Today we have a wonderfully minty black tea up for review!
This company’s website states that they donate 25% of their net profits to the Flagg Foundation for Mental Wellness, so buying this tea supports a great cause!
Another great thing about this company (in addition to offering great tea) is that their tea comes in cute little plastic canisters that you can either reuse or recycle. This is great if, like me, you’re getting tired of having to throw all those loose leaf tea bags in the trash because they’re made of paper (or plastic) fused with foil so you can’t recycle them or wash them out–or even if they’re just simple plastic bags, your city won’t accept them and you have to somehow recycle them separately (biggest inconvenience ever!). So this company is socially responsible and their tea packaging is eco-friendly (or at least convenient to be eco-friendly with . . . )!
For this tea session, I steeped 1.5 teaspoons of this chocolate mint tea in about 8oz of water (at just under boiling) for about 4 minutes. It smells nice and minty even before steeping, with a smooth creamy undertone from the chocolate.
While steeping, a reddish-brown cloud settles to the bottom of the cup. It starts to smell warmer and chocolatier. By the end of the steeping process, it’s reddish cedar-y in color, darkish but still see-through.
First sip: Very minty–like actual mint tea. There’s a distinct difference between a mint flavor from mint extract/flavoring and the actual flavor of actual mint leaves (mint leaves have some vegetal undertones and the possibility of bitterness if you oversteep, which the “extracts” don’t have). And sure enough, the ingredients list specifies that there are mint leaves in this, so kudos for that–we have actual mint here. And because the tea comes with bits of chocolate in it, this is a very naturally flavored chocolate mint tea.
With milk: it’s creamy, no surprises here. I use whole milk, which tames the mint quite a bit. It doesn’t bring out the chocolate as much as I was hoping, but it’s still quite yummy. I think next time I’ll need to be more careful to actually include chocolate bits in my spoonful of tea leaves.
In conclusion, I really enjoyed this tea and we’re basically friends now. And I really appreciate the Love Tea Company’s social efforts and recyclable tea packaging, not to mention that their branding is really cute–I love the colors!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: The Love Tea Company
Description
Did you know that February 19th is chocolate mint day? The combination of chocolate and mint is one of the most delectable pairings known to human kind. Its origins are unknown, but surely it was created a long, long, long time ago. This scrumptious Black Tea Blend is a real treat, just don’t steal all of the chocolate pieces before steeping! Brew up a nice hot pot and add a splash of milk and a dash of sugar and enjoy all of that chocolaty, minty goodness. Surely February 19th must be the tastiest day of the year!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Death Eater from Grimoire Tea
CuppaGeek’s Review:
Death Eater from Grimoire Tea is a fandom tea for the Harry Potter Verse. I just love fandom teas.
There is just something that gives you the warm fuzzies when you drink a tea dedicated to your favorite fandom. But I have to admit, I’m not a huge Harry Potter fan. . .I know. . .shame on me. But that doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate what this tea is going for. After all, I’m one that likes those darker villains in movies. . .and The Death Eaters are right up there in the evil category!
Death Eater fits the name perfectly. The blend is a mix of black tea, spearmint, and peppermint. A wonderful combination for the villains this tea is portraying. Dark and brooding with notes of vibrancy and a cooling factor. . . .
Brewed hot:
Brewed up with fresh boiled water and steeped for about 4 minutes, the first sip resulted in a lovely malty note with a kick of minty freshness. Simple, yet very satisfying. Found myself devouring my first cuppa and reaching for more water before I knew it.
I know a spearmint and peppermint combo in a blend can be intimidating and for this blend it serves a purpose. I loved the refreshing notes that came after that familiar malty black tea base that I adore. Once this tea started to cool, I was afraid of an astringency factor coming to play but that was never the case. Even while cooling, I enjoyed this delicious minty malty beverage.
Cold Brewed:
I wanted to try this as a cold brew so I scooped a few heap fulls into my infuser, ice, and cold water. Allowed the steepter for an hour and took a sip. Fresh brisk minty notes, the kind you want to find on hot summer days or just for a refreshing cuppa.
This tea is nothing but good tea loving even tho it is dedicated to bad guys.
I’m excited to see what other fandom teas Grimoire Teas offers to add to my collection!
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Grimoire Tea
Tea Description:
They were a motley collection; a mixture of the weak seeking protection, the ambitious seeking some shared glory, and the thuggish gravitating toward a leader who could show them more refined forms of cruelty.
Ingredients:
Black Tea
Spearmint
PeppermintEach Grimoire Tea bottle can create 10-15 cups of tea, depending on your desired strength and brew style. Store your bottles out of direct sunlight, and in a cool dark place. For best taste, use tea within one year of purchase date.
Learn even more about this tea here.
