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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.
Taster’s Review:
Hello Chocolate Milk! Wow. This tea is amazing! Smells amazing too. I am not a huge chocolate fan. Never have been. But this one is fantastic. Smooth and creamy. Tastes just like chocolate milk with a hint of something else. Almost like a creamy caramel hint.
The dry leaves smell amazing too. Smells like high quality chocolate. (The good stuff that is reserved for those special occasions.) This tea is the perfect substitute for the chocolate cravings I seem to get now and again.
Throw some leaves (1 tbsp) in my glass teapot, 212F-1 cup water-froth up some milk and pouf. . . the perfect chocolate latte. This is one of the best 52Teas blend I have ever had.
Now to go do some research about Qu Hao. . .
White Chocolate Lemon Shou Mei Tea from 52Teas
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Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
As popular as our White Chocolate Raspberry Shou Mei was, I expect this one might even be more popular. Our premium shou mei white tea blended with white chocolate chips, lemon myrtle and organic white chocolate and lemon flavors. This is a gorgeous blend of sweet and tart that suits the hay-like shou mei beautifully.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about 52Teas’ subscriptions here.
Taster’s Review:
Mmm! I must admit that I wasn’t as much a fan of the White Chocolate Raspberry Shou Mei from a couple of months ago as I thought I would be. I thought I’d love that blend and it was just alright for me. My daughter – with whom I’m going into business – loved it. I expected her to because that’s probably her favorite flavor combination, or at least one of them.
But this White Chocolate Lemon Shou Mei Tea from 52Teas – I’m loving this! Similar to the White Chocolate Raspberry, this is primarily a lemon tea. That is to say, I taste more lemon than I do white chocolate. But I taste enough white chocolate to satisfy me, and I like the way the sweet, creamy notes of the white chocolate soften the tangy notes of the lemon and highlight the creaminess of the Shou Mei base.
And the Shou Mei isn’t hidden behind the flavors either. I taste the light, slightly earthy, slightly hay-like flavor of the Shou Mei. This tea has some really wonderful layers of flavor.
This tea is best if you let it cool slightly. After pouring the piping hot tea into your cup, let it set for just a few minutes. This seems to let the flavors come forth and now that I’m nearly finished with the cup I notice even more lemony notes as well as a stronger white chocolate presence.
A really good tea. One of the better white teas that I’ve tried from 52Teas!
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Brownie Batter Honeybush from 52Teas
Please check out my Kickstarter Campaign to Take Over 52Teas!
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Honeybush
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
A certain someone who shall remain nameless *ahem, LiberTEAs* keeps telling me that our chocolate blends need MORE chocolate. More chocolate, she insists, more, more, more. So, I decided to see just how chocolatey a blend I can make: and here it is. This is our premium organic, caffeine-free honeybush blended with organic cacao nibs AND chocolate chips and organic flavors of brownie batter and extra chocolate. =) Do I need to say more?
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about 52Teas’ subscriptions here.
Taster’s Review:
So I was quite pleased with myself when I read the above description because it’s nice to see that people listen to me when I say that more chocolate = better. Sometimes I think I say these things just to hear my fingers tap on the keyboard.
But no. Frank from 52Teas heard me. And so he created this Brownie Batter Honeybush tea.
To brew this, I used my Breville One Touch, adding the whole 1/2 ounce to the basket (I usually like a little extra leaf when it comes to honeybush tisanes). Then I poured 500ml of freshly filtered water into the jug of my tea maker. I set the temperature for 195°F and the timer for 10 minutes. Since honeybush doesn’t have the tannin content that Camellia Sinensis does, it won’t get bitter like tea when steeped an extended length of time. And by lowering the temperature to just below boiling, I find that it eliminates that funky ‘sour wood’ taste that is often noted in both rooibos and honeybush.
My first two sips were a little muddied because the cup was still quite hot. After allowing it to cool to a drinkable temperature, the flavors really come forward.
