Simpson & Vail

I thought I would try another of my remaining National Parks teas today! I had a couple that I was holding off on because I felt like I should post them on Instagram, but now that I’m not doing that anymore I’m free to try them whenever I like! It’s funny how we impose such restrictions on ourselves for no real reason…

Anyway, this is another prickly pear black tea – similar to Grand Canyon (I think it was). The package mentions strawberry pieces but only prickly pear flavoring, so I’m expecting to mostly get prickly pear, bergamot, and perhaps something from the oatstraw.

Welp. It actually is quite similar to Grand Canyon, because I barely taste bergamot at all. The prickly pear is present, and is giving me the usual tart rhubarb sort of vibes. I do feel like there are some strawberry notes, but not sure if that’s just because of the expectation or just an association with strawberry-rhubarb pie. The base is quite earthy and woody, which actually makes a rather nice foundation for the fruity and tart elements. The bergamot is barely there, and I don’t think I would have even noticed it if I hadn’t read the ingredients…

I think I slightly prefer Grand Canyon to this one, but I’m not sure either of them makes my skirt fly up enough to warrant an order. It’s a bit odd to me that they made such similar teas in the same collection… I think I just have one National Parks tea left to try from the sampler!

I was feeling a green tea this evening, and there weren’t any in my box of oldest teas. This pouch happened to be the first green tea I clapped eyes on when I pulled open a drawer, so here it is! I’ve been really pleasantly surprised by this National Park collection in general, so I’m excited to try this one out.

I will say this is bit less unique than some of the other teas in the collection, as it’s mostly just a ginger lemon green tea. That’s not to say it’s not enjoyable, because it is. There’s a nice balance between the lemon and the ginger, with just enough spiciness paired with a sweet lemon drop-esque sort of note. The base is quite grassy, but in a dry way, and it gives the tea an almost herbal character. Paired together with the classic lemon and ginger, it’s a very comforting flavor.

I do actually notice the elderberry peeping in at the end of the sip, though I admit I probably wouldn’t have identified it if I hadn’t read the description. I really like the combination of the elderberry and the lemon, and it also gives a nice syrupy depth. I will say there’s no elderberry flavoring mentioned in the ingredients, which makes me wonder what else they’ve left out… :P

Anyway, it’s definitely a cozy sort of tea, and I’m sure it would really hit the spot if I were feeling under the weather, or even just on a rainy day.

Cold, the tangerine flavor and the rooibos combine pleasantly. It’s not a very remarkable tea. Hot, it’s plain and boring. Really I wouldn’t know what flavor it’s supposed to be other than mildly flavored rooibos, but it’s decently refreshing. I’ve found that S&V’s fruity red rooibos blends don’t work for me as well as most of their other flavors. I’ve had much tastier, clearer orange rooibos blends.

Some of you may know that my tea preference skews heavily to unflavored, loose leaf teas. I only buy flavored teas as teabags for the convenience. But I am always open to trying anything that lands in my hands through the generosity of others <3

That said…

This is a dead ringer for apple cinnamon french toast. It’s really amazing how this company has nailed the aroma and flavor. It’s a little strong with the maple syrup flavoring and cinnamon but definitely not cloying. The apple shines bright as a warm skillet apples kind of flavor. There’s the slightly eggy and bready french toast taste. All of it is there and harmonious.

That said…

The base black tea is weak. Like Simpson & Vail’s Almond Sugar Cookie, the flavoring is really kind of mind-blowing but I want so much more from the base, some underlying complexity, some texture. I like nuance and mouthfeel. A lot. And flavored teas typically use cheap bases that produce thin, one-dimensional brews as the experience delivery vehicle.

Very much recommended for accurately capturing the namesake of the tea! Even for somebody like me who is pretty much turned off by maple syrup flavoring. When Kiki comes back from housesitting in several weeks, I’ll get her impression. Like me, she’s not a fan of maple flavor since it’s so cloying but I hope she is pleasantly surprised. Thank you for the sample, Cameron :)

I’m forever searching for a replacement to Teavana’s tea of this same name, and this is unfortunately not it. It tastes so strongly of something weird and it took forever for me to figure it out – potato skins! It tastes like raw potato skins. Not in a good way. I’m having it cold, and it’s drinkable, but I taste no white chocolate and very little mint. I don’t know how it went so wrong!! Maybe it’s because it uses “white chocolate peppermint flavoring” instead of actual white chocolate and peppermint. The second time I tried this, I added milk, and I could taste more mint, but the potato skin flavor is persistent. It’s not terrible, but I don’t really want to have too many cups of this.

Fruit and red rooibos often don’t work for me, but this one turned out okay. Hot or cold, the berry flavor is pleasant, and the rooibos complements it. The lavender could be more obvious, but the flavors that are present blend well. The resteep tastes like sunscreen, so I skip it. I have 4 oz of this, and I’m liking it less as I work my way through, but it gets points for doing something different! I added extra lavender the last time I had it, and I enjoyed it more that way.

