Simpson & Vail

Back at work already… sigh

This is a nice cuppa! Did you make any New Year’s resolutions? To drink more tea, perhaps?

This was the whole reason for me ordering again from S & V – this is a great morning breakfast blend! see previous notes.

I had two cups of it this morning so far… I know this tea will not last me very long at the rate I am going. It’s so good!

This is a delicious blend of black teas, I got this one for the office and to drink in the morning. It is fairly bold and hefty, there’s definitely some malty assam in here but I’m also getting a nice fruitiness which makes me wonder if there’s a ceylon in here, perhaps a keemun?

This is really delightful with a splash of soymilk, which is the way I will be drinking it. I did try a sip of it plain and it didn’t seem too bitter at all. Great breakfast/morning tea and even better than I was hoping it would be. Highly recommend it this if you like this type of tea.

Sipdown!

Finally finished off a tin of this – now I have a good excuse to place another tea order… ha ha.

I have really enjoyed this one, it’s good for morning or afternoon time. Now I’m off to go do some morning meditation after this lovely cuppa!

Tea of the morning, this is definitely a great morning cuppa or for anytime! :)

Tea o’ the morning here, this is nice with a bit of soymilk and some coconut sugar. I am looking forward to a short week! :)

Tea of the morning here – a delightful Ceylon, also would be good for the afternoon. I hope my new Simpson and Vail order arrives soon! :-D

I got this recently with my Simpson and Vail order. Oddly I am running low on traditional type black teas and I do like these kind in the morning.

Definitely a good ceylon, I’ve had others from this estate before. very smooth with a chocolate flavor, not bitter at all, accomodates a splash of milk really well. It’s almost as mild as a congou, I may have to try it plain someday. It would be good in the morning or the afternoon, I think. Really works for me.

Mmmm! Cupcakes are one of my very favorite treats … probably only second to creme brulee. However, as I don’t own a blowtorch (and my husband seems very hesitant to get me one) nor do I have much patience for making custard, cupcakes are a more frequently enjoyed treat around here because they’re fun to bake, and I don’t require a blowtorch to apply the finishing touches on a cupcake.

This really does taste a whole lot like a strawberry chocolate cupcake. The strawberry comes through at the start, tasting fresh and authentic and sweet with just a hint of tartness that comes through at the finish, and lingering on into the aftertaste. After the first couple of sips, the chocolate begins to emerge and after a few more sips, the chocolate is just as strong as the strawberry. I even taste a creaminess to this (frosting!) and a bake-y, cake-y kind of taste.

So very yummy, this is a great way to enjoy the goodness of cupcakes for breakfast without the guilt of eating an actual cupcake.

This was a sample that they sent with my tea order.
When you smell the dry leaf it reminds me of muffins or cranberry bread.
It has a baked goods odor to it that is very warm and comforting.
Taste is orange, than cranberry than a nice black tea.
Very lovely tea for drinking in autumn or winter.
Has a definite cozy appeal.
I would purchase this tea.

Thank you to TeaEqualsBliss for sending me a bit of this tea.

Not intending to continue on with citrus-y teas, but not disappointed to be doing so, I randomly selected this tea from my huge stash of yet-to-be-tried teas. It smells intriguing. I can smell the bergamot but it isn’t as distinct as the grapefruit. It smells bright and citrus-y.

Wow! Very interesting, indeed. This would be a great bergamot flavored tea for those who don’t think they like bergamot, because it is not an overwhelming taste in this tea. I taste it, but, the grapefruit is equally as strong, if not stronger. Some sips I taste a bit more grapefruit, and every once in a while, the bergamot emerges.

It’s really quite refreshing, and a nice change from the typical Earl Grey.

After feeling rather jilted from the French Vanilla Tea, I decided I deserved some dessert.
So, I opened this bag of tea and my tummy immediately growled.
Oh, dear, is this one of those teas that make me want to raid the cupboard or bake sweets (my hips do not need that!)
It certainly smells very cookie like, in fact I reached in and snitched a almond and munched happily away while the tea brewed.
Sniffing the tea while it is brewing is like smelling cookies baking in the oven…divine!
My mouth was watering and I was hopping back in forth in front of the timer.
I kept checking the ingredient list while I was waiting, the tea just smells like sugar coated cookies!
I wanted to make sure there really weren’t crumbled up cookies in there;)
Taste is a little calmer than the smell, you can taste the black tea and the almonds with a bake-y note at the end.
A very tasty and cozy tea.
Also, it is satisfying, I have no need to go find munchies or start baking.
I am plenty happy just sitting here and sipping.

