Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black.
Where to Buy: theBeesTeas
Tea Description:
You’ll be amazed at how decadent tea can be when you try this delicious blend. The best part about it (well, besides the taste)? You won’t feel guilty after having it! Tea contains a trace amount of calories, therefore you can have all the flavor without all the calories! In this black tea blend you will enjoy the flavor and aroma of chocolate, toffee, and hazelnut. This tea is caffeinated more than white tea or green tea, yet still a considerable amount less than coffee. Add a splash of milk for a real tasty treat
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I recently discovered an adorable shop on Etsy and picked up a sampler or two of the teas they offered. So far I have enjoyed all that I have tried. Since I am really trying hard to break out of my box I find myself in (always drinking green or herbal teas) I thought I would try a few new styles for me. This one really takes me outside my typical tea comfort zone just with the simple fact that it has chocolate in it. And not just chocolate.
This tea truly is a decadent tea. Toffee bits, black tea, hazelnuts, cocoa beans, cocoa rice rice, and carob chips. Basically chocolate lovin’ in a cuppa. The dry leaves smell like a chocolate marshmallow rice krispie treat. My mom used to make those when I was a kid with Coco Krispies. They were so good. It was just about the only chocolate treat I would eat when I was younger.
Brewed up like a traditional black tea in my Breville, I could smell the tea in the other room. The chocolate toffee like aroma filled up the kitchen telling me the tea was almost done. Filled up my cup and sat down with my new paranormal book from the library. Took a sip and wow. This tea is like a chocolate dessert of some kind. The chocolate isn’t the overly sweet kind. It has a raw cocoa taste to it, which I enjoyed. I didn’t pick up the hazelnut or the toffee but those flavors could just be adding to the deep rich coca base I’m getting. Almost dark chocolate like. I almost wish the smell of the tea would have transferred over to the taste. I would love to have a chocolate marshmallow krispie treat tea. Yum!
If I played around with it more, I might be able to bring out more of the flavors or maybe it was because I didn’t shake up the bag enough to get an equal amount of each flavor into the teapot.
All in all, I enjoyed my tea with this tea. I think others may enjoy it more than me since my true love is peanut butter and not chocolate. I think I may have to send this to our Liberteas for her to have a taste of it and see what she thinks, along with a few other tea pals.
Raspberry Truffle Matcha Green Tea from Red Leaf Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green Tea (Matcha)
Where to Buy: Red Leaf Tea
Tea Description:
Raspberry Truffle Matcha is the perfectly designed treat that literally melts in the mouth with its mix of sweetness and Matcha undertones. This treat can make the perfect in-between meals treat that is perfect for enticing the taste buds to want much more. It can also make the perfect desert when people want to sample the different alternatives that are available for the palate to partake. For children, this exceptional treat can be one of many favorite offerings on their special occasions.
Raspberry Truffle Matcha is not for the faint hearted because of its deep rich taste sensation on the palate. It is a good alternative for other normal sweet choices such as chocolate or other candies. It also forms a great accompaniment to many foods and drinks with its sweetly inviting appeal and unforgettable flavor. This is a good treat for making a lifeless day unforgettable with its hints of pure pleasure and understated appeal.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Firstly, for those not familiar with Red Leaf Tea’s amazing and varied selection of flavoured matcha, this company offers probably the widest selection of flavours I’ve ever seen in addition to offering a choice on the level of flavouring (starting at delicate and going up to robust) and grade of matcha. If you want to get especially fancy, you can also get different tea types for your matcha as well, such as white or black tea.
The specifications for THIS matcha are the basic grade of green matcha and a robust flavouring level. It is important to note that my preparation was also not the traditional way even though I used a traditional chawan and chawask. This was prepared in cold milk, instead of hot water. That’s my personal preference when it comes to almost all matcha flavours as well as straight matcha.
You can definitely tell, just from the smell, that this is robust flavouring; if you focus hard enough you can actually pick up on the scent of the raspberry before even opening the resealable bag it comes in. And once it has been opened, you’re going to be flooded with the sweet smell of a confectionery-like raspberry with a dark chocolate backdrop – it’s 100% Raspberry Truffle in scent.
As I was whisking this one, it frothed up a great deal more than the average matcha and that thicker, frothy texture didn’t let up easily; for the first half of the chawan I probably could have consumed it with a spoon. It was that frothy! Considering how strong the smell is before being prepared, the flavour is actually surprisingly light – but there are some things about it that tip me off that it’s robust flavouring. I’ve noticed with other robustly flavoured matcha that some flavours tend to get a sort of chalky note; one that reminds me of children’s chewable vitamins or Tums. It seems particularly bad with flavours with fruit in them. This certainly isn’t the worst offender I’ve encountered (I think Orange probably wins that spot, or Boysenberry) but I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t noticed it at all.
Otherwise, the flavour is pretty good. I’m a touch surprised that the raspberry is coming off a lot stronger than the chocolate though; when I think of truffles I absolutely picture the over the top, dark, rich, fudgey chocolate notes with the ‘extra’ flavour kind of infused in as more of an aftertaste or undercurrent. You could say the opposite is true here! The raspberry doesn’t have any tartness or tang to it; more so it’s a bit of a sweet and confectionery type of raspberry; like what you’d have in a raspberry danish for example. The chocolate is obviously creamy from the milk but has a distinct ‘dark chocolate’ taste to it. It’s maybe a touch fudgey. The notes from the matcha itself are still present, though quite lightly. But that’s to be expected given the flavour level.