Hmm this black tea is pretty weak, which isn’t surprising for decaf. The flavoring also isn’t going a direction I’d like. I don’t get a lot of vanilla, so I added some sugar free french vanilla syrup, and that may have helped. I wanted something malty and rich that could make a nice latte, and this wasn’t it, unfortunately! With help, it’s okay, but it tastes sort of thin and strange.

Another from AJRimmer! Thanks again! Hibiscus is what you’re gonna get here. Lots of hibiscus. It’s a shame, because I know there are other ingredients here and the blend looks so lovely and colorful. The photo even looks like it has much less hibiscus than my sample did. I just wish the hibiscus was toned down! Otherwise, it’s a very earthy cup, with a hint of another sort of tang, like orange. Some great ingredients here, but I agree with AJRimmer – take that hibiscus out! Then the mango and papaya can pop more. Overall, the fruit flavor is earthier rather than a fresh fruit type, so this isn’t something I’d want to drink even without the hibiscus.
Steep #1 // 1 1/2 teaspoons // 20 minutes after boiling // 2-3 minute steep
Steep #2 // 8 minutes after boiling // 3 min

Thanks very much, AJRimmer!  If you’re aiming to steep up a cup of heavy hibiscus, this one is a good option.  The name is accurate!  Though I’d say it’s more a cup of magenta when I’m trying to tame all that hibiscus.  It’s not bad though. Not too tart, with a fruit punch undertone to it, so the sweetness adds a level to the brisk tartness.  I would definitely not steep it for five minutes on the first steep, as S&V suggests, because I’m not a huge fan of hibiscus overload.  But it’s drinkable with short steeps.  I don’t think there is enough of these additional flavors to make it worthwhile (mango, papaya, acai, pomegranate) but any flavors would be struggling through all this hibiscus.  But like I said, you can tell they are TRYING to be there.  Not the worst cup of hibiscus I’ve ever had!
Steep #1 // 1 1/3 teaspoons for a full mug // 15 minutes after boiling // 1 1/2 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 3 min

The scent of this tea is so delicious! The flavor is pretty simple and mild. It’s strawberry with a green rooibos base and a few herbaceous hints in the background. The strawberry might lean a little fake, but it works. It makes a pretty refreshing cold cup of tea. I have Beatrix Potter’s entire collection on my bookshelf, and I have to say this is a well thought out tea – it just feels like the perfect vibe for her books.

The first time I had this, I found it to be really lacking in flavor since it’s just spices with no tea or rooibos to give it body. Ever since then, I’ve been overleafing, oversteeping, and adding almond milk. These steps make it taste pretty good really. It’s not very spicy or overly bold, but I enjoy the spice combination. It’s become a pretty reliable choice when I want something warm.

Love the tin, so I picked this one up from positive reviews, description, and yes the tin (I have a small Edgar Allan Poe and Raven thing)

Happy to say I actually really enjoyed the tea. Pleasant all-around black tea with a silky feel. Not bitter, strongly flavorful. Dropped in a cube of sugar. Would go well as a breakfast tea or if you do want a splash of milk. I oversteeped it the first time and it wasn’t bitter despite this. It is not strongly smokey, so if you do not like smokey teas, this description note shouldn’t be a big deal. I like smokey tea myself, and Earl Greys, so blending that with a subtle black tea and oddly beet note was a treat.

Second steep even better. I steeped from the same leaves at 5 minutes exactly. Oddly as this tea cools even more flavors come out of it, well rounded tea. Hopefully I still enjoy it as much when I drink more of it.

They got the flavoring just perfect for this one! I had it cold, and it tastes quite like root beer with that sparkly hint in there too somehow. The rooibos is the ideal base for it, really adding to the root beer flavor profile. I do a cold resteep each time, which turns out basically just as tasty. This is going to end up being yet another one to reorder in my annual S&V order.

This caught me off guard with its nutty aroma! I get it now, after thinking on it – the nuttiness I think is supposed to represent the cake flavor here. Unfortunately, I don’t taste anything else. No apple, no cinnamon. I have a pretty large bag of this one, so plenty to play around with.

With plans to go to two Nation Parks next year, this tea was on my list to try first out of the collection box as reservations for Yellowstone are made. I’ve traveled there twice before and it’s a magical place. I’m not sure this tea lives up to the name but The tea leaves were pretty with red and blue coloring from strawberries and cornflower. I found it to be a rather fruity tasting tea strong on the strawberry. The tea has a good lingering scent and for those who like fruit teas, I do recommend.

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Not a fan of this one…

It’s quite chalky, and the main flavor seems to be a custardy vanilla. So it ends up sort of tasting like a vanilla pudding-flavored Tums to me… I’m not sure I taste orange or cinnamon at all. The chalky quality is almost slightly floral, like those powdery violet candies.

Nope, nope nope…

I got Tea Mail from Shae! Yay!
This tea smells awesome, as if I’ve just been in the kitchen cooking apples and cinnamon, with a good whiff of maple syrup too. As for the taste, I’m wondering if I used enough leaf because I find myself wanting more, more cinnamon or more apple or more both. The maple syrup is quite tasty but its suffering from my mental comparison to Cuppa Geek’s Morning Waffles. I’ll try again with more leaf and less water and I’ll add a sample to my next S&V order to experiment with. Thanks Shae for sharing this yummy tea.

