East Frisian Blend Black Tea

Tea type
Black Tea
Ingredients
Not available
Flavors
Astringent, Berries, Malt, Orange Zest
Sold in
Bulk, Loose Leaf
Caffeine
High
Certification
Not available
Edit tea info Last updated by Cameron B.
Average preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 3 min, 30 sec 13 g 15 oz / 433 ml

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12 Tasting Notes View all

  • “This one is thanks to Nicole! I had read about the East Frisian method of brewing, so I had been waiting until we had cream around to try this one. I spotted some French vanilla cream in the...” Read full tasting note
    92
  • “SIPDOWN! I forgot i had to add in 2 butiki teas to my cupboard so there really is no likely way i’ll hit 200 teas this weekend – a more reasonable goal is probably 210, so i’ll aim for that. I...” Read full tasting note
    80
  • “This sample was included with my recent order. I’m impressed by this because I ordered via Amazon. But it looks as though the order was filled by the fine folks at Simpson and Vail. I’m glad they...” Read full tasting note
  • “East Frisianites would make great members of Steepster if this article is to be believed http://germanfood.about.com/od/drinks/tp/German-Tea.htm as the average consumption of tea per year is 5.51b...” Read full tasting note
    85

From Simpson & Vail

Your day will get a real jump start with a cup of this hearty tea! The tea brews to a deep copper color with a rich, strong, full bodied and slightly spicy taste. East Frisian is a perfect morning tea but one that can also be enjoyed all day long.

Ingredients: Black teas.

About Simpson & Vail View company

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12 Tasting Notes

92
4170 tasting notes

This one is thanks to Nicole! I had read about the East Frisian method of brewing, so I had been waiting until we had cream around to try this one. I spotted some French vanilla cream in the fridge! So for the East Frisian method of brewing, you plop some rock sugar into the bottom of the mug, brew the tea, and slowly lower a spoonful of cream into the top of the mug without stirring it at all! The idea is a creamy top, tea, and a sugary bottom. Yum! Both steeps turned out the so I’ll just talk about the first:
I used Adagio’s amber rock sugar, brewed a teaspoon and a half for four minutes. I wanted to try a sip of tea before adding the cream and it is the perfect tea for adding cream and sugar (which I never do, but makes for a nice occasional treat!) The flavor of the tea isn’t mild, but not too tough either. A nice maltiness… I kind of wish I had drank more before adding the cream. I’m not very talented at adding the cream, it whished everyone in the mug anyway… and seemed to settle to the bottom anyway. The cream/ sugar flavor is very nice, but I feel like it kind of overpowers the tea to the point of wondering how the tea tastes. It’s almost just cream and sugar without any tea. The last gulp was nice, unlike the cream, the sugar stayed on the bottom. No matter how delicious sugar and cream are, I’d rather just drink straight tea to taste the nuances. Otherwise, I’d just be drinking cream and sugar every day. Plain tea is cheaper anyway! :D

Nicole

I just used the last bit of my stash of this. Glad you liked it – both methods. :)

tea-sipper

oh good! I’ll enjoy the last two teaspoons I have.. I’m looking forward to tasting a whole mug without cream. :D

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80
15019 tasting notes

SIPDOWN! I forgot i had to add in 2 butiki teas to my cupboard so there really is no likely way i’ll hit 200 teas this weekend – a more reasonable goal is probably 210, so i’ll aim for that. I didn’t brew this traditional style – i wanted to see if this would hold up to my usual brewing and it did! Thank you nicole for sending this my way. I’ll like pick up more of this at some point from either S&V or H&S. It’s a pretty decent addition to my cupboard for those days when i don’t want an overly bold tea or a malty one. I’m interested in trying it “traditional” style as well some day.

Nicole

Yeah, I find the traditional style quite interesting as a change of pace. :)

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421 tasting notes

This sample was included with my recent order. I’m impressed by this because I ordered via Amazon. But it looks as though the order was filled by the fine folks at Simpson and Vail. I’m glad they included this sample as it was one I had in and out of my cart while looking at what to order.

So dry the leaves smell super hearty and robust. I’m already in love. But the same taste doesn’t carry over like I thought it would when it came time to try the tea. But then again I had it straight up with nothing in it. Thankfully I have enough for another sample where I will try milk and sugar perhaps that will help. I won’t rate until I give that a shot.

TeaBrat

I’m discovering Simpson and Vail has some great black teas. Did you get the Scottish blend?

IllBeMother221B

I picked up Highland Morn’, Simpson and Vail Special Blend, and French Vanilla. But I can see me going back for more black teas.

LiberTEAS

I love Simpson & Vail and I am very impressed with their customer service, too. Very nice people.

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85
437 tasting notes

East Frisianites would make great members of Steepster if this article is to be believed
http://germanfood.about.com/od/drinks/tp/German-Tea.htm

as the average consumption of tea per year is 5.51b per person.

This tea was quite satisfying today. It had a nice body and an interesting variety of flavours and an interesting softness to it even without the recommended cream.

The dry leaf is quite pretty with a nice blend of bop scattered with golden buds. After 2.5 minutes, It brewed up to a deep copper colour that deepened to rosewood with a full cup that smelled of fruit, biscuit, malt and cocoa.

