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“My friend bought me a tin of this from a local shop that carries S&V teas! It’s not one that I would choose for myself, but it’s always nice to try a new S&V tea. I don’t taste any...” Read full tasting note
“Today’s gift of tea from my daughter was this one – waiting at the breakfast table being held aloft on a little platform by three small silver skeletons! This one is themed to Halloween, of...” Read full tasting note
“Another win from Simpson and Vail! I’m not surprised, there isn’t much that they have that I don’t love. Don’t go into this blend expecting rich chocolate and berry, it’s more on the berry side...” Read full tasting note
Best known as the author of Frankenstein, Mary Shelley was also an accomplished writer of poetry and travel writings, a skilled editor and a devoted wife and mother. Born in 1797 to Mary Wollstonecraft (a radical writer) and William Godwin (a political philosopher), Mary Shelley enjoyed an expansive education. She met the poet Percy Shelley in 1814 when she was 16, wed him in 1816 and was a widow before she turned 25.
The Shelley’s traveled extensively in Europe often in the company of other writers. In the summer of 1816 the Shelley’s, along with Lord Byron and a few others, were living in Lake Geneva, Italy. Bad weather prevented them from enjoying the great outdoors so Byron suggested a competition to see who could write the best ghost story. Mary’s story, Frankenstein; or The Modern Prometheus, first written as a short story, would expand into a book that is still enjoyed worldwide and one that sparked a new genre of horror stories, films and plays.
Tea was an essential part of Mary and Percy’s daily lives and it is recorded that they favored black tea that was sweetened. After learning of the plight of slaves on sugar cane plantations they boycotted sugar and, not liking unsweetened black tea, they switched to drinking plain green tea.
Since there are no references to tea in Mary’s writings, the inspiration for this blend came from the green tea she enjoyed as well as popular foods and flavors found in countries they visited during the time of the writing of Frankenstein, namely blackberries and chocolate. We incorporated both into this green tea blend and added sweet blackberry leaf as a nod to Mary’s sweet tooth.
This heavenly blend brews up to a golden color with a sweet fruit taste and an undertone of chocolate that will elevate your taste buds. Inspired by Shelley’s eloquent words in Frankenstein, “I feel my heart glow with an enthusiasm which elevates me to heaven”.
Ingredients: Green tea, (organic) cacao nibs, sweet blackberry leaf, chocolate flavor, and blackberry flavor.
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My friend bought me a tin of this from a local shop that carries S&V teas! It’s not one that I would choose for myself, but it’s always nice to try a new S&V tea. I don’t taste any chocolate at all. The green base is okay. The blackberry flavoring comes off as too fake for me. I shared this with my partner who said, “It’s like eating the entire blackberry bush.” It’s best cold with milk and sugar.
Today’s gift of tea from my daughter was this one – waiting at the breakfast table being held aloft on a little platform by three small silver skeletons! This one is themed to Halloween, of course!
When I looked at the steeping parameters I only glanced at the description and saw the word chocolate, so I was really surprised to smell berry and not very much chocolate when I opened it. A quick look at the tin confirmed that this is indeed a berry flavored tea, with chocolate. The berry flavor is the biggest player in it to me, for sure. I have to search for the chocolate.
And I love it! I had it with breakfast, and I found it to be an excellent tea for leisurely mid-morning sipping. (With pound cake. Shhhhh.)
Another win from Simpson and Vail! I’m not surprised, there isn’t much that they have that I don’t love. Don’t go into this blend expecting rich chocolate and berry, it’s more on the berry side with a touch of cocoa to enhance the berry flavor. Its rich and smooth with a buttery base and it’s lovely overall. It smells super familiar, like a bath and body works scent that I just can’t place.
Flavors: Blackberry, Candy, Floral, Vanilla
Aren’t blackberry leaves commonly used in tisanes? I’m not sure what they taste like, however.
Yeah they are. I’ve never had them alone, so I’m not sure either.
Both blackberry and raspberry leaves have a lightly vegetal flavour and a type of sweetness I would describe as similar to stevia and liquorice where it isn’t sugar sweetness but activates sweet taste buds. Blackberry leaf can give bulk to a tea and is very cheap to buy, plus it has health benefits and gives some sweetness to tea that might be sour or tannic.
You will find tons of tea companies claiming lots of health benefits but the literature has only shown that they have anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, and anti-microbial properties (e.g. treatment for infected mouth or sore throat).
I think strawberry and blackberry leaf mostly serve as Arby said – they somehow add sweetness. I have made strawberry leaf tea from my garden and it didn’t taste like much, but it made me belch as if I had drunk baking soda water! It is considered to be yummy soother so maybe that is why. I will have to try making blackberry leaf tea from all the rogue canes that come up every year.