Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal Tisane
Where to Buy: Herbal Infusions
Tisane Description:
A Mint and Cacao infusion that blends premium organic cacao shells and 2nd flush organic peppermint leaves.
Learn more about this blend here.
Taster’s Review:
Mmm! This Mint Cacao Herbal Tea from Herbal Infusions is AWESOME! Decadent and chocolate-y with just the right amount of crisp mint.
I’ve read a few reviews/complaints by tea drinkers who state that they don’t get enough chocolate flavor from cacao shell tisanes. My recommendation to them is to steep the cacao shells longer. So long as the blend does not contain tea leaves (camellia sinensis) or hibiscus, you should feel safe in steeping the cacao shells in 195° water for 10 – 15 minutes (or longer!) I steeped this tisane for 15 minutes, and I’m getting a really satisfying, chocolate-y flavor. And you know how I am when it comes to chocolate!
The chocolate flavor here is rich and smooth. It is a dark chocolate flavor, so it is sweet, but there are some bitter tones to contrast with the sweeter notes. Like milk chocolate better than dark chocolate? Just add a splash of milk to the brewed tisane, and you’ll have creamy, indulgent milk chocolate and mint treat.
As I mentioned above, the mint here is “just enough.” By that, I mean that this has a cool minty note, but, the mint does not overwhelm the cup. This doesn’t taste mouthwash-y. This definitely tastes more of chocolate than it does of mint, and I’m quite happy with that arrangement.
A very satisfying, dessert-y sort of beverage, something you’ll want to curl up to and savor every last sip. I do find that just a little bit of raw sugar brings out the chocolate flavor, so, try about a quarter teaspoon of sugar to elevate the chocolate-y goodness in this one. Not a lot of sugar is needed here, because the tisane has a pleasing sweetness without the sugar. The sugar just sort of pumps up the volume on the chocolate.
YUMMY!
Rooibos Spice Tisane from Mint Tea
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Tea Purchased from Mint Tea
Product Available Online at Strand Tea
Tisane Description:
Rooibos Spice Caffeine Free Herbal Tea. Organic Red Rooibos blended with Natural Cacao Bits, Ginger Pieces, Cinnamon Bark, Chicory Root, Barley Malt, Cardamom Pods, and Black Peppercorns. What a great winter tea! Rich & flavorful, sure to be a favorite treat any time of year.
Taster’s Review:
I bought this tisane when I visited the Mint Tea Shop in Vancouver, Washington some time ago. I knew that they obtained some of their teas from Strand Tea, including this one.
While some of the ingredients in this Rooibos Spice Tisane from Mint Tea appear to be chai-like, and the flavor of the tisane is somewhat chai-esque, there’s some other flavors going on here that I don’t usually find in a chai.
Like chicory and barley malt, for example. The chicory gives the drink a coffee-ish background note, a deep, roasted sort of flavor that accentuates the spices in a really interesting way. I also enjoy the way the chicory and the cacao work together. I also taste the malty tones from the barley malt, giving the cup a “grainy” flavor that adds an intriguing depth.
The spices are well-defined here. I taste the cinnamon throughout the sip, and there is a backdrop of pepper and ginger. The cardamom adds some exotic warmth to this beverage.
This is really tasty, winter-y kind of tisane, something that I can see myself drinking whenever I want something warm and soothing, but something that won’t stimulate me the way a caffeinated tea would.
Vanilla Cacao Tea from Herbal Infusions
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal Tisane
Where to Buy: Herbal Infusions
Tisane Description:
An exotic and spicy blend of ancient Mexican vanilla, forest garden cinnamon, spices using a base of authentic Mayan cacao shells – truly medicine for your soul.
Learn more about this blend here.
Taster’s Review:
Oh my goodness. This Vanilla Cacao Tea from Herbal Infusions is incredible! When I was perusing their website and saw that they had authentic Mayan cacao shells in this blend, I knew I had to try it. I’ve tried a tisane of pure cacao shells before and I loved it, and so I was really excited to try this blend that is cacao shells, vanilla and cinnamon.
YUM! This tastes a lot like a “Mexican” hot chocolate. The chocolate is rich and decadent tasting and the vanilla adds a sweet, creamy element to the cup, while the cinnamon adds just a touch of spice. It’s not overtly spicy or hot. The three components in this tisane work in a synergistic way to deliver a flavor that is warm, sweet, and deliciously chocolate-y.
The best way I can describe this is that it’s like a really good hot chocolate, except that it’s a little thinner in body than a hot cocoa. It’s not milky,although I suppose you could steep this in a combination of hot milk and water like stove top prepared chai. I prepared this the way I would prepare most tisanes, using 195°F water, and instead of steeping it for 6 minutes (my usual time for a tisane with hibiscus) or 10 minutes (my usual time for rooibos or honeybush blends), I went with a 15 minute steep for this. And it’s perfect!
