Pootea Tang Tea from Modest Mix

Pootea Tang Tea from Modest Mix

TeaEqualsBliss’s Review:

First I have to say that this tea company cracks me up but then again I tend to have a twisted sense of humor!  Pootea Tang Tea from Modest Mix is the first of what I hope is MANY of their teas I will sip on!

As an individual my language can be quite colorful so I appreciate the badassery behind the product descriptions, however, since this site wants to remain PG-13 some of what we put here on the site may be altered a tad.

Pootea Tang Tea from Modest Mix makes me laugh, smile, and enjoy this tea and various memories that go along with it!  I immediately ‘got the reference’ to the 2001 Movie that was so bad it was funny!

Pootea Tang Tea from Modest Mix ingredients include: Assam Black Tea, Rooibos, Cacao Nibs, Orange Peel, and Rosehips.  I want to take this time to point out what is so special about some of these ingredients.  The Cacao Nibs are among the most strong tasting I have had in any tea!  Impressive!  The Orange Peels are OUTSTANDING as well…they plump up to large chunks of citrusy goodness once infused!  The Rosehips are a nice addition but sit in the background and I’m totally ok with that.  The Rooibos gives the overall taste an added sweetness that works out well.  The Assam is damn good, too!

Yes…the aroma of Pootea Tang Tea from Modest Mix is what smacks you in the face right away but the taste follows suit!  If you grew up on dark chocolate and/or Orange Chocolate, specifically you MUST try this tea!

As for the second infusion – it’s still good!  It’s not as powerful but you can get a very decent second infusion out of this Pootea Tang Tea from Modest Mix.  Two thumbs up from me on this one!


 

What to learn more about this tea?

Tea Information:

Leaf Type:  Black/Rooibos Blend

Where to Buy: Modest Mix

Tea Description:

You **cking love chocolate don’t you?  How about some added orange for that tangy zest that your badass body craves?  You’re welcome.

Learn even more about this tea here.

Chocolate Rose Truffle Black Tea from 52Teas

ChocolateRosesmallerTea Information:

Leaf Type:  Black

Where to Buy: 52Teas

Tea Description:

The base of the tea is a blend of four black teas: two teas from Verdant Tea, a rich, malty Assam and a rose Congou. To that I added chocolate flavoring, cacao shells & nibs, mini vegan chocolate chips and vegan white chocolate chips. The result is a very chocolate-y tea with just a hint of rose that’s a perfectly romantic tea to give to that special someone this Valentine’s Day – or any day of the year that you want to tell someone you care! 

Learn more about this tea here.

Learn more about subscribing to 52Teas tea of the week program here.

Taster’s Review:

I recently did a review for this tea on my own blog but thought that this blend need another review here!

This tea is one of the best chocolate teas I’ve ever tried. Seriously!

When you first open this pouch of tea, be prepared for the most lushest decadent chocolate aroma you have ever smelled. Seriously. The aroma coming from this tea made me feel like I was going to gain 10 pounds just by smelling it. Cacao nibs and shells, milk chocolate, and white chocolate, all mixed up with a black tea base and rose petals.  Tea Heaven!

I brewed this tea up with fresh boiled water and my french press.  I allowed the tea to steep for about 3 minutes before pushing down on the plunger. I allowed the tea to cool before I took a few minutes.  As the tea was cooling, I was still getting all of those wonderful gorgeous chocolate aromas.

Now I will admit, chocolate teas are not my thing but 52Teas chocolate teas have been delicious so I just had to try this one. First sip in I was preparing myself for this overabundance of chocolate flavorings to hit me at once. The exact opposite. This tea is so delicate and gentle.  The chocolate notes translate into a softer gentle flavor that mingles gorgeously with the black teas and rose petals, allowing each ingredient to sing their own song and make a brilliant cuppa.

The black tea provided a wonderful smoothness with a slight astringent note. The rose petals provided that sweetness that was needed to combat the slightly bitter cacao shells & nibs. The white chocolate was the most pronounced of the chocolate flavors I could really get a good tasting of and it was just heavenly!

