August 22, 2019

Creating Your Own Tea Sodas and Cocktails

Looking for a great drink to enjoy on these last long, hot days of Summer?  Enter Carbonated Teas or better know as Sparkling Tea Sodas.  I recently purchased a Soda Stream and,  while I thought it might be a silly gadget purchase, I love it!  I drink a lot of seltzer, and usually buy flavored seltzer, but with the Soda Stream I’m enjoying adding the unflavored seltzer to a variety of Simpson & Vail teas. A basic tea soda recipe is 1/2 tea to 1/2 seltzer and then sweetened as necessary.  To get you started on your own tea soda journey, here are a few recipes I found online: Non-Alcoholic Tea Beverages: This Bubbly Iced Tea recipe from Cooking light is a basic recipe.  Use 6 teaspoons of […]
August 6, 2013

Earl Grey Tea – History, tea types and recipes

What is the History of Earl Grey tea? Earl Grey teas, traditionally, were blends comprised of varying black teas with Bergamot oil added to them. Today, any tea (green, white, herbal) that is sprayed with Bergamot oil is known as Earl Grey (such as our Emerald Green Earl Grey, Rooibos Earl Grey, etc).  Every tea merchant carries an Earl Grey black tea blend, but they are all very different due to the variations in black teas used for the blend and the quality of the bergamot oil. Here at Simpson & Vail we use high quality bergamot oil. What is bergamot oil? Bergamot oil comes from the rind of the bergamot orange, which grows on the citrus tree Citrus bergamia.  These trees are mainly grown for commercial use […]
July 15, 2012

A Blast Of Flavor With Burgundy Blast Loose Iced Tea

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 […]