At the start of each new tea growing season, our tea tasters here at Simpson & Vail are evaluating the various selection of loose leafed teas that have been received from tea gardens around the world. After appraising their qualities of aroma, leaf style, color in the cup and taste, some of these teas may be added to our already vast section of quality black, green, oolong, white, flowering and decaffeinated teas.
All our flavored and blended teas are manufactured here at S&V and each year some new selections may be added. From our original 17 blends offered by Mr. Vail in the early 1900's, we now offer over 50 aromatic and blended teas, earl grey and floral selections, along with many "special" blends that we have available to some of our wholesale accounts.
Like our flavored blends, we also offer many herbal "teas", both blended and regular, like chamomile, ginseng, honeybush, lemon myrtle and rooibos, to mention just a few. We carry our own line of unique Yoga "teas" and a large selection of flavored Rooibos beverages.
The green tea base of this blend perfectly carries a full flavor with a smooth, creamy taste. The delightful aroma and tantalizing taste are reminiscent of weekends in Grandma's cozy kitchen!
This tea is graded FTGFOP (Finest Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe) and brews to a rich amber cup with a medium body and a smooth malty, slightly creamy sweet taste. The Nahorhabi Estate is recognized for producing excellent teas and this self-drinking tea has all the attributes associated with a fine Assam.
Butterfly pea tea, from Southeast Asia, is a caffeine free herbal "tea" whose flowers are brewed for their beautiful blue color. Change the pH of the blend by adding lemon or lime and the color will change from blue to varying shades of purple. (Click on the photo for more inoformation)
The large black, tippy leaves have the brewed aroma of gardens after a rain. The golden cup has a taste that is bright like a Chardonnay with an unusual malty (earthy) aroma and a slight sweet finish. You'll enjoy this silky, smooth cup any time of the day.
This exquisite white tea is hand-picked from the buds of the tea plant and processed in the Spring. The beautiful long, silver-green leaves brew to a vegetal aroma with a floral, dry taste and a refreshing aftertaste. One of the better white teas we've tasted in quite some time!
Japan is celebrated worldwide for their fine green teas, however, there are Japanese growers producing exceptional black teas as well. These dark, twisted, organically grown leaves unfurl into stylish black leaves with a forest aroma. The tea brews to a medium amber cup with a smooth brisk flavor.
Buddha Ama-cha is an herbal tisane whose leaves come from the Hydrangea Macrophylla var. Amagiana plant. These large, well-formed, gray-green leaves have a very sweet and refreshing taste. The freshly plucked leaves contain so called glucosides which do not have a sweet taste yet. The characteristic sweet taste arises during the fermentation process where the substance "glucoside" is changed into "phyllodulcin".
Produced by a deep heating process, these medium and light green, uniformly straight cut leaves have a slight barley aroma. The tea cups to a pale green color with a medium body and a sweet barley-like taste. Brew tea at 180º - steep for 2 minutes.
This grade B sencha, with its dark green leaves and delightful vegetal aroma, has more body than our regular Japanese Sencha. The tea brews to a light green cup with a hint of earthiness and a smooth fresh sweet taste. Brew tea at 180º - steep for 2 minutes.
These wiry black leaves brew to an amber colored cup with a woodsy aroma. The taste is brisk and flavorful with a delicate maltiness and slight citrus notes.
These medium-large sized black leaves brew to a deep amber cup with an oaky, woodsy aroma. The well-rounded cup yields a medium bodied brew with an oaky, slightly malty taste and notes of orange. This vibrant cup is strong enough for your morning brew and makes an excellent pick me up in the afternoon.
These olive-green cut leaves brew to a light amber cup with an earthy aroma. Quite different from the China Pai Mu Tan, which has a sweet mellow taste, this Kenya version has a light fruit, peach taste with an earthy aftertaste.
Beautiful to behold, delightful to taste! With an abundance of white tips, the long, twisted, curly brown leaves, brew to a pale amber cup. You'll savor the smooth, delicate, slightly sweet medium body taste that makes this tea an all-day sipper.
This black tea is a mix of FOP (flowery orange pekoe) and FBOP (flowery broken orange pekoe) leaves with a forest, oaky aroma in the dry leaf. It brews to a golden amber cup with a smooth, sweet, slightly floral taste. A perfect all day drinking tea!