Overall; I’m quite happy with this one! It’s gonna do wonders for satisfying those late night sugar cravings and I’m already picturing how well this would taste lightly sprinkled over top cereal or popcorn. If I had to really emphasize anything to potential buyers though it’d probably just be to expect that the raspberry is going to taste stronger than the chocolate.
Black Silk Chocolate Milk Qui Hao from 52Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
Mount Wuyi, in Fujian China is primarily known for oolongs, but this rare black tea is harvested only a short time each year. It is naturally low in tannins, giving it an exquisitely smooth finish which, combined with its natural chocolate notes, earned it the nickname “Black Silk”. We’ve upped the ante by adding some organic chocolate and marshmallow flavors, cacao nibs and marshmallow root.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about 52Teas’ subscriptions here.
Taster’s Review:
When I read my SororiTea Sister Nichole’s review of this Black Silk Chocolate Milk Qui Hao from 52Teas, I was eager to try the tea out for myself! If you’re a frequent reader of our little blog here, you may have picked up on the fact that I’m a little bit of a chocolate freak! So this tea is right up my alley!
Mmm! The Qui Hao black tea is a delightful choice for the base of this tea. It is a rich, satisfying, well-rounded tea and it compliments the flavor of the chocolate notes. There is a creaminess from the marshmallow but it seems a little subtle. But that’s alright, because for me, this tea is about the chocolate.
The combination of the rich, malty Qui Hao and the chocolate flavors creates a dark chocolate type of flavor and the hint of marshmallow enhances the overall sweetness of it. I don’t usually add milk to my teas these days, but after sipping on this for a while, I decided I’d see how it tasted with a splash of milk.
I have to say that I think that this is even better with the addition of dairy. It brings the marshmallow notes forward a little bit without obscuring the chocolate notes. It adds just a hint of the milk chocolate flavors that I think that this particular tea needed because I wasn’t really getting “chocolate milk” until I added the dairy. The milk just brought it all together very nicely.
Overall, a really pleasing chocolate tea. If you’re a chocoholic tea lover – you should definitely give this one a try!
Raspberry Lemon Tart Bliss from theBeesTeas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: theBeesTeas
Tea Description:
Black tea perfectly blended with raspberry, candied lemons, chocolate, and vanilla (although raspberry & lemon flavors are more prominent). This blend also contains sumac, which adds a tart lemon-like flavor while also adding great health benefits (antioxidants) . This is a sweet and tangy blend that can be enjoyed hot or iced, but is better served hot. Black tea is caffeinated more than white tea or green tea, but considerably less than coffee.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I love playing around on Etsy. Its one of my favorite things to do when I have a few minutes to unwind. The teas that I have ordered from the different shops haven’t all been that great. Some of them just didn’t have a whole lot going for them. But that is not the case with this tea.
When you open the bag and smell the dry leaves, you are greeted with a delightful raspberry lemon smell. Very bakery like. There are huge chunks of raspberry and candied lemon pieces. The tea looks exactly like the picture on the site. That doesn’t always happen.
Once brewed up, you have yourself a delightful cuppa of a tea that tastes exactly like its name. This tea tastes like a raspberry lemon tart!!! Fresh, creamy, tart, berry, lemon goodness. Yum!! This is a beautiful dessert tea. The vanilla adds sweetness to the tea and there is a very tart like flavor that lends itself to a fresh bakery taste. The black tea base gives the tea a rich background for the rest of the flavors to play off of. I don’t pick up the chocolate flavor but in the description of the tea, it said that the raspberry and lemon were the most noticeable flavors.
I’m extremely impressed and pleased with this tea. This tea isn’t going to last long around me.
Well done theBeesTeas. Well done.
Canton Chocolate Tea from Canton Tea Co.
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Canton Tea Co.
Tea Description:
Specially created for the Chesterfield Hotel in Mayfair, this luxurious blend of Indian Assam, Chinese Yunnan black, Madagascan vanilla pod and Peruvian cocoa nibs is served daily with their famous Afternoon Tea., It is deep, rich and moreish with a velvety mouthfeel. Extremely satisfying with smooth, malty Assam and a hint of plum from the Yunnan black adding an additional layer of dark fruit. The cocoa nibs and vanilla pod provide the depth and sweetness which complements the heady flavours.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This Chocolate Tea from Canton Tea Co. is one that I’ve been wanting to try for a while! Let’s face it, whenever I see a new-to-me chocolate tea from just about any tea company, my interest is piqued, but when it comes from a company that I associate with high quality, top-notch teas like Canton Tea Company, then let’s just say that my interest sizzles into very lusty desire.
Yes, I lust for chocolate.
And this tea lived up to my crazy high expectations that I put on it. This is deliciously chocolate. Even with the hint of Madagascar vanilla in this, the flavor is still delightfully dark chocolate-y. Rich and decadent and sweet. Mmm!
The black tea base is rich and satisfying. The combination of Assam and Yunnan is a thoughtful one. The rich, malty notes of the Assam add to the sweetness of the tea. The fruit notes of both teas play to the deep berry notes of the cacao nibs. The slightly spiced notes of the Yunnan enhance the overall experience. The black tea base tastes robust and it’s a solid background of flavor, allowing the flavor of the key ingredient (the chocolate!) to really come out and express itself in a sumptuous, seductive, chocolate-y way.
So good!
The chocolate is a rich, dark chocolate-y flavor as I mentioned before. It has a luscious, creamy taste that Canton describes as velvety and I find myself in complete agreement with that assessment. The vanilla is not overly done, there is just enough vanilla here to add that velvety texture and taste. There is just enough to give the cup some dimension and depth without diminishing that deep, dark chocolate flavor.
If you’re a fan of chocolate teas – put this at the top of your must try list!