Additional notes: I had some extra heavy cream, so I finally made a scone box mix I received a while ago from Simpson & Vail! (The first day of scones was enjoyed with Bird & Blend’s Spiced Pumpkin Pie tea.) The scones were GOOD despite being pumpkin and despite this being July. Then I had some extra cream left over and decided to make an East Frisian tea, lo and behold also from Simpson & Vail. East Frisian style brewed as in, sugar goes in the bottom, cream at the top, no stirring. The cream wafted around a lot anyway. Or possibly I used way too much and it seemed like a cup of cream and I could hardly tell there was tea in the mug. However, I forgot one of the crucial components to East Frisian blending of cream is to slowly lower a spoon of cream into the cup, rather than pouring the cream. Oops. It had been a WHILE. I had this East Frisian before, ages ago from Simpson & Vail and I really liked it! This harvest seems much different (as harvests sometimes happen to change.) The second steep, I tried plain. And even with two teapoons, the flavor is so one noted from what I remember. Very much just like a bland, flat, astringent tea. I will try it again to make sure, but obviously this is the perfect tea as it is, to mask the bland astringency with sugar and lots of cream. Simpson & Vail is usually consistent, even with different harvests, but they can’t be perfect all of the time. But this tea is simply supposed to be malty and brisk, I guess. If I lowered ratings, this would now be a 70.
This is You :-D
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Bio
Hi! I love tea and trying new ones – it adds a bit of variety to my day! Books, music, TV & movies are my thing… and tea, of course.
Some of my favorite tea shops (still operating):
birdandblendtea.com
teavivre.com
52teas.com
svtea.com
whisperingpinestea.com
justea.com
harney.com
Dammann Freres
fusionteas.com
Javateaco.com
Lupicia
Octaviatea.com
Davidstea
eco-cha.com
what-cha.com
singleoriginteas.com
teasenz.com
tealyra.com
Mandala
verdanttea.com
Favorite tea shops (RIP):
butikiteas.com
steapshoppe.com
steepcityteas.com
aquartertotea.com
dellaterrateas.com
zentealife.com
angrytearoom.com
theteamerchant.net
joysteaspoon.com
tealiciousllc.com
Rivertea
Specialteas
My icon photo is Richard Mayhew from the graphic novel ‘Neverwhere’ by Neil Gaiman, Mike Carey & Glenn Fabry.
Most of the teas listed in my cupboard are actually sample sizes. I don’t really have 2,000 ounces of tea around here! Many of my teas have only one teaspoon left… maybe two. But I like keeping them in my cupboard list for reference to what I could be sipping. Usually, I write tasting notes once for each tea. I’m still drinking them, just not writing tasting notes each time!
I’m always in search of: Hattialli, Qu Hao black, Jin Jun Mei, teas using marshmallow root.
My dislikes: hibiscus, ginger (unless in chai), turmeric, bee pollen, charcoal type flavors
My ratings:
95-100 – Super awesome deliciousness favorites – cupboard essential
80-95 – Also pretty delicious
65-80 – Pretty good
50-65 – Okay
1-50 – Probably won’t want to sip it again
I’m planning on being a Steepsterer as long as there IS a Steepster, so if you’re not hearing from me, that means something happened to my health… if you know what I mean. (Or as evidenced by the great computer hiatus of 2019, something happened to my computer… I have a dumb phone so can’t access internet on that. As of 12/20/21 my wifi might start getting unreliable.)
Happy sipping!
Location
USA
I always enjoy East Frisian tea, so I’ll have to try Simpson & Vail’s version! I don’t buy enough from them — even though I still get their catalogs sent to me in the mail.
Yeah, I love S&V!