May 10, 2022

Celebrate your Birthday with our new Tea Blend!

Today you are you! That is truer than true! There is no one alive who is you-er than you! – Dr. Seuss We are quite excited to announce the addition of a new Birthday Cake Tea Blend to our line of delicious, hand-crafted flavored teas. Made on a base of caffeine-free organic green Rooibos, Birthday Cake tea is simple and scrumptious! This tea resembles a classic vanilla birthday cake mix. With the aroma of sweet buttercream frosting and the taste of creamy vanilla cake, it will bring back favorite birthday memories and hopefully create new ones! This tea tin even comes with a special, colorful label that makes it even more festive. This new blend joins our list of over 375 tea & botanical blends. All blends are […]
February 23, 2022

Legacy of a Four Decade Long Tea Connoisseur – The Life of Jim Harron Sr.

As many of you know we lost our patriarch, Jim Harron Sr., on January 18th. Through the many hundreds of emails, posts, and cards that you sent us we know what an influence Jim had on your lives. He had an insatiable curiosity about people, places, art, food, and life experiences that allowed him to connect with so many different people. He was a truly wonderful and special man. In the 15 or so years I’ve been coming to S&V every interaction with Jim was such a pleasant experience. From his stories, to just his general demeanor, the occasions I got to interact with Jim are great memories. Just last month or so I brought a friend to S&V for the first time and we got to chat […]
September 10, 2021

Teas for Changing Seasons

How did I know Summer was ending? I went for a cup of tea this afternoon and instinctively put on the kettle; I didn’t reach in the fridge for the iced tea. This inadvertent action made be realize that Summer is fading away and Fall is right around the corner. I took a look outside in surprise and it confirmed this notion; the trees are ever so slowly fading from vibrant green, the weather has a little cold snappiness in the early morning and evenings, and my gardens have changed from lupines, peonies and monarda to sedum, black eyed susans and goldenrod. Fall is coming people, so put on the kettle for Teas for Changing Seasons – the pumpkin, the chai, the apple teas. I went looking in […]
May 7, 2021

S&V wins a 2021 Gold sofi™ award!

Simpson & Vail, is thrilled to announce that their popular Blueberry Cinnamon Crumble Dessert Tea has won a Gold award as part of the Specialty Food Association’s (SFA) 2021 sofi™ Awards, a top honor in the $158 billion specialty food industry. Blueberry Cinnamon Crumble Dessert Tea was one of 130 winners selected from nearly 1,500 entries across 49 product categories. This dessert tea was sampled in a blind taste test, against competitors in the Tea category, by a panel of judges consisting of food professionals such as chefs, specialty food buyers, food journalists and culinary instructors. Teas were judged based on flavor, appearance, texture and aroma as well as ingredients used in the blend. “This dessert tea has been a winner with our customers and we are honored […]
April 29, 2021

Tea in the time of COVID

Tea in the Time of COVID – From teas and coffee beans to paper products and packaging, importers are reporting on the various reasons that COVID-19 is slowing international logistics to a crawl. Covid-19 is making the imports of products from international markets more difficult, and our products are no exception. Increased demand for tea over the last year has been a blessing to mail order companies such as ourselves.  At the same time, the disruption in the supply chain, causing shortages and an increase in the time it is taking to secure and receive products, has increased our workload and our anxiety (hence our new Calm herbal blend!).  All supplies from teas, herbs, bags, tins etc. are increasing in cost and are decreasing in availability.  These shortages have […]
August 22, 2020
Fresh Brewed Coffee

Coffee Tips for Brewing the Perfect Cup

Enjoying a perfectly brewing the perfect cup of coffee at home is easy and affordable. So don’t worry about getting dressed and jumping in the car for a cup, we’ve got you covered with easy tips for brewing the perfect cup of your favorite brew. Simple Tips for Brewing the Perfect Cup Avoid Reheating Coffee in the Microwave We all like to drink our coffee hot, but this is one tip you can easily understand. There are a couple reasons reheating your coffee in the microwave is not recommended. Microwaves do not evenly heat items. It is best to drink your coffee as soon as it’s ready. The longer you let coffee sit out, the more bitter it becomes. And re-heating coffee also results in a bitter taste. […]
July 20, 2020
Bubble Tea - Boba - Tapioca Pkg

Bubble Tea – The New Tea Drink Sensation

Over the past few years boba tea, also known as bubble tea or pearl milk tea, has rocketed into the global marketplace.  Its popularity even garnered the attention of a large corporate doughnut chain who is proposing to add, and is testing, it as a new menu item here in the USA. So … What is Bubble Tea? Bubble Tea is named for the “boba” or tapioca pearls that gather after shaken in the bottom of a cold tea or juice drink.  It can be a little confusing since “boba” can refer to the actual tapioca (cassava starch) pearls as well as the entire drink made with these balls. A basic cold drink recipe consists of black tea, milk, ice and tapioca pearls (aka boba).  It is shaken, as if making a […]
July 14, 2020
Tea Sangria Recipe White Tea Raspberry Peach Sangria

Our Favorite Tea Sangria Recipes

Sangria is a wonderful treat to cool off with on a hot summer day so we wanted to share some of our favorite tea sangria recipes.  We hope you enjoy these while relaxing this summer. Fruity White Tea Sangria Serves 6 1 bottle white wine (Sauvignon Blanc works well) 4 cups sweet tea (using S&V White Ambrosia tea, sweetened to taste) 1/4 cup triple sec 2 cups each frozen or fresh raspberries and frozen sliced peaches A bit of fresh mint for garnish Combine all ingredients in a pitcher and refrigerate 1 hour or until properly chilled.   Very  Berry Tea Sangria 2 quarts Sweetened iced tea chilled (using our S&V Iced Tea Blend) 1 (750 mL) bottle sweet red wine chilled we like a red moscato or […]
June 8, 2020

Great Southern Sweet Tea Slush

If you are looking for the prefect summer party starter give this refreshing recipe a try!  A delicious “secret” from the south is the Great Southern Sweet Tea Slush which we are sharing with you today. Sweet tea can be traced back to the 1800’s in the US and is firmly rooted in the South. In fact, every good Southerner has their “perfect” sweet tea recipe.  Recipes vary from ones where you think you are drinking more sugar than tea, to others that incorporate wonderfully tasty fruits like peaches and strawberries. You can try this super easy process with other drinks as well. GREAT SOUTHERN SWEET TEA SLUSH Yields: 4 servings Ingredients: 6 cups sweet tea (homemade with one of Simpson and Vail’s fantastic Iced Teas, sweetened to […]
March 31, 2020

Tea and Books for International Children’s Book Day

Hooray!  April 2nd is International Children’s Book Day!  And today (like most days actually) we can incorporate two of our favorite things: books and tea! Since 1967, on or around Hans Christian Andersen’s birthday, 2 April, International Children’s Book Day (ICBD) is celebrated to inspire a love of reading and to call attention to children’s books. With so many of us indoors these days, we find ourselves drinking more tea and reading a lot more books.  So if you’re looking to introduce your kiddos to the tea world, here are some fun books to add to your library.   Cloud Tea Monkeys Tashi lives in a tiny village at the foot of the mountains, below the tea plantations where her mother works. When her mother falls ill, Tashi goes […]