Simpson & Vail

Another sample from S&V — thank you! HAD to try this golden monkey. The leaves look like your classic, traditional golden monkey variety. Long, thin, about 1/3 gold in color. I might have steeped the first cup a little light. The flavor is light. But what is there is tasty. Hints of tomato soup. The second steep is a little deeper but sadly, I’m finding this tasting note lacking, as I’m sure all of you are, as there just isn’t the depth to this tea that I would wish. Not my preferred Golden Monkey, I guess.
Steep #1 // 1 1/2 teaspoons for a full mug // 24 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 6+ minute steep

Oof, woke to more rain which is flaring up my migraine-head. I’m hoping it’ll subside by noon since I planned to try out a new Japanese restaurant for lunch for my birthday.

I was going to brew some genmaicha this morning, but then remembered I ordered this tea a year ago and figured I’d give it a try. The aroma of the dry leaf is a little strange to me, but I also can’t drink alcohol (see above about the migraines) so I can’t really compare to actual Irish Creme (I did used to enjoy the Irish Creme flavored Torani syrup in coffee, though). I definitely can smell the fresh green grassiness of green tea, but the flavoring… I guess it smells a little like a chocolate root beer? It’s not unpleasant, just different.

The flavor is pretty nice, though! I used 2g of leaf for a 12 oz. cup and steeped 175F water for only 2 minutes, and the green tea is smooth and flavorful and not a bitter mess. It’s been a long time since I’ve had a green tea and I’m finding the grassy undertone very pleasant. The flavor does have this sort of dryness to it that I imagine is a bit alcohol-esque, and tastes a bit like chocolate, but not abrasively so… it’s pretty smooth, sweet, and subdued. I do get a bit of a cream favor in the aftertaste. It’s quite nice… maybe not my first choice for a rainy day when I tend to go for dark and roasty flavors, but it is certainly the most thematic tea in my cupboard for today and I’m glad I tried it!

March Sipdown Challenge Prompt – an herbal tisane

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For a tea that contains no sweeteners real or artifical, this is one of the sweetest tasting tisanes I have ever had.

Using my normal amount of leaf, the first pot of this was shared with Ashman and we did two steeps which we combined. Even that way, the flavor was incredibly strong. It was good flavor, mind you, but wow, was it strong. I agree that this gives the vibe of Carrot Cake Cupcake from the same company, with a sense of confectioner’s sugar and cream cheese frosting. How? I think it would be safe to back off a little on how much leaf we use when drinking it hot.

The second time I made it was when I needed a quick tea for Ashman. I put two teaspoons of leaf in a gravity steeper that holds seven ounces, steeped only once, and decanted it into a tea shaker full of ice. (Like a cocktail shaker but made especially for tea.) It got so frothy when shaken! does green rooibos have more naturally occurring saponins than tea? I poured it into a tall glass and added a couple of teaspoons of simple syrup. I tested a small spoonful of it to make sure it was sweet enough for Ashman, and it was light and fruity. He pronounced it very, VERY good and really enjoyed it. The crumble idea took a back seat slightly and this tasted more like jammy blueberry tisane to me. Nice.

We needed an evening tea for suppers so I made a half gallon with the remainder of the pack. This might need to be a repurchase for fruity summertime tea. It is chilling in the fridge now, but I will update when we drink it made that way, five teaspoons double steeped and combined going into a half gallon pitcher with a half cup of sugar. Hopefully it will be as good as the flash chilled tea.

A sample from S&V — thanks very much!   I know I have tried a Nahorhabi tea in the past.  Looking at the leaves, I remembered it a bit.  So much gold in them there leaves!   But not fully gold.  This is the look of leaf I find so promising and appealing before I steep them up!  The leaf also has a look that I would describe as “choppy”… whatever that means.  The flavor is just what I wanted today.  It’s assam, but not a super strong type — it’s sweet, fruity, layered, actually a hint of gardenia.  Maybe just a hint of tomato soup.  It’s bright, refreshing, maybe a hint of citrus like a marmalade or maybe just the barest hint of some other flavored jam  (strawberry or guava?)  So maybe a mix of marmalade/strawberry/guava jam?  Why isn’t that a thing? Then at times it most reminds me of Yunnan.  Delicious.   The second steep seemed much more like a traditional assam flavor, losing its uniqueness of the first steep for a bit of harshness.  Either a 3 1/2 minute steep was too long, or this one is just fine with one teaspoon instead of 1 1/2 teaspoons. The high rating I’m giving it is much more for the first steep than the second.
Steep #1 // 1 1/2 teaspoons for a full mug // 20 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 //  just boiled // 3 1/2 min steep

The last black tea from the March subscription.

