Simpson & Vail

I was really excited for this one because it sounded so good! It was okay but it was so so mild that I don’t know that I really tasted apple, and even the date and black tea base were mild. It was inoffensive, but it really could have been great. It was a gentle and sweet cup of tea, but not the level of flavor I was expecting. Would drink again if someone offered it, but I wouldn’t buy a tin.

S&V Advent Day 18!
Tulsi is the strongest flavor, and it’s just too savory for me. I really don’t get any of the other things in here other than that herbaceous tulsi and maybe a hint of something fruity. This is just too unbalanced for me.

Day 13 Simpson & Vail advent

Another new to me tea, and a flavor profile I just don’t reach for but I wanted to give it a try, fully expected to pour it out.

Harney’s Hot Cinnamon Spice is their number one selling tea and I bought it as a tea newbie. It was too strong for me – I don’t like Red Hots, those heart candies, and that’s what it tasted like. For some reason I did enjoy the green version until they toned it way down – go figure. I tried the version from Sweet Earth – meh.

This surprised me. I really like this. I think I might even buy it for my friend for her birthday because she is off black tea and can’t have caffeine late, and for our little neighbor gathering that happens whenever we can manage to get together. No sugar at all is needed. It is perfectly sweet on its own, and the rooibos doesn’t taste like I am eating one of those wooden ice cream spoons from elementary school.

I couldn’t get to my instructions because Ashley was fixing a door for me and I couldn’t get in the room where the advent was, so I did a three minute first steep with less water than called for and a second four minute steep, combining the two. It was good that way. I couldn’t fit all of the second steep in my mug and poured it in a glass to try by itself.
Having had that flavorful combo steep first, a plain second steep was too weak for me.

I am really glad I tried this one.

January 12 Sipdown Challenge Prompt – Hot tea day!

I finished three samples today – this one, a Dan Cong from Teavivre, and another from SV Tea.

This one was, as I expected, a no. I don’t love turmeric in tea and while I really tried to have an open mind, this one just wasn’t for me. The medicinal, almost chemical taste from some a weird mix of elements is not my thing.

I am not normally a rooibos fan due to the wet dog note that often pervades it, but luckily this green rooibos has none of that. It’s pleasantly reminiscent of a buttermint candy in both aroma and steeping, but it has added stevia in it which I do not appreciate. I’d have rated it higher if not for that. If you don’t mind that, this is a nice choice for a festive and creamy mint-based cuppa.

An advent blend with more flavour than the previous ones…but it’s generic tart berry (S&V says cranberry) with a great whack of…vanilla frosting? They claim cacao nibs but my sample had none and I got only the faintest whiff upon opening the package. It’s festive and would be delightful accompanying some holiday sweet treats. I appreciate this holiday berry blend being formulated without cinnamon (though I personally do like cinnamon, but I feel many berry based “holiday blends” relies too heavily on it.) The base tea is a bit ashy but not offensively so. S&V did a good job conjuring up a fun cuppa to enjoy during a moment with friends eating cakes on a winter day. I would not personally re-purchase this but it has a time and place.

I am not sure if my tastebuds are off, but this is the second S&V blend that tastes rather on the weak side. It’s described as a Black tea with lapsang souchong, hibiscus flowers, wild cherry flavor, orange blossoms, and bourbon whiskey flavour.
I’m getting a very faint hint of smoke, and a bit of generic cherry mingled in with slight tartness from the hibiscus. I cannot detect any bourbon nor orange blossoms. It’s not an unpleasant blend by any means, but the notes-if even present- are weak overall. I do prefer a robust cuppa so more delicate blends may be lost on my palette.

Simpson and Vail Glacier National Park-a fascinating name for sure. I received an advent calendar from Simpson and Vail, and this was Day 1. It’s a green tea, with the notes claiming intriguing notes of huckleberry, birch and juniper. Whilst it is a nice tea and I appreciate the unique notes and the interesting theme, I wish there had been a stronger juniper flavour. I do pick up a weak note of birch/sarsapiralla and something slightly fruity but none of the notes are particularly distinguishable. It’s a nice enough cuppa but I would not have been able to identify the stated notes. Anyone have a recommendation for a proper juniper/birch tea?

