendar – Day 22

(originally written November 22nd)

Not looking forward to this one… It contains both rose and lavender, neither of which I generally enjoy.

Well, it’s not awful, so that’s good. I think the lavender actually goes fairly well with the bergamot, and perhaps stands out a bit less than it would otherwise. And I don’t get rose at all. The bergamot is a nice amount, not too strong. But I can’t taste the base tea, which is unfortunate.

Someone who enjoys lavender more than I do would probably really love this one. But I prefer my Earl Grey sans lavender. ;)

(Withholding a rating for this one)

Discovery TTB #18

This was a pleasantly smooth black tea with a light, malty flavor. Nothing super memorable, but a nice cup of tea!

Simpson & Vail Advent Calendar – Day 21

(originally written November 21st)

So full disclosure – I’m drinking this at room temperature. I have been knitting like mad trying to get some Christmas gifts done, and was knitting so intently that I forgot to drink my tea! XP Oopsies. I prefer tea warm rather than hot anyway, so no biggie for me.

Hm, this doesn’t taste much like mulled wine to me. There’s a bubblegum-esque flavor to it, which is odd and ruins the effect a bit. I do taste some tart fruit-ish notes behind the bubblegum. I’m not sure there’s really any spice though.

A bit disappointing, as I was looking forward to this one.

Simpson & Vail Advent Calendar – Day 20

(originally written November 20th)

Getting near the end of my first two tea advent calendars! I have to travel for work in the second week of December, so I’ll likely be doing the teas intended for that week during the last week of November instead. Not that that’ll be confusing or anything… XD But I don’t really want to lug my variable temperature kettle to France, and I definitely don’t want to lug the matcha or jam calendar items!

So another flavored black from Simpson & Vail. I’ve had mixed reactions to these – while I love their Almond Sugar Cookie and Apple Cinnamon French Toasts teas, a lot of the others left me underwhelmed. So we shall see!

Hmm… To me, this tastes like a coconut black tea. It’s definitely a creamy coconut, like coconut cream pie or coconut cake, but it’s coconut nonetheless. Perhaps a coconut custard black tea.

Honestly though, crème brûlée seems like it would be a difficult flavor to reproduce in tea. So much about it depends on the crisp sugary crust on top, which doesn’t really have a caramel flavor. At least, not in the buttery way that caramel is usually represented in flavoring.

Now I want crème brûlée. I guess I should be glad I’ll be heading back to France soon, LOL!

Simpson & Vail Advent Calendar – Day 19

(originally written November 19th)

Yay, another green rooibos blend from Simpson & Vail! These have been among my favorites from my advent calendars so far.

This one is good, but it’s not really my speed. It’s a mulled wine sort of flavor. There’s a fruity-ish flavor that’s mostly hibiscus, but it’s not overly tart so that’s nice. There’s also a bit of spice – mostly clove. I’m not sure I get the vanilla at all.

So this one’s not for me. Not bad though!

I do love tea boxes, but I also love when they leave and I can sip from my tea collection again. Tea boxes reinvigorate your own tea collection.. make you think of teas you want to revisit. And also work on some sipdowns. Here is one I haven’t written a note for yet.
I don’t know much about what chestnuts taste like, however it does remind me of one of the best books I read this year: ‘The Overstory’ by Richard Powers. On to the tea: the lovely rooibos base comes through more than usual. A very deep red in the mug. I don’t think the orange blossoms do much here, but I do love when they are in blends. Any chestnut flavor here just seems like sweetness to me. Not much nutty about it, but again, I have no chestnut experience to compare this tea to. But a sweet rooibos is acceptable enough for me for a nighttime cup. The second steep the next night tasted exactly the same as the first.
Steep #1 // 1 1/2 teaspoons for a full mug // 12 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 4 minute steep

For once, I find myself agreeing with all the rave reviews! This really does give me apple, cinnamon, and that custard-ness of French toast. I made a huge tumbler to get me through a meeting, and I was sad when I guzzled it all down and was left with nothing. I do overleaf it pretty heavily, as I tend to overleaf most teas anyway but I also agree with other reviewers that S&V teas tend to require it. BUT I DON’T CARE! I’LL GO A TSP PER OZ OF WATER IF I NEED TO, IT WAS THAT YUMMY! Ahem.

