Caramel Walnut Shortbread Rooibos from Simpson & Vail

Ahhhhh…Caramel Walnut Shortbread Rooibos from Simpson & Vail…you fill my nose with wondrous aroma and my heart with incredible joy!

Caramel Walnut Shortbread Rooibos from Simpson & Vail is a Flavored Green Rooibos from their new line of Dessert Teas and I am so happy we are one of the first ones to try it here at Sororitea Sisters!

Both dry and wet the smell of this Caramel Walnut Shortbread Rooibos from Simpson & Vail is one for the record books!  It’s completely reminiscent of shortbread!  And if you are a fan of walnut flavored green teas give this one a whirl because it’s darn comparable sniff-wise and without the caffeine!  There is a sweetness and a bit of green taste to it too thanks to the Green Rooibos – I’m sure!  I think that it’s AWESOME that they used Green Rooibos in this offering instead of Red Rooibos.

I feel Red Rooibos is being over used most of the time and companies aren’t using enough of the Green Rooibos.  Oddly, I prefer Green Rooibos over Red.  Okay, Okay…rant over.  YES I’m excited they used Green Rooibos for Caramel Walnut Shortbread Rooibos from Simpson & Vail can you tell?

The flavor of Caramel Walnut Shortbread Rooibos from Simpson & Vail is super, too!  It’s very dessert-like and helps with not only sweet tooth cravings but potentially carb cravings!  YUM!  And Caramel Walnut Shortbread Rooibos from Simpson & Vail is tasty hot or cold!  SCORE for S&V!

 


BannerNewFont670Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type: Green Rooibos
Where to Buy: Simpson & Vail
Description: Featuring another delicious caffeine-free addition to our Dessert Tea line. This new blend was easy for us to agree on. This green Rooibos blend brews to an amber cup with a nutty, buttery taste and deep caramel overtones. A delectable brew that needs no sweeteners.

When I asked Jim for his feedback on this blend he gave it to me along with this “4 out of 4 people recommend this. I know usually it’s 4 out 5 but we didn’t like the 5th person’s comments so we threw his results out and him in the quarry”. I think this caffeine free blend might be just what Jim needs this afternoon!

Ingredients: Organic Green Rooibos, flavoring, safflower blossoms, and orange blossoms.

Brew tea at 212º – steep for 5 minutes.

Caffeine Free. Certified Kosher.

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

Apple Cinnamon Coffeecake from Simpson & Vail

Tea Information:

Leaf Type: Black

Where to Buy: Simpson & Vail

Tea Description:

A new addition to our flavored tea line and already a huge hit with all of us here! This slightly sweet, scrumptious blend has a lightly toasted flavor with the delicious taste of apples and cinnamon. Sipping this tea reminds me of the Sunday morning breakfast treats of my childhood. Now that I’m all grown up I could have those treats every day of the week; however, I think I’ll stick to this tea blend instead. It’s full of the sinful tastes of childhood but, with no calories, it suits my adult metabolism!

Ingredients: Black teas, organic cinnamon chips, apple pieces, orange blossoms and flavoring.

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

This tea from Simpson & Vail is all things a flavored tea should be! There is no artificial flavor, the after taste is lingering and delightful, the flavor elements are perfectly bleneded. An all around excellent cup!

The aroma of this tea is something I can’t leave out of this review. It smells so good both in dry form and when steeped! The aroma fills the home and is a great way to scent your home without incense or candles, or that nasty artificial air freshener! My home smells like the holidays which is a lovely aroma anytime but especially this time of year!

I also want to mention the cinnamon in this blend. Often times cinnamon takes over a blend or is simply too spicy for some, the cinnamon in this tea is reminiscent of a cinnamon sugar cookie, sweet, not spicy. I love the way the cinnamon works in this tea.

The mouthfeel is slightly creamy and full. The color is a lovely festive orangish, brownish, red color.

Overall the flavor is sweet but not overly so, delicate on the spice notes, the apple is lovely in this tea, its quite fresh and delicious without coming over as a cider like tea. There is a wonderful baked goods flavor to the tea that again reminds me of cookies, christmas cookies. I think it is the toasted almonds that give off the baked goods flavor.

One could add some sugar or sweetener to this tea and it would hold up very well and give it an added dessert flavor.

I have been impressed thus far by Simpson & Vail teas although I would love to try more from them. I have only had their teas due to the generosity of others in tea trades but I look forward to making an order soon, perhaps after the holidays! For now, this sample is a wonderful treat for me while wrapping holiday gifts for others!

Wild Raspberry Puerh from The Whistling Kettle

Tea Information:

Leaf Type:  Pu-erh & White Tea Blend

Where to Buy:  The Whistling Kettle

Tea Description:

This Pu-Erh is flavorful, mild and with an addition of silver needles, makes a great iced tea. Dr. Oz has recommended this tea as a way to help lose weight. Pu-Erh also help reduce cholesterol and great after a meal to help “cut the grease”. Pu-Erh has probiotic properties no other type of tea has.

