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Simpson & Vail Advent 2025 – Day #6
Ooooo… another one I have stocked up.  I swear, I don’t have every S&V tea stocked.  ha.  I used the entire sample for my mug, probably not even a teaspoon and a half, and if anything, this advent calendar taught me that only one level teaspoon is enough for a steep session of this particular blend.  Anything more than a teaspoon and it seems like too much stevia to my tastebuds.  Otherwise, I really love this creamy, perfectly minty green rooibos.  These awesome elements make this a blend I can actually tolerate the stevia in.  It always looks festive too. It is VERY spot on candy cane.  I do love a candy cane tea.  (Another Adagio tea I almost bought the other day.)    
Steep #1 // 1 1/2 teaspoons for a full mug // 18 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 5 minute steep

Simpson & Vail Advent 2025 – Day #5

Another one I have been able to try recently! This sample seems to have a lot less cherry flavor than it did before… This one should be my jam in theory, but I feel it needs more smoke, more cherry, more drama overall to match Sherlock’s drama. I don’t mind revisiting this though. Speaking of Sherlock teas, I ALMOST placed a black friday Adagio order, but actually fell asleep and missed the sale as I was trying to decide. Probably for the best…
Steep #1 // 1 1/2 teaspoons for a full mug // 18 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 5 minute steep

Ashmanra’s sipdown challenge – December 2025 Tea #1 -A tea with fruit flavors

It was time for this one to go — at this point it is just mostly resulting in a spicy cup, with no hint of blackberry or earl grey.  I really should have finished it sooner.  Take note:  52Teas is one of the shops that does a GOOD blackberry flavor.
2025 Sipdown total: 82
2025 unique tea sipdowns: 65

Simpson & Vail Advent 2025 – Day #4
Well I just happen to have a tin of this one.  I am not seeing a tasting note for it, thought for sure I would have written one after all this time of having the tin around and had to add it to my cupboard, so I wonder if Steepster deleted a double tea entry or something.  I like this one!  In this advent sample, I only had 1 1/2 teaspoons in the pouch but usually for this chai I use two teaspoons for a mug.  So it’s interesting that the pouches of advent samples have different amounts in them.  This is a no-caff chai blend that brews up an orange yellow color.  Maybe because there is a LOT of orange peel.    It’s spicy while not being too spicy.  A nice resteep too.  I wish there was a bit more cinnamon though.  And I’m not ENTIRELY convinced the orange needs to be there, or at least this much orange.  It’s a good blend though. Somehow I don’t own any other chai blends without black tea or rooibos.   
Steep #1 // 1 1/2 teaspoons for a full mug // 18 minutes after boiling // 3 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 9 minute steep

Simpson & Vail Advent 2025 – Day #3
Snowberry! Another good one. Very unique flavors — it’s like a mellow berry. Subtly candy berry. (But not at all like the blackberry.) Marshmallow cranberry salad — heavy on the marshmallow. A little hint of cocoa. Again, the base is extremely light, but I think for this particular set of flavors, it is much more acceptable than say, for the flavors of cinnamon brownie, that really demands a very deep black tea. For what it’s worth, the sample here is very consistent with the pouch I bought a few months ago…
Steep #1 // 1 1/2 teaspoons for a full mug // 20 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 7 minute steep

Simpson & Vail Advent 2025- Day #2
Late again…. An old favorite, at least before they changed the base on this one.  It used to be VERY dark black tea, now it is quite light.  At least the cinnamon/chocolate flavors are still the same.  I had an extra 1/2 teaspoon in my advent sample that I didn’t want to steep with the other 1 1/2 teaspoons, but that will be steeped with some of the four ounces I recently bought that I now wish was a past blend… the rating now would probably be a 71. I just can’t do weak black teas…
Steep #1 // 1 1/2 teaspoons for a full mug // 20 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 9 minute steep

Simpson & Vail Advent 2025 – Day #1
I am already late on the advents this year! oh no!  I get to join in the advent fun this year, as I WON an advent directly from Simpson and Vail in a lovely giveaway. I really appreciate that. Thanks so much, S&V!  The first tea is one that I have never had before, so that is exciting. (I am such a fan of S&V that I was a bit worried it would be teas that I had previously tried… but luckily they have SO MANY tea options, that can hardly actually happen.)  And to start with a National Park blend!  I don’t think I have tried any of those yet, but definitely have wanted to.  Sadly, this one reminds me a little bit of their Mary Shelley blend, in which the flavoring is blackberry and isn’t really my thing, as it tastes like chalky vitamins to my tastebuds. HOWEVER, the flavor here should be huckleberry with no blackberry in sight.  It almost tastes the same to me though.  Maybe the bearberry leaf tastes like blackberry leaf?  And some of the other ingredients are unique (birch bark, juniper), but I’m not really tasting them under whatever type of berry is here.   Possibly this isn’t as bad as the Mary Shelley blend, but I expected more here…
Steep #1 // 1 1/2 teaspoons for a full mug // 20 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 3 minute steep

Ashmanra’s sipdown challenge – November 2025 Tea #4 - Nov. 28 – Black Friday: drink a black tea
I just happened to be drinking this one today, in time for this prompt.  I’m not sure if this had a sour note originally or it just has it now (it’s old). But I guess I never really rated this one very highly anyway. Unexpected for a Golden Monkey from Teavivre. I don’t think I’m doing TOO much black friday shopping… 

additional notes: I thought this was a perfect choice of tea for Thanksgiving evening. Hope you all had a good one. :)

This is from Cameron B! Thanks so much, as always. I thought yesterday would be the perfect occasion (hope all that celebrate had a joyous Thanksgiving). I love the variations of these Noel teas. They are usually so different from each other! Visually, we have some jasmine flowers. Tastewise, there is some delicious grapefruit. Then when the cup cools, I notice some houjicha. What a great combination. Perfectly steeped cups x2, I think. But wow are the flavors I’m noticing not picking up on the nuances from the description. IS this even houjicha? “Jasmine green tea” it says. I am not noticing bergamot, passion fruit, mango OR pineapple. Maybe they are all melding to create grapefruit… though there should also be citrus here anyway… though maybe I can notice mango in the background when I’m thinking it should be there. I am perfectly content with the grapefruit anyhow!
Steep #1 // 1 1/2 teaspoons for a full mug // 23 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 3 min