As expected, this taste quite similar to a late flush Darjeeling. It’s pleasant enough, just not my favorite type of tea. Very smooth and woody/haylike, with hints of dried fruit and oats. A slight cannabis note, which is something I also often taste in Japanese black teas. Another one for the rehoming box.

Another one from the March subscription.

Not a good match for me, it has too much acidic and metallic Ceylon for my tastes. Will put the rest of the pouch aside to send to someone who will enjoy it.

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I’ve had plenty of subpar Dragon Well green teas in my life to know that this one wasn’t anything outstanding. I decided to change it up and brew the rest of this overnight in the fridge, as a cold brewed tea. Maybe the key to making an excellent green tea is to cold brew because this method seemed to help elevate the nutty tasting notes, and somehow, allowed the tea to be crisper and refreshing! Again, it’s not the most amazing green tea, but this cup was enjoyable, nonetheless.

February Sipdown

Aroma: Vanilla & cake/s

Color: Yellow

Tasting Notes: Vanilla birthday cake with added spices – reminded me of my grandma’s vanilla spice cake (cinnamon, cardamon, & nutmeg).

From the March subscription box. This month, 3 of the 4 selections are unflavored black teas. I do enjoy plain black teas, but just seems like a weird choice to have so many in the same category. Two of them are breakfast-style blends, and one is a plain Nepalese tea.

This one… I’m not sure I buy that there’s no scenting or flavoring happening here. They claim it’s just black teas and blue cornflowers, and in my package the flowers are quite scarce. Yet this has a noticeable floral taste to it, especially in the finish. It’s quite a heady type of floral as well, something close to rose. It’s not rose, but I’m not familiar enough with florals to identify it. I’ve had cornflowers in so many teas, and never noticed a floral note from them, so I’m hesitant to believe that they’re contributing such a strong flavor in this blend. Aside from the floral notes, it tastes a bit Lipton-y, which is usually an indicator of Ceylon for me. Definitely acidic, with a bit of astringency as well. I can’t tell what other teas are here, but I’m not getting a lot of malt.

Definitely not the tea for me, so I’m putting the rest in my rehoming box.

ETA: I finally realized what the floral in this reminds me of, it’s lychee! I think S&V carries a lychee-scented black tea, so I wonder if that’s one of the “black teas” in this blend?

Sipdown! (4 | 43)

This is fine. Very earthy and herb-y tasting, with no flavor in particular jumping out at me. Definitely tasting roots, so that must be the ashwagandha. Maybe a bit of oatstraw and tulsi as well, but mostly it tastes generically “herbal”. I don’t notice the mango flavoring.

Sipdown! (3 | 42)

This was pleasant enough, as breakfast blends go. Not typically my type of tea, but this one had enough Chinese black tea in it to smooth things out. Not something I would order, but far more enjoyable than the plain Ceylon from the same month.

Sadly, this month there are two breakfast-type blends in the box…

This is interesting because I really can taste the vanilla icing! It’s fake, but in the right way, so it’s enjoyable. Beneath that, I taste a nice rooibos. I like this sweetened with milk. To me, it tastes best cold. No cake, but lots of icing.

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This was one of my gifts from my daughter who lives with us and I thought I had reviewed it before, but no note here.

We really enjoyed this new blend from S&V. The base is nice, not too strong but not anemic which is something that really irks me with flavored teas sometimes. I still want to taste tea even with flavors!

There is a vanilla icing vibe to this, with light berry flavor – no terribly prominent but it is there.

The rest of this is winging its way to gmathis to experience the glommy icing vibe! (As per another note and comment!)

Loved this one, perfect blend of oolong, black tea, and marigold petals (can’t taste the former). Steeped five with one cube of sugar, delightful.

I have been looking for evening decaf teas that are not always Roobios, which is iffy for me, although I seem to have plenty of blends. I generally adore most of Simpson & Vail tea, and I have had three of their standard similar black blends that are not decaffeinated – for some reason this one is WEAK. I have tried three times and it’s like weak store bag tea. Even the consistency of the leaves is almost a powder type. Very disappointing.

Sipdown! (5 | 39)

From the February subscription. I’m not technically sipping this down, but setting the rest aside to send to a friend who is a Ceylon enjoyer (unlike me, lol).