Ingredients: Puerh, Silver Needle White Tea, Orange blossoms, cornflowers, raspberry bits and flavoring.

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

I love pu-erh, puerh, pu’er, however you want to spell it. Adore it. This has to be one of the deepest, darkest, richest looking brews I have ever seen in a puerh!

The aroma of this steeped tea is lovely, earthy, but more so fruity. It smells like a beginners puerh. Sweet, tart, tangy, yet with the undertones of a puerh’s earthiness just to ease a new puerh drinker into that world. I absolutely pick up the citrus in the aroma.

The sip is surprisingly creamy! I like this! The raspberry is present but not too tart which is nice. Its sweet but not cloying whatsoever. There is almost a vanilla flavor peeking through which must be more due to the puerh used rather than flavors or ingredients added as I see nothing to indicate vanilla in the description.

The only downside of purchasing puerh tea in this form is not really knowing what type of puerh base is being used but that is okay because I don’t see this as a puerh meant for puerh connoisseurs although certainly good enough to be enjoyed by one! Granted it is not a straight tea, so some may snub the idea of drinking a puerh blend but I tend to enjoy the best of both worlds as long as a tea is good it need not be unadulterated!

I am truly enjoying this tea and it is distinctively puerh yet lends a lovely fruity and creamy note that those who would normally not learn toward a puerh would enjoy. Again an excellent beginners puerh yet good enough for puerh enthusiasts to love as well.

As the tea cools more of the raspberry notes pop out, the citrus takes the background and the puerh gives a slight drying effect in the throat. There are woodsy notes, oak moss, peat, and a slight note of mushroom. The nice thing about this blend is that it allows the notes of the puerh to come through, is not muted by the other ingredients.

I am not sure how the silver needle white tea lends a hand in here unless it is added for health benefits or a boost to the creamy texture in some way but one would have no idea it was present in the flavor.

I give two thumbs up to The Whistling Kettle for this wonderful blend! It has indeed been done well!

Fairy Dust Rooibos from Tealish

Tisane Information:

Leaf Type:  Rooibos

Where to Buy:  Tealish

Tisane Description:

Drink this tea and you’ll feel like you’ve just been sprinkled with fairy dust, it’s so good. With notes of strawberry and kiwi, this blend of green rooibos, apple, strawberry, kiwi, orange blossoms, elderflower, and mistletoe, is our favourite way to escape to never never land once (or twice) a day.

Learn more about this tisane here.

Taster’s Review:

This is really REALLY tasty!

As I’ve said once or twice (or perhaps thrice!) before, I prefer green rooibos over the oxidized red version.  The green rooibos is slightly fruity in flavor (as opposed to the woody notes of the red rooibos), and it has a light, almost sparkling kind of taste to it.  I think given the name of this tea (Fairy Dust) I think that green rooibos was the perfect choice as a base for this blend.

The strawberry and kiwi are the two strongest flavors, with floral notes filling out the background.  The rooibos doesn’t offer a strong flavor, but, I do taste it, and it marries with the fruit tones in this blend very nicely.

The strawberry tastes fresh and authentic, tasting like I just bit into a bright red, ripe, juicy berry.  YUM!  The kiwi is a nice flavor to accompany the strawberry as I’ve often thought the kiwi tastes a bit like a cross between a strawberry and a melon.  It enhances the delicious strawberry taste, and adds a pleasing dimension to the cup.

I sipped my sampling of this tea (sent to me by a friend) hot, but as it cooled, I noticed the fruit flavors emerged even more, so I suspect this would be an absolutely AMAZING iced tea.  One that you can serve to kids as well as adults without worry that you’ll be overstimulating anyone with caffeine (as it’s naturally caffeine free).  A great summertime tea!

Groovy Guava Tea from Simpson & Vail

Tea Type: Green Tea

Where To Buy: Simpson & Vail

Product Description:

A wonderful afternoon tea! This fabulous blend of delicious fruits is melded with colorful herbs and our delicate White Monkey tea. The pale ecru cup emits a scrumptious fruity taste that is certain to please.

Brew 2 tsp per 8 oz. cup for 2 minutes @180ºF.

Contains: Green tea, Orange Blossoms, Raspberry pieces, Cornflower petals and flavorings.

Tasters Review:
I totally LOVE this tea and I have a lot to say about it!

First, I’ve had more than one person call me a hippie before so I often associate HIPPIE with the word GROOVY.  Groovy MEANS “highly stimulating and attractive, excellent” and that certainly fits the bill here.

In addition to this being one GROOVY Tea…I love that it’s Guava.  I’ve had a few Guava Teas before and I have been left wanting.  This is a nicely flavored Guava green tea.

It’s awesome hot or cold.

The taste is sweet and it’s a nice mix of fruity-flavors with a smooth and mellow green tea!

Green Tea BLISS. Delightful! GROOVY, man!