Simpson & Vail Advent Calendar – Day 18

(originally written November 18th)

Another double black day in advent calendar teas! Although technically this blend has some oolong in it as well. From the description, it sounds like a breakfast blend with a bit of blackcurrant involved. The oolong isn’t mentioned.

I quite like this one! It’s a bit light to be a breakfast tea, perhaps better suited for the afternoon. But I don’t often drink strong breakfast teas, so this is perfect for me. There’s a nice mix of malt, baked bread, and mild earth and wood notes. I can also taste the light roasty, dried-leafy flavor of the oolong. The blackcurrant is just a hint at the end, and melds nicely with the teas.

This is a tasty light black blend with a little touch of blackcurrant. Yummy! I would consider ordering it in the future.

Discovery TTB #10

This blend has a delightful caramel aroma! The flavor is on the light side…smooth, slightly sweet caramel with just a hint of spice. I didn’t really pick up on any pumpkin. Overall, a pleasant cup of tea but nothing special.

Discovery TTB #7

Wow, another tea with cinnamon in it that I actually like! Despite “cinnamon” being in the name, the flavor is actually more like a blueberry muffin: sweet and fruity with just a hint of spice. And surprisingly, there’s no unpleasant stevia aftertaste either. There was only about a teaspoon and a half left in the bag, so I finished it off…sad, because I’d love to have this one in my collection!

Discovery TTB #4

I tend to shy away from most blends with cinnamon in them, as that’s a flavor that tends to overwhelm. But this one smelled delicious, so I decided to give it a try. And I wasn’t disappointed! There’s a good mix of maple, cinnamon, and apple flavor without any one taking over. A nice morning treat!

Simpson & Vail Advent Calendar – Day 17

(originally written November 17th)

Hm, not all that excited for this one. I’m not big on masala chai, and I wasn’t too impressed by S&V’s French Vanilla Chai.

But actually, this one is quite good! The base tea is hefty and brisk, even a tad bitter. It stands up well to the spice. The strongest spice here is the clove, followed by cinnamon and anise. I’m not sure I taste cardamom, but to me it’s often easily overwhelmed by clove.

I’m not sure I feel the need to stock a masala chai blend, but if I did this would be a good choice. It’s not too strong to drink plain, but is definitely hefty enough to stand up to milk.

Simpson & Vail Advent Calendar – Day 16

(originally written November 16th)

This is going to be an interesting day for advent calendar teas – double ginger green teas. And I don’t even like ginger much, LOL! Oh well.

Wow, this one is quite spicy with the ginger! I can taste some creamy coconut and a bit of citrusy lemongrass as well, but mostly it’s ginger.

It’s not my favorite, but it is drinkable and a good quality. But I’m not going to rate it, because strong ginger just isn’t my thing!

This somehow reminds me of gingerbread. I really like the flavor of this one. It’s sweet and dessert-y without being over the top. The green rooibos works well – there’s enough of a backbone without making it woody like red would do.

The scent really is that of an almond sugar cookie. Somehow they managed to actually capture the cookie scent. The flavor is a bit of a letdown after that amazing fragrance, but still nice and enjoyable.

Simpson & Vail Advent Calendar – Day 15

(originally written November 15th)

Hm, this one sounds interesting – chocolate, nuts, and maple. Any time maple is involved, I’m on board! ❤

Sadly, this is just meh for me. It joins several other S&V black teas that, to me, just taste like “flavoring”. Maybe a little bit of chocolate, but it’s weird carob-y chocolate. Definitely no maple.

