Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Nature’s Tea Leaf
Tea Description:
Chocolate Mint Whisper White Tea is an exclusive blend of a select White Peony tea with pure peppermint leaves and rich Belgian chocolate. The whole leaf tea is evenly mixed with fresh cut mint leaves that are dried naturally to preserve their flavor. Belgian semisweet dark chocolate curls are expertly combined to provide the drinker with a tea that is decadent in aroma but with a flavor that is fresh and minty with hints of rich and velvety chocolate.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I gotta tell ya, the more I try chocolate blends from Nature’s Tea Leaf, like this Chocolate Mint Whisper White Tea, the more I’m liking them. First of all, I love the big curls of chocolate that this blend has. Not just dark Belgian chocolate, but, white chocolate curls too! Sure … the chocolate melts and there are some that will argue that the melted chocolate in the tea clouds up the tea. And it does. But, I don’t care! It’s CHOCOLATE! And when this chocoholic sees cute little chocolate curls mixed into the dry leaf of a tea … the inner child in me squeals with delight.
The White Peony tea leaves seem to respond to this blend differently … that is to say, this doesn’t taste like a typical Bai Mu Dan. There are similar qualities, of course, like the straw-like taste (imagine the air that surrounds a dry hay stack) but, I don’t really notice a vegetative quality or other notes that I often associate with a white tea. But one thing that I do notice here … is an earthy undertone to the white tea that is often overlooked. So … while the ingredients in this blend may have overwhelmed some of the nuances of the white tea, it has also brought forward some flavors of the white tea that is not usually noticed. Like I said … the tea responds differently to this blend … and I, for one, like it.
The mint was a little … difficult to detect with the first few sips. The whole “Whisper” in the name made sense … because the peppermint was indeed a whisper of a taste. And now that I am more than halfway finished with my cup of tea, I notice more mint taste than i did with my first couple of sips … it is still quite a delicate flavor, noticed mostly when I suck in a breath and allow the air to flow over my palate. It is then that I notice a crisp, clean note that is distinctly mint.
This tea is deliciously chocolate-y, and what I really liked about this blend is that even though it was a white tea, it had a pleasing amount of chocolate flavor … but not so much that I lost sight of the fact that it was tea that I was drinking. I liked that I could taste the white tea, and I liked that this tea offered me a different perspective of white tea. A very interesting blend – one that I’d recommend to any chocolate lover.
Belgium Chocolate Matcha (Black Matcha Base) from Red Leaf Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black (Matcha)
Where to Buy: Red Leaf Tea
Tea Description:
This dessert-like drink will knock your socks off! We’ve combined our fabulous Matcha Tea with cocoa powder to make a drink everyone will love and crave. This is an amazing beverage that can be served any time to anybody. Not only does this tea offer all the health benefits of Matcha Green Tea, it gives a little chocolate kick you are sure to love. This dessert-style beverage is healthy, tasty and will make you smile.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
One of the AMAZING things about Red Leaf Tea’s astonishing array of Matcha flavors that they offer is that you can totally customize the Matcha to be just the way you want it. You can choose the level of flavoring which ranges from delicate all the way to a level called “There’s Matcha in There?!” You can also choose the base of the Matcha. For most of the Matcha reviews that I’ve written from Red Leaf Tea lately, I’ve selected the classic grade of green Matcha, because with flavored Matcha, I feel that the classic grade is just right. However, you can also choose from the higher quality green Matcha such as their Royal and their Imperial green Matcha, AND you can now choose a white, black, or rooibos (red) Matcha base for the flavored Matcha. You can even choose a combination of two different bases (a 50/50 base) if you so desire.
That’s one of the things that I love about the Matcha offerings from Red Leaf Tea – it’s so customizable that the possibilities are nearly limitless!
For this particular flavor, I selected the black base with robust flavoring, since I have previously tried (and reviewed!) this flavor with the classic base and delicate level of flavoring (I’m guessing that this was the specifications of that particular Matcha … this was back before all the options were available!) Also, since this is a black tea base, I wanted the robust flavoring because I felt that the boldness of the black tea base needed a substantial level of flavoring to be able to be discerned from the Matcha.
But given how strong the chocolate flavor is here, I probably would have been just fine with a lower amount of flavoring … but, hey, I am LOVING it just the way it is. I love how strong the chocolate flavor is here – then again, I’m a chocoholic.
This tastes a lot like hot chocolate, but with something a little more to it. It doesn’t taste quite as thick/sweet/rich as a typical hot chocolate would, but, that is not to say it’s not rich. It’s just not that same cloyingly rich hot cocoa taste – instead, it’s rich and complex with tones of malt and caramel beneath that deep chocolate-y flavor.
Prepared traditionally, using hot water (I used 190° F water) and whisking, this tastes amazing. But, there is a slight chemical-y note … almost perfume-y that is detectable not just in the taste but also in the aroma. I assume that this comes from the flavoring because I did not notice it when I tasted the black Matcha from Red Leaf Tea.
It isn’t a strong flavor nor does it so “bad” that it disrupts my enjoyment of the Matcha. It is something that I can look past to enjoy the rich flavor of chocolate and tea. BUT… after adding just a splash of milk to the bowl and then frothing with my hand-held frother, I found that the chemical-y taste nearly vanished. It is still just barely there … but, the other flavors are much stronger and so enjoyable that it is very easy to forget about this taste.
Overall, this is a very enjoyable Matcha – unique and a little out-of-the-box as far as Matcha goes, but, I think that’s one of the things I like best about it. Oh, don’t get me wrong, I’m still in love with the traditional green tea Matcha – pure as well as flavored! – but, sometimes it’s fun to change things up a bit!
Rooibos Belgian Chocolate from Georgia Tea Company
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: Georgia Tea Company
Tisane Description:
Rooibos tea with cocoa pieces. Try it also with cream to make a great desert tea!
Learn more about this tisane here.
Taster’s Review:
I had really high hopes for this chocolate flavored rooibos, unfortunately the rooibos in this kind of let me down. Just a little. That’s not to say it’s not a tasty tisane, it is. But, I was hoping for MORE chocolate and less rooibos flavor, and this just didn’t deliver that.
But then, that’s the chocoholic in me. I see the word chocolate, and I get happy. I see the words BELGIAN chocolate and I get very happy. And while this is very rich and deliciously chocolate-y … it’s just not quite as chocolate-y as I would like it to be.
However, as I continue to sip, this tisane starts to redeem itself. I notice the chocolate-y notes – deep, dark chocolate! – becoming stronger while I notice less of the woody tones of the rooibos.
So, chocoholics, don’t despair! Don’t give up on this tisane after the first sip or two! Allow it time to cool slightly, and allow the flavors to develop. It’s definitely worth it. It might be a tad bit disappointing at the start, but, after a few sips, it becomes very decadent and chocolate-y!