This was in my S&V advent that I received after Christmas and started on January 1st. I am trying to make notes only on teas I have not tried before.

This smelled just like the blueberry flavoring in Blueberry Crumble by S&V and I wasn’t getting a ton of lime from the dry leaf. In flavor, however, the steeped tea does taste like both of those, but there is little green tea flavor. It wasn’t bad but it was surprisingly unremarkable. I drank it with breakfast and it was fine but nothing to write home about.

I didn’t know it was supposed to be blue and surely I would have noticed if mine was blue. I am going to assume my packet didn’t have any/much butterfly pea flower in it.

This tea is pretty similar to the “Winter Wonderland” to me, only lacking the oomph. I found the nutty flavoring of the “Winter Wonderland” tea produced a flavor that reminded me of red rooibos even though it was on a green rooibos base, but this tea, actually being on a red rooibos base, becomes a bit too abrasive with the nutty notes. It has a very noticable rooibos flavor in the aftertaste, which is coming off a bit coppery… It’s a bit rooi-bossy. That said, the nutty flavor is still noticable, and reminds me of the nutty flavoring in “Winter Wonderland,” since my palate really isn’t good enough to distinguish between hazelnut and chestnut flavoring. I like it better as a latte, since the warm milk bitch-slaps some of the rooi-bossiness into submission a bit.

It’s fine, but I wouldn’t purchase this again. It doesn’t really hold a candle to TeaSource’s “Roasted Chestnut” tea (which is on a black/hojicha/roasted mate base), and amongst S&V’s lineup, I really have no reason to get this over “Winter Wonderland,” which has the same nutty flavor but the added cinnamon and chocolate notes and the more gentle base.

I knew by the ingredients this was not for me but I drank it to say I did and because now and then you should try things that are outside of your comfort zone. If I hadn’t been having it with lunch, I probably would have poured it out but it was tolerable with food.

I didn’t add milk or sugar and maybe that was a mistake. It is a chai, after all, but other chais that I have enjoyed were fine plain. This had a really funky smell to me that was off-putting. I am not a fan of black peppercorns or lots of ginger in tea, and I think the sarsaparilla may have put me off a bit, too. Does sarsaparilla smell like gym socks that were left under a damp mildewy towel that had been used to mop up spilled milk?

Most of the teas in the advent are ones I enjoy or look forward to trying if I haven’t already had them. This one was the dud (for me) I expected, though I did go into it with an open mind. People who love chai will probably appreciate the spices and the fact that it is caffeine free if one needs to watch that. Glad to have tried it, though!

2026 sipdown no. 1

Thanks for sharing Cameron!

This has tannins at the forefront and an almost pencil lead taste. If I really concentrate, there’s a dry hay/dry, almost yellowed, grass flavour as well.

Though this is green rooibos, there is something about the flavor that is coming off as red rooibos to me… perhaps because of the nuttiness? There is a strong non-descript “nutty” flavor to the whole tea, followed by cinnamon… a little barky, a little sweet. I pick up a hint of the chocolate, but it is more subtle compared to the nut and spice. Like many of the other S&V rooibos blends I’ve tried recently, I think this really shines as a decadent latte. The flavors seem to blend together a bit better with the warm vanilla almond milk, and the chocolate note pops a bit more against the creamy vanilla, reading a bit as white chocolate.

This is a very cozy flavor combo… I’ve really been craving nutty-flavored teas recently (I had a lovely latte in a local cafe yesterday using TeaSource’s “Roasted Chestnut” tea which was divine!) and this really fits the bill.

Some of my students who have missed a month of lessons due to sickness passing through the family two by two returned last week and had Christmas gifts for me. The Simpson & Vail advent calendar was one of those gifts! I am excited to drink through it in January!

The first tea is one I have never tried, but I was hopeful because we really enjoyed Rocky Mountains. Thanks to AliasHali, I have tried a great many S&V teas and will probably only makes notes on the ones I have not had before.

I really liked this one. It tastes fresh and clean. I have had juniper needle tea and was surprised that I didn’t taste juniper much unless it was contributing the fresh, clean “Glacier” cool aspect. It was not minty, just fresh tasting. So while it didn’t taste of juniper, it did taste good and I would absolutely be happy to see this tea again.