To me, this just tastes like a generic Ceylon. Sharp, tannic, with a high acidity and subtle grass-straw flavor. Not really sure what else to say about it, maybe there’s a hint of dried fruit if I squint? Not the tea for me. XP

A sample from S&V! I love to try as many Chinese black teas as I can. The leaves here are gorgeous – twisty and equal parts gold and black. The flavor is honey, milk, cream and butter, a bit of black pepper. Obviously lighter notes on the first steep! The brew itself is the color of honey. I love how a second steep of this sort of tea is entirely different, if I baby the first steep and stoke the second one. The brew is much darker and murkier and the flavor is almost like molasses. A bit of chocolate. Still pepper. All things I love about a great Yunnan. Maybe not the best Yunnan I have ever had, but it’s quite good and meets my expectations!
Steep #1 // 2 loose teaspoons for a full mug // 24 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 4-5 minute steep

Sipdown! (3 | 37)

The last one from the January subscription! Just in time, too, as my February shipment is currently sitting in the mailbox… XD

At first, I was dreading this one because of the stevia, but it’s actually not noticeable (thank goodness!). It’s a very mellow herbal infusion, even the tulsi doesn’t stand out strongly. Soft with a subtle mintiness from the tulsi and peppermint, as well as a gentle lemony note from lemon myrtle. There’s a slight ginger warmth, and the other “immunity-boosting” botanicals contribute a pleasant earthy quality. The texture in particular is very nice, it feels soft and pillowy on the tongue.

A pleasant and mellow infusion, but not something I would feel the need to order. I love tulsi so would prefer more of it to shine through! I will recommend it though, as I feel it’s very well-balanced and enjoyable overall.

This was a cheap option from S&V, so I figured… why not try? $1.90 for an ounce! The flavor isn’t great, isn’t bad. It initially tastes like a bit of gasoline to me. Maybe oats/cereal… a little like cardboard. Then I read the description and forgot this was black tea but also oolong, and that makes sense for these flavors… if it’s like a formosa oolong. I forgot all about those, as they aren’t my favorite, so I don’t really drink them anymore. The second steep was a bit more charcoal, a little harsher, metallic. I don’t regret TRYING it. Now at least I know it’s just an okay tea. A sad update about S&V: I reached out to S&V and they don’t offer rewards points for reviews anymore…. only rewards points for purchases. boo.
Steep #1 // 1 1/2 teaspoons for a full mug // 22 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 4 minute steep

February Sipdown Challenge Prompt – a spiced tea

My daughter gave me this and I chose it to be the tea for Ashman to have for breakfast and take to work this week, but I hadn’t tried it myself until today.

When I was measuring the leaves into the pot I saw a large whole clove and thought, “OH NO.” I am not a fan of clove except in teeny amounts. Same goes for ginger.

Surprise, surprise! This was delightful! The cinnamon is smooth and easy and the clove and ginger are at a perfect level for me, not too hot. This really tastes like the kind of gingerbread that I like. I drank it plain with lunch and wondered if I would feel differently about it once the sandwich was down the hatch and it was all tea and no food. But no! Even by itself the spices are just right.

If there is any change at all that I would want in this tea, it would be a wish for a slightly stronger base. But I am happy with it as it is, and it certainly isn’t anemic like the base of Harney’s Salted Caramel which was just a cruel blow for me, smelling so good and then tasting so weak.

This is one that would be nice to have around again next winter. I bet if I leaf it on the heavy side it would make a great latte, too.

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From the January subscription. The name of this tea made me laugh because it’s so vague compared to what I’m used to. Going to assume it’s a TGY since that’s the most common, but who knows ha ha.

It’s good though! Definitely on the greener side of things, but still has some nice bake-y sort of notes to it. Silky smooth with a nice balance of fresh green and sweet grainy notes and a touch of floral in the finish. I wouldn’t seek it out again, just because I tend to prefer Taiwanese oolongs, and anyway I generally buy flavored and unflavored teas from separate sources. But enjoyed my 3-ish cups!

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Ashman and I have enjoyed this one with meals. I don’t think we ever had it on its own. Warm and cozy spices greet you when you open the package. I don’t like too much clove or too much ginger in spice blends, and this one is juuuuuuust right…for me. If you were looking for a strong chai, this isn’t it.

It smells like I should be drinking it on a rainy day with soft light jazz playing.

I enjoyed this the first few times I had it, but tonight… ick! My partner wanted a cinnamon-y tea, so I made a pot of this one. But neither of us cares for it. It’s got that stevia-like slippery-sweetness from the blackberry leaf that coats my tongue after each sip, and I’m just finding the overall flavor profile on the cloying side. It’s absolutely cookie-like, but it’s just not hitting the right notes for me tonight!

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Last one from the December subscription. It’s fine, as turmeric infusions go. Mostly turmeric with a slight kick from the ginger and black pepper. I don’t taste a lot of the other spices over the earthy ones, perhaps a bit of anise and cinnamon. A bit too turmeric-heavy for me, and I wish I could taste the lemongrass.