Well done 52Teas. This as close to perfection as they come with chocolate teas for me! I have already devoured a few steepings and plan to brew up more! I believe this one is still available. I recommend everyone grab some while they can. Delicious!

Chocolate Orange Flavored Honeybush from 52Teas

Chocolate-Orange-HoneybushTisane Information:

Leaf Type:  Honeybush

Where to Buy:  52Teas

Tisane Description:

Caffeine-free organic honeybush blended with organic cacao nibs, freeze-dried orange sections, marigold petals and organic chocolate and orange flavors. I was a bit reluctant to offer a chocolate tea outside of traditional hot tea drinking weather, but one of my helper elves insisted there is no wrong time to make a chocolate tea. After tasting this delicious blend, I have to say I totally agree with her.

Learn more about this tisane here.

Learn more about 52Teas’ subscriptions here.

Taster’s Review:

I could smell the orange as soon as I opened the pouch!  The chocolate notes are less apparent than the orange but then again … oranges are a bit more fragrant than a bar of chocolate.  The dry leaf has a lot of petals (these don’t really affect the flavor) and little chunks of cacao nib and dried oranges combined with the oxidized organic honeybush leaves.

When I brew honeybush (or it’s South African “cousin” rooibos), I usually brew it in my Breville One-Touch tea maker and that’s how I brewed this.  I measured out 3 bamboo scoops of the tisane and put it in the basket of the tea maker, and then I poured in freshly filtered water up to the 500ml mark.  I set the settings to 195°F and 10 minutes and then I left it alone to do its thing.  That’s what I love so much about the One-Touch … you just put the tea and water into it, set the settings and the tea maker does the rest!  Ten minutes later, I had a pot of Chocolate Orange flavored Honeybush!

The orange notes are a little softer in the brewed liquid, and I can smell notes of chocolate as well as notes of honeybush.  It smells sweet, orange-y, chocolate-y and nutty.

The flavor is similar to the fragrance.  The sip starts with sweet, orange-y flavors.  Then I notice the nutty, honeyed flavor of the honeybush and notes of chocolate.  I wish that the chocolate notes were stronger – but if you’ve been reading my blog for a while, that wish should come as no surprise to you.  I always want more chocolate.  More chocolate = better.  Always.

As it is though, I feel that the chocolate notes here are lacking.  The orange is such an abundant flavor and it seems to overwhelm the chocolate a bit.

Oh, it’s still quite a tasty blend, but this is definitely more orange than it is chocolate.  I like how the honeybush melds with these flavors – the nutty, earthy notes of the honeybush work well with the richness of the cacao notes and the sunny notes of orange.

It’s a sweet, dessert-y type of tea, and because it’s naturally caffeine free, this would be a great late night snack for those who are looking for something sweet but don’t want to indulge.  This is guilt free sipping!

Laoshan Black Chocolate Genmaicha from Verdant Tea

Laoshan Black Chocolate Genmaicha from Verdant Teas
Laoshan Black Chocolate Genmaicha from Verdant Teas

Tea Information:

Leaf Type: Black, Oolong

Where to Buy: Verdant Tea 

Tea Description:

A warm and comforting take on classic Genmaicha with the addition of Wuyi oolong and cacao nibs. . .

Genmaicha has humble origins- originally toasted rice was mixed into a pot to make expensive tea leaves go further in a time of less plenty than today. Toasted rice was combined with green tea or even broken twigs and stems to make a hearty and warming brew. At the time, green tea was for more widely available than black tea, but given the warming qualities of genmaicha, we thought that a humble hand-picked black tea from Laoshan Village would be the perfect companion for toasted rice.

This batch of Laoshan black is particularly malty and sweet, qualities drawn out by hand-crafted Minnesota wild rice and organic fair trade jasmine rice toasted in small batches. We add organic cacao nibs to give a darker and more comforting aftertaste, and a touch of Shui Jin Gui Wuyi oolong for its nutty caramel notes and savory aftertaste. All together, we think this new take on Genmaicha very much embraces the tea’s humble origins and stays true to the warm and satisfying nature of toasted rice tea.

