The Oliver Pluff tea company focuses on colonial-styled teas, like those leaves thrown into Boston Harbor during the Boston Tea party. But is also has a variety of other products like mulling spices, pressed tea cakes, and more. Being both an American history-lover and a tea-fanatic, I’ve had my eye on Oliver Pluff products for a little while, and this post-holiday shopping season seemed like the time to give them a try.
I ordered the Cacao Shell Trio from Oliver Pluff and it arrived promptly at my doorstep. The tins were as sleek and stylish as they appeared online, with nicely embossed, heavy paper labels, and dark metal lids. Careful when opening– these tins were filled to the brim!
According to Oliver Pluff, cacao shell tea was a big hit with our first First Lady, Martha Washington. Neither black tea nor coffee, cacao shells make for a roasty blend with chocolate overtones. I’ve reviewed other cacao shell tea on SororiTea Sisters before, and I’ll reiterate that I think they taste like chocolate-drizzled popcorn. The cacao shells are surprisingly more buttery and savory than you would expect. (Also, be aware that while the cacao shells don’t contain caffeine, they are technically stimulants, so make sure you brew this at a time that works around your sleep schedule).
The Cacao Shell Trio has three different blends, plan cacao shells, cacao and mint, and cacao citrus. The plan cacao shells were comparable to other cacao teas I’ve tried in the past, a nice change of pace for the coffee-lover, or a lower-calorie take on a warm, chocolate beverage.
In the cacao mint blend the mint was very strong, like a less-sweet peppermint mocha. It was a great blend to drink around christmas time, when everything is flavored like candy canes. I would advise not over-steeping this blend, or else the mint really takes over. Keep the steep times short to let the cacao shine through.
The cacao citrus blend had both cacao shells and orange peels. This was my favorite blend of the trio. The orange peels were mild, but helped add dimension to the chocolate cacao. This reminded me a bit of those chocolate oranges that come out around this time of year, or like some chocolate and orange pu erh teas I’ve tried in the past. The buttery cacao shells were a nice pair with the tart and fruity orange peels.
Overall this trio was a great purchase and I’ll have to give more Oliver Pluff products a try in the future.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Oliver Pluff
Description: Martha Washington enjoyed steeping the shells of roasted cocoa nuts from the cacao tree for the interesting flavor and health benefits.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Peppermint Patty Herbal Tisane from Butiki Teas
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal Tisane
Where to Buy: Butiki Teas
Tisane Description:
What better way to wind down the day than with chocolate and mint? Our Peppermint Patty pairs organic marshmallow leaf, a naturally sweet caffeine-free herb, with sweet organic peppermint, and mellow milk chocolate. This light and refreshing herbal works well as an after dinner treat. With each sip, the flavor grows stronger and lingers longer. Add a little sugar to intensify the chocolate flavor.
Learn more about this tisane here.
Taster’s Review:
This is a really cool looking herbal tisane with the itty bitty chocolate chips in it! Yeah, I know … I shouldn’t get all excited by something as simple as chocolate chips. But I’m a chocoholic, what can I say? And when I saw that this Peppermint Patty Herbal Tisane from Butiki Teas is a peppermint tisane with chocolate AND marshmallow root … I got really excited about trying it!
And OH yum! This is tasty!
It’s minty, of course, and the mint is strong … but it isn’t overpowering the chocolate-y notes and the creamy, sweet notes of the marshmallow come through so deliciously! The mint doesn’t come off tasting like mouthwash … with the fluffy marshmallow and decadent chocolate notes … these flavors bring out the sweeter essence of the mint so that it tastes sweet not medicinal or too herbaceous.
What I’m liking most about this is that this herbal tisane is that it really delivers just what the name seems to imply. The name … sounds like a candy bar (I know, duh! right?) and this has a very yummy, sweet, dessert-y taste to it. This is the perfect way to enjoy a sweet treat after a meal without too many calories. Sure, there’s going to be some calories in this … but, it’s not going to have as many calories as that candy bar you might be craving!
It’s sweet, minty, chocolate-y, creamy deliciousness! And it is delightfully satisfying to my chocoholic sweet tooth!
Chocolate Earl Grey (TE13) from Upton Tea Imports
Tea Type: Black Tea
Where To Buy: Upton Tea Imports
Product Description:
Description:
A premium black tea combining the popular tastes of bergamot and chocolate with a hint of lemon. Decorated with flower petals and lemon peel for a delightful presentation.Ingredients:
black tea, chocolate pieces (sugar, cocoa, soy lecithin), cacao beans, lemongrass, lemon peel, corn flowers, jasmine flowers, sunflower blossoms, natural & artificial flavor
Origin:
Germany
Tasters Review:
My wonderful SororiTEA Sister Anne (AKA LiberTEAs) sent me some of this a while back and I thought I would officially add it to our blog as one of our reviews.
It’s been a while since I posted a review about an Earl Grey and I don’t think I have ever reviewed an Upton Tea on SororiTEA Sisters yet…so I figured I would check two items off of my Tea Review Bucket List today!
Chocolate Earl Grey from Upton Tea Imports – first and foremost – smells AMAZING! It’s pure chocolate and Earl Grey just like would would think – or HOPED – it would smell! This sort of takes me back to my obsession with Orange Chocolate as well! Ahhhh!
The aroma changes completely after infusion is complete. It’s still pleasant but not as awesome…I guess you could say. Don’t get me wrong – the aroma is still YUMMY but I can’t pick out each flavor like before. This doesn’t bother me too much because this often happens with flavored teas – as you know.
This infuses very dark brown and has a bit of cloudiness to it…I am assuming from the sugary-chocolate bits.
The taste is different but very good. I would say I can taste the cocoa type taste first then it quickly changes into a chocolate…so almost first being hot cocoa taste but then more of a chocolate bar taste. From there you can taste the black tea but then quickly changes into more of a bergamot and chocolate type taste. It ends more of a chocolaty-black tea flavored taste. Thru-out the entire sip it’s very smooth and the flavor changes intrigue me.
This is the first cup in a long time I have had to think about it with each sip (more than just a few sips, that is). This one kept my attention going strong the entire time.
As it cools at room temp for a few minutes I can taste a chocolate-woodsy-black tea type taste for the after taste more. This certainly isn’t a bad thing (in my book).
Anne told me to try a 2nd infusion with this one and I never pass up a 2nd infusion especially on a great cuppa! So for the 2nd Infusion…it smells like a gentle earl grey and cream.
The taste is still very smooth with a bit of sugary-ness to it and orange, floral, and cocoa hints hiding underneath.
This is a great infusion. Still a lovely tea overall…a nice treat!
Chocolate Earl Grey from Upton is an ADVENTURE in a cup! A great way to start or end the day! Wonderful!
