April 20, 2022
Our Mother’s Day Gift Guide shows you top gifts for Mom from the 2022 S&V catalog! For Mom 3 Tin Gift Box Our top pick for the Mother’s Day Gift Guide is our For Mom Tea Giftbox! This box contains 3 1oz tins of tea (enough to make 10-12 cups of tea) and contains a decorative card with tea descriptions, ingredients and brewing information. The clear top tins allow you to see each of the beautiful teas before making your selection. Packaged in a lovely black gift box and secured with a colorful band, these boxes make fabulous gifts! Teas included are: Victorian Earl Grey, Mother’s Day Blend & Women’s Tonic. Unit Price: $26.95 Come For Tea Book This glorious 134-page hardcover book will become your “go to” […]
November 4, 2021
Simpson & Vail’s Holiday Sampler Gift Box Our Holiday tea sampler is the top pick for the 2021 Holiday Gift Guide! This sampler offers all 10 of our holiday teas in an elegant black gift box. This box features: Candy Cane Organic Rooibos, Figgy Pudding green, Gingerbread black, Holiday Blend, Nutcracker black, Roasted Chestnut Rooibos, St. Nick’s black, Sugar Plum Fairy Rooibos, White Chocolate Peppermint, & Winter Wonderland. Unit Price: $29.95 Christmas Teatime Book: Celebrating the Holiday with Afternoon Tea If you’re thinking of hosting a special tea celebration over the holidays then this colorful 134-page hardcover book will be a wonderful asset. More than 90 delectable recipes, (from scones, to savories, to sweets) along with 10 beautiful table settings, will serve as an inspiration in planning your […]
October 8, 2021
A glimpse into the process of blending our National Park Tea Collection. Transforming Nature to Tea Through conducting extensive research on the different park flora, the environment and general appearance, the National Park Collection formed. This helped make the decision as to what flavors, herbs, teas, and fruits we would put into each blend. The goal was to create a blend that mentally transport’s the consumer to the park . Next, I will dive into details on our two new additions to the National Park collection – view information on the rest of the collection here. Blending The two new parks began the same as the others, with countless hours of research and visiting the locations. Anyone who has been to a national park in person knows the […]
May 3, 2021
I was a New Tea Drinker When I began working at Simpson & Vail I was a new tea drinker and my knowledge of tea began and ended at the instant iced sweet “tea” mix you buy from the grocery store. Do they even still make that? Needless to say my knowledge on the subject was just about none. Now, I am nowhere near an expert, but I’ve had the privilege of tasting a variety of teas from around the world and even been able to create a whole collection of tea blends (National Park Tea Collection). It still fascinates me how much there is to learn about tea and how much dedication goes into the process of loose tea! Here are a few simple tips I wish […]
October 22, 2020
Our new favorite Halloween treat with a few tricks! “When I looked around I saw and heard of none like me. Was I, then, a monster, a blot upon the earth from which all men fled and whom all men disowned?“ -Mary Shelley, Frankenstein Our NEW Mary Shelley Green Tea has arrived just in time for all of your spooky Halloween shenanigans. The Treat Tea was an essential part of Mary and Percy’s daily lives and it is recorded that they favored black tea that was sweetened. After learning of the plight of slaves on sugar cane plantations they boycotted sugar and, not liking unsweetened black tea, they switched to drinking plain green tea. Since there are no references to tea in Mary’s writings, the inspiration for this […]
July 24, 2020
TEA-quila Sunrise Cocktail Whether you’re enjoying a nice dinner or relaxing poolside, a Tequila Sunrise is perfect for any occasion. The first version of the Tequila Sunrise originated in Arizona and is a perfect representation of the vibrant Southwestern skies. In honor of National Tequila Day, we’ve made a TEA-quila blend based on this classic tequila cocktail complemented by S&V herbal “tea.” This beverage not only turned out aesthetically pleasing, but also a delicious tropical treat! A classic tequila sunrise includes: Grenadine, Orange Juice, and Tequila Our “tea” twist was to substitute the grenadine for our Simpson & Vail Orange Cranberry Herbal Tisane and a bit of hibiscus to create a Simple Syrup. Simple Syrup Ingredients: 1/2 cup water 1/2 cup sugar 2 tbsp (t-sacs) of […]
April 15, 2020
Honoring our beautiful National Parks There are over 419 national parks across the US and this number grows every year. The massive protection project covers over 84 million acres and is kept by the National Park Service, multiple non-profits, volunteers, etc. One could say we all have an influence on our nation’s National Parks. My journey with the National Parks began in Sept. 2017 during a spontaneous trip to Colorado. With a pair of hiking boots I bought two days prior, I decided to take on the Rockies. Beyond this, I travelled to the Great Smoky Mountains, Shenandoah, the Grand Canyon, Acadia, and many other National Parks not (yet) featured in this tea line. Over the years I found a lot of comparisons between the National Parks and […]