Disappointing, but that’s okay. You can’t win ’em all! ;)

Wow this is even better than I expected. It smells like blueberry muffins and tastes like them too! The cinammon definitely makes it taste like baked goods. I do add sugar, but honestly it tastes as satisfying as eating a dessert. Simpson & Vail are magical with their dessert flavors.

Simpson & Vail Advent Calendar – Day 14

(originally written November 14th)

Ooh, another green rooibos blend from Simpson & Vail. These have been my favorites so far from the advent box, which is rather unexpected.

This one is quite pleasant as well. It’s interesting that it almost tastes like a red rooibos to me with the added flavors. The caramel is deep and almost toffee-like. It is also buttery, almost in a buttered rum sort of way. The caramel and butter together almost remind me of a dark butterscotch, which is lovely. There is a bit of walnut here as well, and I would definitely identify it as walnut over other nuts.

I would absolutely guess that this was a red rooibos from the taste! Obviously it’s not, but I think the richer flavors are tricking my tastebuds. But I really think this green rooibos tastes a bit woodier than usual.

Hi Steepster. I haven’t been here in years (3 years as a matter of fact, how time flies) but I just popped in to recommend this tea. I am not a fan of the classic Earl Grey because I find the bergamot is usually overpowering and kind of bitter in the finish. This has a very light touch of bergamot and has more the flavor of an orange, not so much lemon. Drinking this with Silk soy milk and a touch of stevia. It is quite delicious and refreshing. Reminds me a bit of a Terry’s chocolate orange. I got a sample bag, but think I’ll need to order a tin once this is gone.

Simpson & Vail Advent Calendar – Day 13

(originally written November 13th)

Ooh, I’ve been rather excited for this blend to come up. I saw a note for it a few weeks ago, and was happy to see that it was on the list for the advent box. So hooray!

It is quite good. I could do with maybe a tiny bit more blueberry, but it’s definitely discernable. The blueberry is somewhere between jam and candy. The cinnamon and pastry notes are definitely right on the money. It tastes like a sweet and buttery cinnamon crumb topping.

I could do with fewer blackberry leaves, but it’s not cloyingly sweet. Dare I say a small bit of hibiscus might improve this? :O

Simpson & Vail Advent Calendar – Day 12

(originally written November 12th)

Haven’t been doing much in the way of tea today. I had one at work. But then I saw a note from ashmanra that mentioned potato soup, so once I left work I had to head to to store and pick up the ingredients to make my own. With shredded sharp cheddar and bacon on top, of course! (I made way too much soup! At least I don’t have to worry about work lunches for the week!)

Anyway, the tea. This is a strawberry cream green tea with cacao nibs.

It’s not bad, but not remarkable either. The green tea base doesn’t have a lot of flavor – just a bit of grass and dried leaves. I can taste the strawberry, though it’s not strong. I’m not sure I’m really getting much in the way of cream or cocoa.

Mostly just a rather generic strawberry green tea that’s not all that flavorful. Meh.

Simpson & Vail Advent Calendar – Day 11

(originally written November 11th)

Ugh, so I found out that I’m going to be in France for the first week of December. So I’ve already been doing two advent calendars in November… And now I’ll need to do the first week of my other three calendars early as well…

This is going to get very confusing with notes from three different dates when I post all the notes in December, LOL! My apologies in advance!

This is a pretty tasty tea, and it’s nice to have a holiday tea that doesn’t have clove, cinnamon, or orange in it. The black tea is light enough that I can’t taste it next to the other flavors, which is a bit of a shame. I question the addition of red rooibos, but I suppose its woody flavor does go well with the vanilla. The peppermint is herbaceous but it’s not musty and it does have a nice, refreshing flavor.

All in all, this is a perfectly nice vanilla and mint black tea. I do like it better than the David’s version. But I do feel it could be improved by using mint flavoring or extract instead of the herbal peppermint. That would give it more of a candy-cane-esque flavor, similar to their Candy Cane Green Rooibos tea. I also can’t really tell that it’s a black tea base.