June 3, 2013
New elegant packaging for over 300 types of quality teas and tisanes! New Elegant Packaging Simpson & Vail of Brookfield, CT has been a purveyor of quality loose leaf teas since 1929 and selling bulk teas has always been the focus with only a small emphasis on packaged product. For many years our tea has been sold in bulk to consumers who used their own containers for tea storage. But with tea’s popularity soaring in America consumers are seeking elegant, functional containers for tea. We’re thrilled to be launching our New Elegant Packaging and newly designed labels for our screw-top 4oz tea canisters. ALL 300+ teas and tisanes that we offer are available in these elegant containers. Five colorful labels are available for: Black Tea, Green […]
January 29, 2013
“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet.” – William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet History of Rose Petal Tea Why do we offer so many rose petal tea blends for Valentine’s Day? Because roses, throughout history, have been considered symbols of love, romance and beauty. And because these rose combinations are aromatic and delicious! Fossil evidence shows that roses have been around for 35 million years, so it’s no surprise that roses are popular themes in paintings, poetry, music, and rose petal tea (of course!). Roses began their recorded history in Greek mythology. Aphrodite, the goddess of love, (and her Roman counterpart, Venus) is associated with the rose and is credited with bestowing on the rose certain attributes […]
January 24, 2013
In one of the tea chat groups I belong to (Teamail), a woman mentioned that she had recently been served Chai tea oatmeal at a restaurant on the West Coast. She said it was delicious and I could well imagine that it would be pretty tasty. So since it’s winter and I do love a warm bowl of oatmeal in the morning, I brewed up some chai this morning and gave this a whirl. Oh my gosh – Yum! I will never make oatmeal without chai again! I brewed up 1 1/2 tsp of Chai Black Tea in 8oz water and steeped for 5 minutes. Then I poured the brewed tea in a saucepan, added 1/2 cup of oats, returned to a boil, then simmered. I added a little maple syrup […]
January 14, 2013
Do you make New Year’s resolutions? Here’s a thought for a resolution that is easily attainable and will be fun to put into action. Resolve to take the time for tea every day. That’s it. Just a little time to stop every day and take a breath, take a sip, take a look around. You can start this tradition of making time for yourself or for making time to enjoy tea with a friend or a family member right now. You can make the commitment that you will break long enough to stop worrying about what you need to do next. As with all changes we’d like to make, starting is the toughest part, but each time it will get easier. Soon you will find that this time […]
November 22, 2012
Thanksgiving is here again, which means that after this day of family and food and counting our blessings, we will be thrust into full fledged holiday craziness. The pull will come from all directions – parties to attend, concerts to enjoy, presents to buy, food to prepare, traveling, and more. So in the spirit of enjoying this time of the year, I thought I’d share something my very busy, stressed out friend’s 10 year old daughter just told her: “it’s your choice”. There is some truth in that. We are the only ones who are in control of how much crazy we allow into our lives. I’m reading a meaningful book by Thich Nhat Hanh called Happiness. He offers this exercise in practicing mindfulness to bring us into […]
October 24, 2012
As I was wandering in the grocery store the other day looking for something remotely interesting for dinner I spied the tofu section. Having not made tofu in while, and having quite the store of potatoes and carrots, I decided it sounded cozy to turn on the oven and do a little roasting/baking. The tofu needs at least an hour to marinate, so I started with this part of the meal. The whole dinner was fast & delicious. Ingredients: 1 block extra-firm tofu, well pressed 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp. Tamari 1 tsp S&V organic Lemon Myrtle 1 Tbsp olive oil 1 Tbsp lemon juice 1 tsp toasted sesame oil1/2 tsp chopped ginger root 1/2 tsp sugar 1/2 tsp basil 1/2 tsp thyme Preparation: Press any excess water out of the tofu. […]
October 3, 2012
September 18th and the weather turned surprisingly chilly. I know it’s New England … it’s September… But every year I swear I’m a little surprised when the weather cools down. And with the rain and gray skies it seemed much more Fall-ish than the previous day’s sunny 70’s. So what’s a girl to do? Brew up some tea and make soup? Yup! I took stock of the root cellar and what’s growing in the garden and made a delightful lunch! A few days ago we pulled some carrots out of the garden and harvested all our potatoes. That’s the best “job” – potato harvesting. If you haven’t had a chance to do it – you have to try it sometime. The summer starts to wind down, the potato plants start dying, the weeds […]
September 10, 2012
Everyone likes their tea a different way: with cream, without, with sweeteners or without. So it doesn’t seem so out of place to discuss here a major problem with a sweetener so often used in tea. I speak of honey and the problems that have plagued the little bees for years – colony collapse disorder (CCD). I’ve been reading articles about this and talking with apiaries about their experiences for about 6 years and was curious to know how our tea drinking community feels. The more I read, the more questions I find that I would like answered. I don’t want to lapse into the assumption that there are greedy corporate giants who are knowingly harming the environment and continuing to do so for financial gain. I know […]
August 24, 2012
The weather is starting to cool off here in the northeast. Thankfully it’s still warm enough to enjoy a nice glass of iced tea made with Simpson and Vail loose tea and some pickings from the garden. In addition to summer squash growing profusely, I seem to have an over abundance of basil plants this year. SOME people here may say I have a slight “problem” that may require therapy, and I readily agree that the basil is a little out of control this year. In my defense though, I saw a little woodchuck in the Spring and I may have over-reacted when I started putting seeds in the raised beds. Who knew that ALL the seeds would grow and that no creatures would visit the garden! So I potted basil […]
July 15, 2012
Here’s a yummy recipe for a wonderful loose iced tea that’s helping me battle the heat today! Today’s recipe is for Simpson And Vail Burgundy Blast Iced Tea. Place 6 teaspoons of Burgundy Blast Herbal Tisane in a 6 cup teapot (32 oz) and pour boiling water over the herbs. Steep 5 minutes. Strain out the herbs and let the tea cool a little. Pour about 1/2 the teapot into ice cube trays and freeze. Cool the remaining tea in the pot. When the cubes are fozen, place in a tall glass with a few teaspoons of orange-mango simple syrup* and pour in the tea. Top with a mint sprig and enjoy! This is a cooling, refreshing beverage that will quench your thirst on a hot summer day! *Orange Mango Simple […]