Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Butiki Teas
Tea Description:
Our Chocolate Chili Truffle pairs creamy chocolate with sweet cinnamon, lingering honey notes, and a dash of heat that leaves a gentle warming feel. The spice level is mild to moderate depending on how the tea is prepared. We highly recommend adding some sugar for a more intense chocolaty treat that is perfect for cold winter nights.
Read more about this tea on Steepster.
Taster’s Review:
OK, so in my last review of a tea from Butiki, I mentioned that Butiki recently announced that they were closing up shop. Over the course of the last couple of months, Butiki has been creating new blends like crazy in an effort to use up the inventory. This is one of the teas that was created recently and I needed to try it! It just sounded too tasty – and knowing how brilliant Stacy from Butiki Teas is when it comes to blending teas, I was confident that this tea would deliver the flavors promised.
So, even though they are closing up shop – I had to place at least one more order with them to try some of the latest creations.
And I’m really glad I did. This tea is really good!
I brewed this in my Breville tea maker, adding 2 bamboo scoops of tea to the basket and 500ml of water to the jug. Then I steeped the tea for 2 1/2 minutes in boiling water. After the tea had cooled slightly, I took a sip or two of the tea without any additives and I decided that I wanted to taste more chocolate. So I added about half a teaspoon to my 16 ounce mug of tea. This brought out the chocolate-y notes without overwhelming the cup with sweetness.
There is a really enjoyable combination of flavors between the chocolate, the cinnamon and the chili pepper, along with the natural honey tones of the Sansia black tea base. There is a really awesome balance of spicy-hot and sweet.
It’s spicy! I’m feeling a warm burn in the back of my throat and on my lips. The chili is hot and the cinnamon adds a warm spice and these two complement each other to bring out the heat.
And it’s sweet! The Sansia black tea has some really remarkable honey tones. The first time I tasted this tea, I thought maybe someone had drizzled some honey into my mug to see if I’d notice. But no, the honey is a natural flavor of the tea and it’s delightful.
This sweetness, together with the sweet chocolate-y notes help to tone down the spice just enough so that I’m experiencing that aforementioned “warm burn” without feeling the need to rush to the kitchen to find something to extinguish the fire. It’s burning, but it’s a gentle, pleasant burning sensation that warms me from the inside out.
A really good tea. I don’t know if there will be any more of this blend when this review is published, but if there is – I strongly recommend going here and getting yourself some!