Not getting much for vanilla from this.
In fact, I am getting more of a Rooibos odor.
Maybe it is just my nose today?
Taste is not bad. Not great. Just a fairly mild mannered black tea.
I am thinking of letting this cool off some and see if the shy vanilla feels brave enough to emerge.

Wow.
First of all, if you don’t like cinnamon then do not get this tea.
There. Thats the short of it for you Cinnamon Haters out there.
But, for the rest of you, this tea is like those Cinnamon Hot Candies.
Now, as a after dinner tea, to sip while reading a book on a blustery winters eve, I think this tea is perfect.
I actually think if you had a apple flavored tisane about, I think mixing a little of that with this tea would make a yummy Apple Pie dessert tea.
I might have to look into that.

Drinking this most of the morning…now edging into afternoon.
For some reason, I am getting much more LS from this today then I normally do.
As usual, I nearly doubled the amount of dry leaf per cup.
Very good companion to the house work and cheese making I am doing today.
See previous notes for more on this tea.

Trying this again (See previous notes)
I added almost another whole tea-spoon of leaf per cup.
The smokiness is coming out and bergamot is much more present.
I am really liking this tea now.
Very good for a morning brew.
(upped the rating a smidgen since I can now taste the notes that they promised in the description:)

So, I went out on a limb and bought a pound of this tea.
We shall see if I made a mistake or not.
Since it is blended with Earl Grey and has Lapsang Souchong, I was hoping that this was a tea that my husband and I could enjoy many pots of together (EG for me and LS for him)
Smelling the tea in dry leaf form, I can smell the bergamot and a hint of smokiness.
The tea brews up to almost a Maroon color.
Smelling the tea in the cup, and it smells faintly of bergamot and just a nice quality black tea. Not really smelling much LS smokiness at the moment.
Taste is a nice black tea, a hint of bergamot in the background, not much smokiness, but there is something else…there is a honey-like sweetness making itself present.
Very nice breakfast tea, I think I will enjoy it, but I don’t think there is enough smokiness present for the Hubby.

Drinking this again this morning.
We have an air quality alert at red today because of all the smoke from the numerous fires here.
My throat is burning and my nose is stuffy.
This tea sounded good to me this morning.
Hoping it will clear out my nose and throat and be soothing.
Drinking it while eating a pumpkin spice muffin.
Feeling better already.

When you are start out your Monday with a Mediation in the morning and then a funeral in the afternoon, you want your tea to make you alert but also to be comforting.
I choose this tea, I made it strong and then did something I hardly ever do with my tea, I added some milk and agave syrup.
It is clearing the mind fog and the spices are settling my nervous stomach.
See previous notes.

I guess I am the first one to review this on Steepster?
I had to enter it into the database, anyhow.
There are so many other teas I need to be drinking up before I open up anything new.
But, when we got up and the temperature was 35 degrees, this Chai was calling my name from the box.
It knew I wanted, no, needed its warmth and comfort.
So, I broke my own rules and I am not sorry. ( I am such a rebel )
When, it was brewing in my Bodum, I kept sticking my nose down over the cup and taking deep breaths…mmmmmm, Christmas!
It really does smell like Christmas to me. I think it might be the Anise and maybe the Vanilla.
This tea could certainly hold up to traditional Chai brewing, with milk.
What I like about this tea, is the spices are very present but you can still taste a nice strong black tea.
There is a nice spicy bite on the back of the tongue.
This tea brews up to a lovely dark red color.
Very tasty, especially for chilly mornings, I am going to enjoy sipping this many mornings in the months to come.

This is more like it. I bought a nice fresh four-oz. bag of my favorite version of hazelnut, Simpson & Vail’s. They have never let me down. See my previous tasting note. I was so happy to have my new supply, I practically gulped it down.

I’m giving this tea a higher rating than I would give this particular cup that I brewed right now. That’s because what I did wasn’t the tea’s fault. First of all, I have been enjoying this flavor of tea—one of my favorite anytime teas—for five years now. The problem? I’m still drinking from the same stash I ordered five years ago. I just realized that this morning. Time to overhaul the tea cabinet. Anyway, my girlfriend is worried about my Splenda consumption so she bought me some honey to try. I accidentally used way too much in this cup, not knowing the proper Splenda-to-honey conversion. The result? Not so good.

HOWEVER. You need to try this tea. I’m going to buy more. It’s got a wonderful smooth black tea base and the nutty flavor is just outstanding here. It’s a nice one to grab early in the morning when you want something flavored but not too crazy. I’m just going to buy smaller amounts, more often!