Flavour wise, My initial impressions of this tea were a smooth, floral, hay, combined with white chocolate notes melding into malt and biscuit,
with top note of fruit. I could see how a rich cream could go nice with this. I would love to try it with an unsweetened double cream (one of my favourite foods I had in Ireland), the floral chocolate notes would meld perfectly with it. The initial note is light and soft, and the tea finishes with deeper rich notes of fruit and malt. There is a hint of spice and chocolate in the aftertaste with
just enough astringency for it to taste refreshing. quite nice!.

I tried a second steep with the recommended sugar and this really brought out the berry notes of the Ceylon in the blend followed by floral notes.

This is a really nice everyday tea that I quite enjoyed. Thanks to the generosity of Nicole I have several more cups to look forward to!

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 2 min, 30 sec
Anna

I enjoyed the article – thanks for linking. I was told the other week that nearly all the tea sold in Sweden is imported from Germany – yet, German tourists make up the biggest consumer group out of all tourists when it comes to “Swedish” tea.

Mmm, double cream. This tasting note makes me want to eat things.

Nicole

Thanks for the article. :)

yyz

I’m glad you enjoyed it. Thanks again for the tea again Nicole!

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95
790 tasting notes

Now this, I like. I have never had any other East Frisian so I can’t compare the quality of this to other companies.

I didn’t do it quite like the traditional method. I skipped the sugar but I did add the cream, though not in the same manner. First I tasted before adding cream. A nice malty tea but nothing super special. Add the cream and – Wow! What a change! Just a little bit of cream and this becomes excellent. Now I’ll have to go back and do it with the sugar just to see if it becomes even better!

Oh, and I should mention that this was a nice surprise sample included with my order. Whoever did the choosing did good. This was right up my alley. :)

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 4 min, 0 sec

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612 tasting notes

Another tea from Nicole, yay! Thanks Nicole!

I love doing things a little differently in the name of tradition, so of course I prepared this as directed, 200F for nearly 5 minutes, rock sugar at the bottom of the cup, cream lowered in at the end without stirring. I’ve had Upton’s East Frisian but not Harney and Sons’, and it’s been quite a while since the Upton so I can’t say which I like better really but I’m inclined to say this one just because for today it’s quite pleasant. The brewing smell is malty and comforting, and it does remind me of how much I love “Western” traditional blends, you know, meant to be taken with milk and sugar, with lots of classic brisk black tea taste. They’ve been lost in the shuffle lately with my exposure to lots of Chinese and Taiwanese stuff, but this is a good reminder not to forget about them too long as it’s really up my alley, for the nostalgia as well as enduring personal preferences.

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 5 min, 0 sec

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2285 tasting notes

Finally getting around to trying my last untasted tea from tea-sipper! Thanks for sharing so many tasty teas, as always! I considered not adding milk because I found the tea to be decently rich and flavorful without. As it sat, it did gain a little sourness (my fault for not drinking more quickly) but milk fixed that completely. I prefer other S&V plain black teas, but this one is perfectly pleasant.

tea-sipper

You are very welcome! :D

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80
105 tasting notes

I really, really want to like this tea enough to call it a favorite. I’m not there yet, though.

On paper, this has everything I generally look for in a black tea: Strong, with a malty flavor. But, it hasn’t yet broken into my list of favorites.

It doesn’t help that it took me a few tries before I found the right amount to brew for my strength preferences: 13 grams for 20 ounces of boiling water for 4 minutes. And, one steeping only—repeated steepings of the leaves does not work with this one.
The length of steeping time is different than what was recommended by the vendor but, when I tried the vendor’s recommendations, my tea seemed weak.

The dried leaves themselves are very pretty: dark to the point of almost being black, with some golden tips mixed in. There is a hint of berry to the aroma of the dried leaves.

When brewed, the liquor has a copper color, much like the vendor’s description states. The liquor has a malty flavor which is slightly astringent, but not nearly as malty as I expected. Since this is a blend, I know it won’t be as malty as a straight Assam tea—maybe a blend of Ceylon and/or Kenyan teas…? Just a guess. The hint of berries in the aroma of the dried leaves also translates into the flavor.

Overall, I like it, but it isn’t the strong breakfast tea I expected. It is one to enjoy throughout the day, and might even be very good with ice. I’ll have to try that as the hot summer weather moves in.

Flavors: Astringent, Berries, Malt

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 0 sec 13 g 20 OZ / 591 ML

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78
1758 tasting notes

Bought this as a one ounce sample with my last order. Did not brew it in the East Frisian manner of brewing. Simply brewed it up and added sugar to it. It is a fairly tasty tea. It is also hard to describe. It’s not really malty. It’s a little bit spicy but not in the way puerh gets from storage taste. It’s a little bit sweet. It’s a fairly hardy brew and strong. Sorry I can’t come up with a better description.

Brewed this one time with 3 tsp leaf and boiling water in a 16oz Teavana Glass Perfect Tea Maker/Gravity Steeper for 3 min.

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 0 sec 3 tsp 16 OZ / 473 ML

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86
687 tasting notes

Thanks to whomever sent me this… Marzipan? We had snow here yesterday, so I need to drink more black teas. This one has a malty scent. The flavour is somewhat malty with hints of dried orange, and some other fruit. It certainly warmed me up today.

Flavors: Malt, Orange Zest

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