This was also a gift for my dad that we tried today. A very nice example of an awesome tea with malt, coppery notes, and a sweet finish. He brewed it pretty strong, I think a spoon might stand up in my cup this morning. I would certainly add this to a S&V order, a nice find!

January 1st Sipdown Challenge Prompt – one of your newest teas

I had this the day after Christmas but a cold prevented me from really tasting it so I withheld notes until today.

I made biscuits, and AliasHali made eggs and bacon for us all to start the New Year right. Ashman took full clean up duty and now Hali and I get to relax while he walks Sam the King of Dogs, who now visits our next door neighbor twice a day for treats.

The dry leaf aroma is powerful, reminding me of Smarties – the American kind that I believe may be called Rockets in Canada and possibly the UK. I was expecting it to taste a bit like Jingle Bells from the aroma, but it is quite different. It definitely comes off as a candy berry flavor to me.

The steeped tea has a milder aroma than the dry leaf. The base is rather hearty, thankfully not thin. There is plenty of berry flavor, it is strong enough to have as a breakfast tea, it is smooth enough to have without additions. I feel confident it could take milk and sugar if you like your tea with additions.

S&V suggest using it for iced tea, and I think it might be excellent for that with this sort of fruit flavor, so I may give that a try some upcoming warm day.

This was a black friday purchase just to try it out. Its different than a candy cane like herbal, I don’t mind the black tea and the peppermint isn’t overpowering. Not a bad tea for keeping warm in the holidays. Don’t know if I need to purchase again.

2025 sipdown no. 61

The Ceylon was a bit unbalanced here, leaving more of a coppery taste than I was hoping for. Thanks Cameron!

Welcome to Steepster, the Little Website That Couldn’t! Here’s hoping it’ll actually let me post this.

This tea was a Christmas gift from Ashmanra (thanks!) for the ongoing Hunt for a London Cuppa Replacement. On first try I find it a tiny bit weak – perhaps underleafed? I don’t usually make tea in pots but I did this morning so Ashmanra could try it as well. I’ll have to try it again a bit stronger later and see how I feel about it then. It is decent, and there is a resemblance to my old standby of London Cuppa (same/similar teas in the base, which is why it was chosen). Even if I can’t find a way to make it stronger I won’t mind finishing the tin.

Advent swap tea!
I remember this one having a bit of a harsh base, so I started with a two minute steep, and it was much less harsh than I remember! A soothing chocolate tea with a hint of sweetness in the aftertaste. A nice advent surprise, thanks Kelmishka!

I remembered I had a few holiday-themed teas from my birthday Simpson & Vail order last year (which was in March… so you know, nine months ago…) and now it finally seems appropriate to drink them. So I brewed this one up today.

It’s very satisfying… it reminds me a little bit of the Twinings of London “Buttermint” tea that I used to love but my local grocery stopped carrying, though less of a vanilla flavor as that tea and more of just a general sweetness blended with the mint instead. The mint is pretty strong and has a slight herbaceous menthol note that hits at the end of the sip, but the aftertaste is very sweet.

This afternoon I made it as a latte with some vanilla almond milk and some cocoa powder for a “peppermint hot chocolate” vibe, which was quite the power-up. Tomorrow morning I think I’m going to steep it along with some black tea since I don’t have a candy cane/mint black tea in my collection at the moment and could do with some caffeine added to this.

2025 sipdown no. 59

This is so lychee scented in the dry and steeped tea! The taste is also so lychee forward! As it cools, it’s more like lychee-rose. How is there apparently nothing in this except black tea and cornflowers? There’s no way. Thanks for sharing Cameron!

Simpson & Vail Advent 2025 – Day #21
I never even considered ordering this one for some reason, maybe because I have no idea what a goldenberry is… but it’s good! It’s a decent fruity tea with NO hibiscus. It’s sweet, but from the candied papaya. The goldenberry is from Peru, which might be why I have never seen it listed in tea before. Though the description said it would brew up a light pink color, mine was yellow. Maybe my sample missed any of the listed hibiscus? I would say the flavor was probably more sweet papaya and candied pineapple, as the goldenberry was only added flavoring. But maybe these fruits taste similar… I would definitely drink this again though.
Steep #1 // 1 1/3 teaspoons for a full mug // 20 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 4 minute steep