Rich with chocolate flavor. Just enough cinnamon and vanilla to add some interesting contrasts to the cacao flavor. If you’ve ever had an authentic Mexican hot chocolate, this tastes a lot like what you might have tasted … although I find that this is not quite as spicy as some of the Mexican hot chocolate drinks that I’ve had (I think that they also sometimes use cayenne pepper in them.)
This is a tisane for chocolate lovers. Like I said before, it doesn’t have that heavy, milky body. But, I personally prefer it this way. I rarely fix myself a cup of hot chocolate/hot cocoa because I find it to be too heavy and too sweet for my liking, but, this is just right. It’s a little thinner, and not quite as cloying. It’s just right!
Velvet Tea Rooibos Blend from Art of Tea
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: Art of Tea
Tisane Description:
Sweet enticing chocolate swimming in a deep velvety base of organic rooibos and refreshing mint leaves. The perfect answer to a dessert tea. The finish is smooth, complimented by a touch of vanilla.
Learn more about this tisane here.
Taster’s Review:
Hmmm … not bad. Not my favorite rooibos blend, and not my favorite tea from Art of Tea, but this Velvet Tea Rooibos Blend makes an enjoyable cuppa. My biggest complaint with it at this point is the name, because while I can see the “Velvet” part of the tisane, at the top of the page on the Art of Tea website, on the index tab thingy, this tea is called “Red Velvet Tea.” I can even *understand* why it would be called that since it’s a rooibos blend (which is also known as “red tea”) and the chocolate-y notes are kind of velvet-y, however, the name “Red Velvet” conjures up too many thoughts of red velvet cupcakes, and this does not taste like red velvet cupcakes.
But that doesn’t mean that it’s not tasty.
It is chocolate-y (although the chocoholic in me does want more chocolate), and there is a nice minty note to this. The mint is cool and crisp and it gives the overall cup a delicious taste that is reminiscent to an after dinner mint. A nice dessert tisane.
I can also taste the apple in this, and it adds a little bit of sweetness to the cup without messing up the balance between chocolate and mint. The rooibos flavor is not very distinct, but that’s just fine with me. I taste vague “nutty” tones to the cup but I find that these seem to enhance the chocolate nicely, giving the cup some depth.
It’s a nice cup, tasty for later in the evening when you want something sweet to curb those cravings, and this won’t ruin your diet. (Yeah, I hate that word too.) It’s good, and I’d drink it again.
Chocolate Chai Blend from Chico Chai
Chai Information:
Leaf Type: Black Tea
Where to Buy: Chico Chai
Chai Description:
Raw cacao is blended with black tea and exotic spices to create a spicy chai with a touch of chocolate. Blended in small batches, by hand in Chico, California. Only Organic Ingredients and Fair Trade Organic teas are used to make Chico Chai.
Learn more about this chai here.
Taster’s Review:
I started getting excited to try this Chocolate Chai Blend from Chico Chai as it brewed because I could smell the anise and the cacao. The aroma of the tea as it brews is so delightfully yummy!
And it tastes even yummier than it smells. The brewed liquid is kind of … well, I want to call it cloudy, but, in the tea world calling a tea “cloudy” is not a compliment, and I don’t want to insult the tea. The reason it is cloudy is because of the finely ground cacao. This looks a little like someone combined tea with hot cocoa. So with this chai, cloudy is a GOOD thing because that’s chocolate in there! (Mmm! Chocolate!)
I brewed this the way I typically brew a chai: with water instead of milk (I prefer to taste the tea brewed without milk first, and then decide if I need or want the dairy addition) and it’s brewed a little strong to make sure that I get a good representation of both spices and tea in the cup. Also, if the tea is brewed strong (with extra leaf), if I do choose to add milk, the addition won’t dilute the tea.
And after my first sip … this really doesn’t need milk. I believe that there is some vanilla in this chai, because there is a creamy element to the cup without the milk. Perhaps it is the cacao, although I suspect it is a combination of both of these ingredients that is giving this cup it’s creamy notes. Of course, if you wish to add milk to it, there’s be no harm in that – I’m sure it would be delicious! But, I like it just the way it is!
This is chocolate-y rich, but, I like that the spices are still the star of this show. OH … the anise! I love the combination of anise and chocolate together. So delicious. The anise is warm and zesty, and the chocolate tastes rich and dark and decadent. Mmm! Smooth, but, the snappy licorice sort of cuts through it at just the right point.
I also taste the pepper and the ginger, and the cinnamon is also strong, but, it doesn’t overpower the cup. This is a pleasantly spicy cup and it’s probably not for those who usually shy away from spicy-hot flavors. It’s not exactly hot, really, but there’s enough heat to it to slowly warm the palate and as I continue to drink, this builds a little in a very agreeable way.
I’ve had the opportunity to try all of the flavors from Chico Chai, and I think of all of the four loose leaf chai blends that they offer (you can try them all in their Chico Chai Sampler Box – it’s such a cute box – and it would make a really great gift for the chai lover on your holiday list!) as well as their strong brew concentrate, this Chocolate Chai blend is my favorite! I love the way the chocolate and anise meld together … I love the way the spices and the black tea work together harmoniously. I just … LOVE it!