Simpson & Vail

This is a somewhat delicate tea, with malty, nutty spicey notes. It is not exceptional, but it is pleasant. S&V says you can blend it with others and I think you could. Takes cream nicely or is fine without.

I’ve tasted a lot of blends that are heavily reliant upon hibiscus as the primary ingredient. I’m not usually a fan of these types of blends, but I really like this one… because even though hibiscus IS the primary ingredient, it is the combination of the other ingredients that makes this one intriguing.

I love the sarsaparilla in this, it adds just enough interest to the cup to make the taste buds perk up and say “hey… I like that!” The vanilla gives a soft sweetness to the cup.

Very pleasant cup!

Very nice blend. Two of my favorite scents and flavors. I really like this one

OK… I think I’m finally ready to rate this numerically.

The blend here is very well-rounded. It is robust and very bright in flavor. The bergamot is not as strong in this blend as I’ve experienced it in other blends, but, it seems to be “just right” for this tea base. Nothing too overwhelming, just a very smooth, seamless tasting tea. Beautiful.

This is a very nice, well-rounded Earl Grey. The black tea is very robust. The bergamot is not super-strong in the cup, but it is citrusy and delicious and has a nice almost-tart aftertaste. Very smooth taste.

This is an Earl Grey that I want to spend a little more time with before I include a numeric rating for it.

I was a little scared this tea would be too sour, but, I think that the key is to not steep it too long. I steeped it for just 5 minutes and I have a cup that is tart, but not too sour, and pleasantly fruity. I like this!

I thought this had something of a licorice smell in the packet, with some grilled veggie there, too. To me it was quite smooth, and not very brisk. I think I should’ve brewed it for another minute. Not an exciting tea, but pleasant and easy to drink.

Starting off the day with this tea – yesterday I went through some of my teas and came across this one and decided that I must revisit it. Here is my full-length review of it: http://www.teareviewblog.com/?p=13656

This is a delicious tropical blend. The aroma is similar to the Mango Tango black tea I used to blend (several years ago!), but the taste is quite different. This has such a nice medley of fruit flavors. The mango is the strongest flavor, followed by the apricot. Having not tried a Jackfruit before, I can’t tell you definitively that I can taste “jackfruit” but I do taste a banana-y flavor along with an almost pineapple-ish taste in the background.

But the strongest flavor here is definitely the black tea. It is brisk and tastes really fresh and vibrant.

The first thing that comes to mind when I smell this dry blend is the aroma of first walking into a Rustic or Folk Art Decor or Home Decor Store. This brews to a reddish purple like most hibiscus type tisanes would.

Even tho the spices tone-down the hibiscus overall…it’s a rather odd taste…but in a twisted sort of way – I think I like it…I like it for what it IS…different! I don’t think I would stock up on this but it isn’t too bad!

This is just what I expected with a Scottish Blend – HEARTY with an almost chewy kind of creaminess to it. It’s like freshly baked bread… like the chewy crisp crust of the bread. It’s awesome and it’s a great tea with which to start the day.

A nice sweetness to it too. Malty! Truly lovely.

This is an excellent Irish Breakfast blend – malty and robust with a pleasant chewiness to it. It’s a little smoother than some Irish Breakfast blends that I’ve tried, and I like that. There is a really nice caramel-y flavor at the finish.

Very good – and an excellent tea to wake up to!

I under infused this and it is much better. Still puckery but I can handle it. Also better iced. SIPDOWN!

Okay so I guess I can drink this iced as long as I know how puckery it is going IN to the cup! BUT…I’m not really a fan hot and don’t think I would purchase this – too hibiscusy for me.

HOLY PUCKER!!!!!!!! I said PUCKER! This is SOUR! WOW! I think this would be ok iced for those who like Hibiscus…but HOT…not so much! WOW! I’m not going to rate this one and am really going to try this one iced to see if I can accept it cold.

SIPDOWN!!!! YUM! This was nice!

Tremendous! This is a very good Irish Breakfast! Extra Points for being Organic! Satisfying flavor – lovely finish!

I LOVE that 5 countries and their teas are represented in this blend! This is hearty and bold with a creamy finish. This is one of their newer teas and I am so honored to try it so quickly. It will appear in the Fall Catalog soon but IS available on their website right now. This is a great WAKE ME UP Tea!

This has been one of my favorite teas in my stash since I first found it (I think that was in the middle or late-middle of last year). I could review this without having just had a pot of it, but I just had a pot and wanted to log this before making another pot.

I brew it in my pot with with boiling water for 5 minutes. Of course, as time goes on (it takes an hour to 3 or even 4 hours for me to drink a pot because I enjoy it slowly), the flavor changes. At first, the rose and the cardamom stand out separately, and the tea has a kind of kick, like it has black pepper in it (it apparently doesn’t). The flavors do tend to blend after a while, and it keeps the kick. After blending, it tastes spicily floral with a nice kick (it keeps the kick all the way through). I like it the whole way through, but YMMV. It isn’t what I’d call sweet, by the way.

I’ll get off now and have another pot. I sometimes like to listen to Led Zeppelin’s “Kashmir” while drinking it. Heh. That’s fun.

Finishing up what was left in my stash this morning and I didn’t get the water hot enough but it’s still good…just not as strong. See my previous review!

Almost out of this one…this is YUMMY…backlogging – first cuppa the day!

I have been wanting to try this one for a while!!!! Thanks LiberTEAS!

I have found I am getting bored with many Earl Greys so I am challenging myself to try the ones with a twist and the highest rated ones. This one doesn’t have a really high rating because of some scoring it REALLY low but it does have a twist and that is what made me wonder.

Here’s my take on it…

Dry Smell was black tea, a little peach, and what reminded me of Strawberries, actually…so much so that I thought it was supposed to have Strawberries in the blend but it doesn’t say so in the description.

Post infusion aroma is TO_DIE_FOR Peach!!! I LOVE Peach! It’s rare if I don’t like a reach flavored tea, now that I think of it.

It looks like a typical black tea

The taste is smoother than I thought it would be – almost creamy. The black tea flavor is present. There is a great deal of PEACH for your peach lovers! There is a hint of spice…which I am assuming is the ‘earl grey type hint’. This taste is gently hanging out in the background and could be missed for some.

The taste of this tea is wonderful! My palate really enjoys it. I suppose if you are looking for a stereotypical EG – this is not it. If you are looking for a twist and like peach – YOU WILL HAVE TO TRY THIS!!!!! If you are not into peach…you might not dig it…BUT…luck for me! I do and I am…I came, I saw, I sipped! I LOVED. I really REALLY like this!

I know this would ROCK iced, too! The more I drink the more I like! 2 thumbs up from me on this one!

My brother is a senior in high school and he has no idea what he’s doing, but he has big plans. So, I sat with him today, and gave him the bad news—that he’s going to have to spend a ton of time doing stuff he doesn’t want to to do to get into a decent college. We worked on paperwork all day. I cheered him up later on by baking him banana bread, and watching “Ratatouille” with him. Sometimes, he’s easy to please. That movie always makes me reach for a cup of tea, and I needed something french—something to go with the theme for the evening. Hence, this French Vanilla tea, which brewed something a bit more pleasurable than usual.
Oh, I wish I had planted that zucchini plant so I would have the one ingredient I’m missing to make ratatouille. Until then, I have a nice cup of french vanilla to cheer me up, and help me forget that I have finished nothing for myself all day.