CuppaGeek’s Review:
Simpson & Vail is one of my favorite tea companies to review. The crew is passionate and incredibly in tune to what the tea community wants and needs. They provide amazing customer service and deliver fresh teas with flavors that are crisp and bright.
Green Guava is one of their “summer” blends that they have been featuring. Vibrant sweet tropical notes are what I’m picking up from the pouch. The tea itself gives you such a summer feel. I love how the bright colors pop against the green tea base.
Allowed to cool for just a few moments and I was greeted with flavors that are recommencement of a sweet jam you would pick up at your local farmer’s market. Fresh sweet with a tiny twinge of tartness. Buttery green tea base brings out a wonderful balance and completes each sip with such a full bodied feel. To bring out the tropical feel I really wish there was almost a hint of pineapple or mango thrown into the mix. There is almost a note of a flavor that is missing.
All in all, this flavored green tea is really nice. Subtle, gentle, and not in your face. One that could bring a soothing tone to a hectic day or even as an afternoon tea.
If you haven’t checked out the fabulous line of teas at Simpson and Vail- please do! I’m sure you’ll find at least five teas that will instantly hop into your cart.
What do learn more about this tea?
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Simpson & Vail
Tea 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.
Learn even more about this tea here.
Strawberry Guava White Tea from Simpson and Vail
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Simpson & Vail
Tea Description:
This delicate pink cup is truly scrumptious! Our Pai Mu Tan white tea is the perfect base for the delicious guava and strawberry flavors, with their complex, fruity aroma and full flavor. Delicious hot or cold!
Ingredients: White tea, organic hibiscus, cornflower petals, marigold flowers and Guava and Natural Strawberry flavors.
Brew: 2 tsp tea in 8 oz. water (at 175°), steep for 4 minutes.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Strawberry Guava White Tea from Simpson and Vail is a lovely strawberry tropical treat for the hot days of summer. White flavored teas can be very hit or miss. Sometimes the flavor is spot on, other times, not so much. White tea has such a delicate flavor that sometimes adding different flavors just muddies the flavor.
The look of the dry leaf is something to behold. Gorgeous blue and yellow pops of color amongst a green background. I scooped a few heap fulls into my infuser and steeped the tea. They recommend steeping this tea at 175 for about 4 minutes. I’ve found those recommendations to be pretty spot on.
First sip and this tea is a pretty marvelous example of a flavored white tea. Delicate yet full of flavor. Light floral notes mixed with strawberry tones and a subtle tartness that actually adds a lovely contrast and definition to the tea. This is one of those teas that needs to be shared with others with gorgeous matching cups and saucers. This tea is dainty yet full of flavors. Really great example of a flavored white tea.
Simpson & Vail has a really unique concept on their site. They encourage their customers to create new and different foods using their teas. From this particular tea, a customer created a jello. A great idea and one that I can’t wait to try!
Coconut Flan Genmaicha from 52Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
Green Tea, Popped Rice, Shredded Coconut, and Natural flavors
This tea is no longer available but learn more about available blends here.
Taster’s Review:
So today I was finally able to set myself done and try this tea. With having coconut and genmaicha going on with the blend, I thought for sure I would devour this tea. So much so that I ordered an additional taster size for it.
I asked a co-worker is she wanted to try the tea with me and she eagerly grabbed her mug and we set to steeping.
The dry leaf mixture had a lovely and bright coconut fresh smell. I wouldn’t say sun tan lotion like but there is a resemblance. The coconut smelled amazing and I wanted to bottle up the smell into a candle.
We steeped the tea per the package instructions and waited impatiently for the timer to let us know the tea was ready. We allowed the tea to cool for a minute and took our first sip.
She loved the tea. She said it was just smooth roasted coconut love. She was all smiles while drinking it and she barely sat the cup down.
When I took my first sip, I didn’t get a whole lot of flavor so I allowed the tea to cool even more. After a few more minutes, I took another sip. As much as I wanted to love this tea, it just isn’t one that I am loving hot. I’m getting a nice toasted flavor but I don’t know if I like it mixed with the coconut and then on top of all of that, with a hot temperature. I’m wondering if this is a tea that needs to be either cold brewed or iced to really get that tropical feel out of it.
Don’t get me wrong the tea is fine and I have no issue with finishing my cup. I just can’t say that I want more of it. This might just be a tea that I need to experiment with.
Off to make some iced tea!
Blue Dragon Patronus Black Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Silver Hawk Tea
Tea Description:
A fine black tea loaded with strawberries and the unique and luscious flavor of the South American Lulo. The Lulo has a pineapple-lemon flavor and when mixed with strawberry it’s amazing! Feel like you have a sentinel dragon guarding your positive and relaxing time when you sip this tea. Great hot or iced cold.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Silver Hawk Tea is a new company to me. I was excited to try their teas especially with names like Blue Dragon Patronus.
This particular blend is a black tea with a unique flavor profile. Pineapple-lemon with strawberry flavoring. An almost tropical treat with a black tea base. In my experience, these sort of teas can either be fantastic or can fall flat fast. But one whiff of this blend, I knew this tea and I would be pals.
Brewed this up with 212F water and allowed it to steep for 3min. Their steep parameters say to steep the tea for 4-5 min but I wanted to error on the side of caution.
Poured myself and my fiance and sat down to enjoy a cuppa with some TV binge time. We both allowed our cups to cool off and tried the tea. Both of our cups were gone in about a second. This tea is a delicious sweet treat!
The flavor profile for this tea is a tropical feel. Unique with a pineapple note mixed in with touches of lemon. So there is a tropical tart like feel. Then you are greeted with a strawberry almost vanilla like flavor that provides a smoothness and evens out the tropical tart like profile. Lots going on with this tea but all in a good way. I love how the flavor mix. Can’t say I’ve ever had a pineapple lemon strawberry vanilla tea with a black tea base. Smooth, well balanced, and the flavors just don’t stop giving. As fabulous as this tea is now, I bet this tea would be amazing as a cold brew and plan to use the rest of the tea that I have to do just that and garnish the glass with fresh lemon or lime wedges.
In conclusion this tea is delicious from the very first sip! This is a winner!
Sunshine Cottage from Sunshine Cottage
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Sunshine Cottage
Tea Description:
Good Morning Sunshine! Start every morning off with this bright and happy, citrus and tropical fruit blend, and you’ll start every day with a smile. Lovely as is, with a drizzle of honey, even a splash of milk. Great iced when the weather heats up!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Good morning sunshine is right! This tea starts your morning off right!
This lovely tea is from the amazing Sunshine Cottage Etsy store, a store for all those flavored black tea fans out there. Sunshine Cottage tea is a take on a tropical tea and a happy way to wake up in the morning with a bright colored tea to add to your tea spot.
I brewed this tea up with boiling water and let it steep for about 4 minutes. Allowed it to cool for a moment and then indulged myself in the tropical citrus aroma that was delighting me.
First sip and yes! This tea is a tropical citrus tea for sure. The citrus is almost like a juicy tangerine flavor while the tropical flavors are more subtle in the background. There are hints of this tea becoming astringent but I’m not picking that up right away. It is more of a lingering aftertaste from drinking the tea for a few moments.
On the package of the tea there was also a note about jasmine being in the blend and I’m sad that I’m not picking up those notes. I can’t say what a jasmine tropical citrus tea would taste like and honestly it may not go well together but I kind of want to try it.
As the tea sits now it was a delight and one that I would have no probably making up for the family to enjoy. I bet this would make an incredible iced tea and I have plans to try this as a cold brew to enjoy in the morning.