Kiki:

“It’s really good, I think I really like it, let’s get back to the show! Fruity, floral, very satisfying, thirst-quenching, berrylike, thank you very much whoever sent it. hahahaha! OK? hahahaha! It’s an 8!”

we’re watching the newest episode of Big Sky

derk:

This is like Simpson & Vail’s Carrot Cake Cupcake blend but with jammy blueberry. It has the same powdered sugar-cream cheese frosting vibe to me, like churros with vanilla frosting. Very sweet, mellow cinnamon. I think I taste a kind of crumble note, that oaty-pastry flavor. It’s pretty good and as Kiki says, thirst-quenching. I think the berry-currant tartness and green rooibos base play that role.

You know what this reminds me of? Butiki’s Lemon French Macaron without the lemon. And with black tea. Wild.

The flavoring for this is spot on for an almond sugar cookie, a crispy one with lightly toasted almonds. The flavoring is beautiful and it lasts through the second cup. The base tea is weak and woody with no depth. This makes me sad because the flavoring is very well done. I brewed 1.5 tsp in what I think is an 8oz mug. Maybe this needs 6oz to really shine.

Recommended because… because the name is a dead ringer for me.

Kiki in da house:

“Is it chocolate? It tastes ok! A little dusty? Carob or something. It has some kind of artificial flavoring. You know what, it does kinda taste like an almond sugar cookie now that you say it. Buttery- a little buttery. Maybe cuz I just took a little bite of cream cheese. It’s better with cream cheese. It wasn’t really that thrilling. It has a very subtle taste. It’s not something I’d buy but hey, I did drink all of it!”

I dunno about you Kiki. I think the dry and wet leaf smelled like chocolate and that’s the only aspect that seemed artificial to me. I stole a few sips before I passed it off to you and it smelled and tasted a lot like an almond butter cookie with darker notes, not subtle for me but also not in-your-face. There’s still one serving left, so I’ll have to brew a greedy cup for myself :P

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Honestly, this was one of the ones I was least excited for in the National Park sampler, but I ended up really liking it. The combination of the jammy elderberry with the sage and lavender is just so interesting and unusual, but works really well. The herbs are restrained enough that it doesn’t taste like medicine or perfume.

I’m not sure whether I’ll end up reordering this, but it’s definitely up for consideration. That’s saying a lot for a lavender tea, heh… Highly recommend this National Park tea sampler, almost all of the blends are so unusual but lovely! I think there was only one I wasn’t thrilled with, but even that one was still good.

“An Ode to Tea” Alphabet Challenge – Z

Yay, the last letter! And I actually ended up mostly having a tea for every letter, which is somewhat concerning, heh… >.>

Anyway. I was a bit nervous about trying this one, as I’m not really a lavender fan. I’m okay with it in small doses, but it often tastes like soap to me. Happily, it’s not like that here. The sage is stronger than the lavender, and it helps to push things in more of a savory, herbaceous direction. The rooibos is quite strong as well, and has a woody flavor with a bit of a medicinal quality. Sometimes the combination of rooibos and berry can come off as very medicinal, like cough syrup, but it doesn’t quite go to that place here because of the savory nature of the herbs. The elderberry is also quite subtle, mostly adding a dark syrupy base note.

I quite like it, and I drank it alongside a rather sweet wagashi, which was a nice pairing. I don’t think I’ll reorder it though, just because it’s a bit of a niche tisane for me, and I don’t even drink tisanes very often in general. And maybe it’s just a touch too medicinal? But I am enjoying it, and will happily sip down the rest of the packet. :)

https://www.instagram.com/p/COTtPIrAvkI/

“An Ode to Tea” Alphabet Challenge – V

This was part of my S&V order late last year, but I haven’t gotten around to trying it yet. Today’s the day!

I admit, I’m not expecting much after seeing the other notes for this tea. But it’s honestly not bad. I do taste bubblegum, as tea-sipper mentioned, but I have that issue often with Dammann’s orange teas as well. I don’t really get vanilla, and only a little orange. Mostly it’s a strong jasmine green tea with some bubblegum.

Not exactly good, but not awful either. I’ve been spoiled by Teavivre’s lush jasmine teas, so this pales quite a bit in comparison. That being said, the jasmine is okay, it doesn’t taste like perfume or anything. But I am happy that I only have one ounce to sip through!

As a huge NPS fan, I dashed off to purchase the sampler set from Simpson & Vail. It was delivered quickly and neatly packaged. A little gift to myself! We’re in the midst of planning a trip to Yosemite, so I thought I’d start there.

I’ve now finished the Yosemite sample and tried it at several steeping lengths. I felt 4 minutes was the best steeping time and brought out the pineapple flavor more. That said, I hoped for more pineapple taste. I felt the spearmint was a more noticeable flavor.

All and all, a nice tea to kick off our trip plans but I’m not likely to order again.