Simpson & Vail, Nepal Mist Valley

Simpson & Vail Description:
In Nepal, there are only a handful of tea producers that own and operate their own tea gardens and processing facilities, and Mist Valley Tea is one of those few. Located at an altitude of 1300 meters (approximately 4,200 feet) above the sea-level, this garden produces delightful and distinctive teas. This beautiful uniformly styled, long-leafed, tippy, black tea brews to a light amber cup with a slight vegetal aroma. The taste tends more towards a traditional Darjeeling with nutmeg overtones.

My Review:
I opened up the baggie I received as a gift from a Steepster member and sniffed the leaf. It didn't reveal much. I took out one scoop, which was half the sample and examined. The leaf looks pretty much like the picture. It still isn't giving up a lot of information.

The leaf was placed in my press with 12oz of boiling water and steeped for 3 minutes. The brew is much darker than the light amber cup S&V mention. The wet leaf aroma is familiar, like green beans and stewed broccoli. This aroma gives way to notes that are fruity and spicy like Darjeeling, If that's not enough to peak your curiosity, it is also accompanied by the scent of browned cocoa. Seriously Interesting!

Wow, this is really good.

The taste is of cocoa and malt but not like a Yunnan tea. This is more like fruity Darjeeling. It is mellow, without bitterness and only enough astringency to be good. Seriously, seriously good. You need some of this!

Cup two is was steeped the next day and is only slightly lighter on the cocoa and the malt. This is still an excellent cup. The Darjeeling remains strong and appears late in the sip. This is like two teas in one and they are excellent together.

This is one of the most interesting teas I have sipped in a while.

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Simpson & Vail, Kenya Black OP Malaika

Simpson & Vail Description:

This tea is from the Malaika tea factory serving 680 small-scale tea farmers in Kenya. The factory is located just south of the Mt Kenya National Park at an elevation of 5446 ft (1660m) above sea level. In the Swahili language, Malaika means Angel.

The beautifully medium (OP) black twisted leaves contain some marvelous looking tippy leaves of various white & golden hues producing a bright amber cup with a heady aroma. The tea has a strong, full-bodied taste with delicious citral tones.

Brew tea at 212º – steep for 3 minutes.

Price: $8.65/4oz


My Review:
I picked up this one and several others when a fellow tea lover was trying to get her stash under control. Her generosity doubled the size of my black tea collection. A serious thank you!

The leaf is twisted dark curls of broken leaf with rust colored buds well represented through out. I used about 2/3 scoop of leaf, which looked to be about 2.5g. I used fully boiling water and a 3 minute steep in my press.

The brew is a pretty deep reddish orange. I sniffed the wet leaf and I can’t quite place the familiar scent. It is maybe like cocoa or caramel and sugar that has been burnt in the bottom of a pan. A better smell than maybe it sounds.

The sip is familiar and different at the same time. There is an underlying note that reminds me of hazel nut. There are also honey and caramel notes. It has a nice bite. The aftertaste is light and malty. This has some similarities to Golden Monkey but with much more subtle flavoring. It has more similarities to a breakfast Assam but it is not as in your face.

I steeped cup two for 4 minutes and it was was bronze in color and still flavorful. This cup tasted less honey and cocoa and more planty.

A nice tea I would definitely not turn down.


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Simpson & Vail, Blue Mist

Simpson & Vail Description:
Blue Mist Tea is a blend of Jackfruit (a fruit from India with an aroma of banana and pineapple), Apricot and Mango black teas that brews to a deep amber cup with a sweet, fresh fruit aroma and taste. It’s the perfect cup for summer days when the tastes and aromas of fresh fruit are so prevalent around us. Try it hot or iced!

Ingredients: Black teas, cornflower petals, marigold petals and flavoring.

Brew tea at 212º – steep for 3 minutes.

Price: $6.40/4oz


My Review:
Another from a tea friend – thanks! The leaf is kind of pretty to look at with the blue cornflower and marigold petals. There is also some white or silver colored something in there. This reminds me of  Della Terra mellow mango, because, well, its mellow and tastes of mango. This really is a very light flavored tea. I think sweetener is a must if you want to bring the fruit flavor out. When a tea is this subtle it needs to be really complex to draw you in. This is ok but not great.

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