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“I meant to record a tasting note for this a while back and I see I never did. I must have been distracted. Probably had some rejection slips pop into my mail box which sent me scurrying to find...” Read full tasting note
“S&V Advent Day 7! I’m not generally a fan of berry black teas, especially ones with such a straightforward flavor direction. However, I’m happy to say that this is enjoyable! I like it best at...” Read full tasting note
“Advent Calendar 2024 – Day 7 I enjoy black currant, but for some reason I’m never enthused by the idea of it as a standalone tea flavor. I don’t know why, because I do really enjoy it. I guess I...” Read full tasting note
“Simpson & Vail Advent Calendar: Day 7 Ribena tea! Hehe. I enjoy black currant as a rule, so I was happy to see this one after yesterday’s bubblegum nightmare. (I exaggerate — it wasn’t that...” Read full tasting note
(Ribes nigru) Black Currants are the fruit from the perennial Ribes plant and are enjoyed for their taste and their high Vitamin content. Originally native to northern Europe, Black currants are cultivated today in many areas. These berries, in addition to being enjoyed on their own, are found in many jellies, syrups and cordials. They are also a great accompaniment in sauces for savory dishes.
The flavor of Black Currants is tart with a slight touch of sweetness, they have a pungent, musky flavor. This blend brews to a bright amber cup with the distinctive tart, sweet black currant taste.
Ingredients: Black teas, blackberry leaves and black currant flavoring.
Company description not available.
I meant to record a tasting note for this a while back and I see I never did. I must have been distracted. Probably had some rejection slips pop into my mail box which sent me scurrying to find another market to send a story to. ;-)
I’ll have to go back to it and write a more in-the-moment reflection, but the good news is this is a memorable tea. Even without having tasted it in three months I remember a thick mouth feel and a really nice currenty raisiny flavor over a mild and tasty black tea base. More later, but I didn’t want to leave this one naked. It’s cold out there.
S&V Advent Day 7! I’m not generally a fan of berry black teas, especially ones with such a straightforward flavor direction. However, I’m happy to say that this is enjoyable! I like it best at room temperature with milk and sugar. The fruit is bright, juicy, and authentic. It goes nicely with the black tea. Very smooth.
Advent Calendar 2024 – Day 7
I enjoy black currant, but for some reason I’m never enthused by the idea of it as a standalone tea flavor. I don’t know why, because I do really enjoy it. I guess I find single-flavor teas sort of boring? Unless it’s a really unique flavor.
This is lovely though. I think it’s the right amount of flavoring, and it’s the classic black currant with a balance of rich, syrupy, and deep berry with a side of tang. To be clear, the flavor itself isn’t tangy, as in tart, but I guess I find black currant to have a tangy element. If that makes any sense at all, lol! The base is pretty boring, smooth and a bit earthy.
On to Bonne Maman! I was really excited when I saw today’s Wild Blueberry-Maple Syrup Spread. Tasting it plain, I could definitely detect the sweet mineral quality of the (true) maple syrup, and a pleasant woodiness. However, when I ate it on my toast, I would’ve thought it was plain blueberry jam. Tasty though! It was a bit too sweet plain, but I think the bit of salted butter on the toast brought out some nice tart notes.
Flavors: Berry, Black Currant, Earthy, Rich, Smooth, Sweet, Syrupy
Simpson & Vail Advent Calendar: Day 7
Ribena tea! Hehe. I enjoy black currant as a rule, so I was happy to see this one after yesterday’s bubblegum nightmare. (I exaggerate — it wasn’t that bad.)
Back at my first Real Job out of undergrad, I had an officemate who turned me on to Twinings’ Blackcurrant Breeze, so I kept a box of that at the office for a pick-me-up. It’s been a while since I had the Twinings version, but I think S&V does a slightly more muted take on the flavor profile. It’s lightly fruity, with juuust a bit of something floral? I would prefer a deeper, darker flavor, but this is fine.
Flavors: Berries, Black Currant, Floral, Fruity
Advent Day 7
Not a black currant fan (with the exception of Ribera). It generally has a cat pee quality that I just can’t get past. This falls into that category. Bleh.
Ha ha I haven’t tried this one yet, but “cat pee” is not exactly encouraging… XD
lol. Maybe it’s like cilantro- some people love it and some people say it tastes like soap? I’ve always gotten cat pee from black currant, but I know a lot of people love it, so hopefully you like it too!
LOL! There is a beer brewer in Austin who makes sours and every time I’ve tried them I got flavors of acetone and vomit. Enough people must be tasting it differently since they were able to stay in business.
Ha ha I love sours, and I don’t know if you’re talking about Blue Owl or not, but they’re my fave! XD
OMG, I am totally talking about Blue Owl! LOL! I haven’t had them in years because I was so grossed out by the flavors. Their taproom was in my neighborhood and I’d shudder every time I’d drive past. I’ve long been in love with Martin House Brewing sours in Fort Worth. They do such interesting flavors and pull them off so well. Muller HEB has a good selection of their beers.
And thank you for perfectly illustrating my point, Cameron! :)
I completely understand this about black currant flavoring. But IMO, S&V’s was usually the least offending of black currant flavoring, if that means anything. :)
I love that so many of you grabbed S&V’s advent! But it also seems like they are including the teas that would be their least best-sellers, if that is a thing. And they have SO MANY teas, so that is a weird choice for them to make.
I think advents are a big marketing opportunity that companies treat as an after thought. It is often given as a gift (or in my case to try a new company out) to people unfamiliar with their brand of teas. I’m baffled that they wouldn’t want to put their best selling or unique teas in them and show off to entice new customers. It blows my mind when they do repeats in advents too.
YES exactly — advents should be treated more like samplers by these tea shops!
I checked the list of teas before buying, and I think we may be past the boring ones ha ha. I remember there being a lot of holiday teas and even a couple of literary ones!
Sipdown
I drank the remainder of this iced yesterday while doing some light house cleaning. I had this as a hot tea during work on Friday, but I assumed it may have been better as an iced tea, so I cold brewed the remainder for Saturday. The hot tea had more black currant/berry flavors, while the iced tea had lesser berries, and more black tea base. The black currant allowed the tea to sweeten naturally, but it was less noticeable as an iced tea.
Flavors: Berries, Black Currant, Fruity
I received a sad e-mail from S&V today – Jim Harron, Sr. passed away a couple days ago. I didn’t know him, but appreciate what the Harrons have done with Simpson & Vail – one of my favorite tea shops and a small business too! So I wanted to sip a cup of tea today in his memory and appreciate that S&V exists in the world.
Some have recently wondered about Black Currant teas – I have never actually tasted real black currants but I know I have had some dismal black currant teas before with awful flavoring. This is not one of them – almost a floral flavor with the fruit. Now if that fruit is black currant, I can’t say. But knowing that S&V usually has accurate flavors, this probably tastes like black currant.
I saw that email too, I like that they shared his passing with their customers so we could all appreciate what he has done and sip a cup in his honor.
Yes!
I wish I could send you some fresh harvested currants to try while they are ripe in July. But I guess the trip would be too long for them :D
haha, a great thought though, Martin.
I will keep this thought and I will ship them to you from my workplace, packed with dry ice. That could work I guess :D