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

I love Genmaicha and Laoshan Black Chocolate Genmaicha from Verdant Tea is no exception! This tea delivers exactly what it says it does in its description! I love the use of a Wyui oolong which provides a nutty sweet backdrop but I love even more the rock mineral flavor that gives this tea an overall earthy quality. I guess it makes me feel like while even though this tea is on the sweeter side it is also quite savory and I love nothing better than a sweet and savory flavor combined!

I was rather surprised at what a clear cup this turned out to be, a lovely amber brown color but I can see right to the bottom of my glass. The mouthfeel is on the creamy side but has a bright finish.

I love the toasty rice flavor and it really shines through! The cocoa nibs offer a delicious chocolate taste that is really nice, not fakey tasting at all.

I was expecting a bit richer of a flavor though. While there is a lovely caramel note, chocolate holds its own, and the rice is a lovely touch, overall I find it rather on the thin side in comparison to Laoshan Black on its own. Even with that said however I really think Verdant did well to offer us something completely unique and I would recommend this tea as it is so comforting as it is toasty, warm, sweet, malty, and quite decedent.

Laoshan Black Chocolate Genmaicha Blend from Verdant Tea

Laoshan_Black_Genmaicha

Tea Information:

Leaf Type:  Black & Oolong

Where to Buy:  Verdant Tea

Tea Description:

This batch of Laoshan black is particularly malty and sweet, qualities drawn out by hand-crafted Minnesota wild rice and organic fair trade jasmine rice toasted in small batches. We add organic cacao nibs to give a darker and more comforting aftertaste, and a touch of Shui Jin Gui Wuyi oolong for its nutty caramel notes and savory aftertaste. All together, we think this new take on Genmaicha very much embraces the tea’s humble origins and stays true to the warm and satisfying nature of toasted rice tea.

Learn more about this blend here.

Taster’s Review:

Mmm!  Wow!  This Laoshan Black Chocolate Genmaicha Blend from Verdant Tea is AMAZINGLY good!

OK, so, what do you think of when you think Genmaicha?  Green Tea with rice, right?  Well, forget everything you think you know about Genmaicha … because this totally unique blend from Verdant Tea challenges everything you thought you knew about Genmaicha.

Instead of using a green tea for a base of this “Genmaicha,” Verdant Tea chose a rich, malty Laoshan Black tea and added toasted jasmine rice.  Then Verdant added a touch of Wuyi Oolong which lightens the Black tea a little while giving the overall cup a smooth texture.  And then … just to make it absolutely irresistible to this chocoholic, Verdant Tea added cacao nibs!  Yum yum yum!

And that’s really what this tea is reducing me to … murmuring “yum yum yum” as I sip it.  It is so good … so darned good that I find it difficult to come up with wordsy prose to celebrate it … it summons my inner child with its sweet, toasty, chocolate-y, caramel-y delightful deliciousness.

But since I am writing a review … I’ll try to tell you what I’m tasting.  The black tea in this blend is most prominent, and as I mentioned before, it is rich and malty.  Not bitter.  Having tried the Laoshan Black Tea from Verdant previously, I know that not all of the chocolate-y notes that are dancing on my palate are not due to just the cacao nibs.  The Laoshan Black Tea has a pleasing chocolate-y note as well.  The chocolate notes and caramel notes of this tea really take this blend to an “over the top” status … this is so delicious and decadent!

The Shui Jin Gui Wuyi Oolong (which I haven’t yet reviewed but my Sister Azzrian has) brings a touch of fruity character as well as a nutty undertone and a touch of caramel to the cup as well.  The rice adds a delicious toasty taste to the cup as well as dimension to the nutty tones of the cup.

And then … as if this tea needed another reason to drink it … there is CACAO NIBS in it … which means MORE chocolate.  And you all remember my chocoholic’s equation, right?  Some chocolate = good and more chocolate = better.  This blend takes it right to BETTER with more chocolate!

This is just totally yum.  I am sad now that I only purchased the sample size of this because I know I’m going to be craving it!