Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Simpson & Vail
Product Description:
Two of my favorite tastes – chocolate and creamy caramel – meet in this delicious black tea blend. Let the sweet chocolate aroma awaken your senses while the rich, smooth chocolate taste, and buttery aftertaste, thrill your tastebuds.
Ingredients: black teas, cacao nibs, flavoring, and safflower petals.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I have been looking forward to trying this tea. I mean, chocolate and caramel? YUM!
The dry leaf smells really delicious with its strong chocolate-y aroma. It has a very dark chocolate kind of fragrance along with a distinct caramel-y scent. I can even smell hints of browned butter in there! The brewed tea smells quite a bit softer, with much of the chocolate-y overtones having mellowed, but it is still a worthwhile experience to deeply inhale the aroma of this tea before taking a sip.
My first couple of sips, I found myself wishing there was more of a chocolate-y flavor. I didn’t really taste a whole lot of either chocolate or caramel, and I found this to be a bit disappointing. But, I didn’t give up on it, because there was certainly some promise in this cup. I could taste hints of chocolate and caramel in the distance.
After those first couple of sips, I noticed the flavor developing. Now that I am nearly finished with my first cup, the chocolate is much stronger than it was at the start. It tastes rich and very much the way the scent of the dry leaf intimated. It is a dark chocolate taste, with a pleasing bittersweet flavor. The caramel is there too, with a smooth, creamy flavor that is sweet and delicious. The finish is almost buttery, and the aftertaste is sweet and chocolate-y.
The black tea is there too. It is especially noticeable in those aforementioned first sips, when I had trouble tasting the chocolate and caramel. I still tasted a rich, rewarding flavor of black tea. Strong and brisk without being too stout, there is no bitterness to the tea, and just a wee bit of astringency.
This is definitely a tea that you have to be a little patient with, but, that patience is rewarded with the irresistible combination of chocolate and caramel. Sure, I am a chocoholic and that part of me would like there to be more chocolate here, but, as it is, I am finding this to be very satisfying.
Another awesome tea from Simpson and Vail!