The flavor is really chocolate-y. The honeybush flavors come through too, and the nutty flavor of the honeybush really ties in well with the idea of brownie batter. I find that the flavors develop as I continue to sip – now that I’m nearly finished with this huge mug of tea, I’m experiencing more chocolate with each sip than I did at the start.
Very yummy. If you’re a chocolate fan, you’ll like this one. The chocoholic in me is quite satisfied with this drink!
Chocolate Marshmallow Spicy Chai from 52Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Zoomdweebies
Tea Description:
Following the success of our Spicier Chai, one of our faithful customers requested a version with chocolate and marshmallow. How could we not do that?
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Yum! I’m loving this Chocolate Marshmallow Spicy Chai from 52Teas. It’s the perfect tea to enjoy on a cold, wet afternoon!
If you read this blog regularly, you’re probably well aware by this point that I’m trying to raise funds so that I can take over 52Teas. And if you aren’t yet aware of this, please check out my Kickstarter campaign by clicking right here. (Remember, every little bit helps!)
Anyway, after taking my first sip of this tea, my immediate thought was, “oh yeah, I have to reblend this one!” In fact, I just finished posting a comment on the campaign, stating that I nominate this for a reblend for the next vote!
Every time we reach another $2,000 in pledges, we vote on a new reblend. So far, we’ve reached on $2000 in pledges and the winner of that vote was the Raspberry Cream Cheese Danish Honeybush. If you want to get in on the next vote, you need to contribute and help me reach my goal!
So, yes, I guess you could say that I like this tea. I like it a lot!
The black tea base is rich and flavorful. That in itself is quite an accomplishment because the spices are spicy and the chocolate and marshmallow are both strong components to this cup too. To be able to be tasted beyond the bold spices and the strong flavors, that’s impressive to me.
I also appreciate that the black tea isn’t astringent or bitter. It’s smooth and robust, but not aggressively so. It stands strong amid the other strong flavor profiles in this cup without having to be too harsh tasting.
The spices are very reminiscent of the Spicier Chai blend that 52Teas introduced a few weeks back. And there’s a good reason for that. It would seem that the Spicier Chai was the inspiration behind the request for a Chocolate Marshmallow version. Genius. It sounds like something I’d think of. I didn’t. But, whoever did think of it, you’re a genius.
The spices are spicy! Peppery! Zesty and invigorating! It’s a good, strong, BOLDLY spiced chai. It not only warms you from the inside out but it’ll feel a little like someone started a tiny fire in the back of your throat. Yeah, it burns, but it burns SO good!
And then you have chocolate and marshmallow! I’m usually quick to say that more chocolate is better, but I really am enjoying the level of chocolate in this blend. It’s not SUPER chocolate-y but I think that more chocolate might have interfered with the spices a little bit and I like the balance as it is right now. Spicy and chocolate-y deliciousness.
And the marshmallow is light and fluffy.
What this tastes a bit like is that someone brewed up a cup of that Spicier Chai, and then added a scoop of hot cocoa powder to it and stirred it up, and then topped it with a marshmallow that is now melted into the beverage, making it creamy and sweet and delicious.
So, yeah … totally yum. Please help me save 52Teas so that I can reblend this one!!!
Raspberry Cocoa Flavored Black Tea from Tippy’s Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Tippy’s Tea
Tea Description:
A bold, malty blended black tea with a taste of raspberry and dark chocolate notes at the end. We highly recommend sweetening slightly to bring out the chocolate and raspberry. Delectable.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Hmm … after experiencing their wonderful Not so Vanilla Tea, I had high expectations from the Raspberry Cocoa Tea from Tippy’s Tea. And while it didn’t quite live up to those expectations, I still found this tea to be quite enjoyable overall. And based upon some of the tasting notes for this tea on Steepster, I think I might be a minority in my thoughts on this tea.
To brew this tea, I used my Kati tumbler. I measured a bamboo scoop into the basket of the tumbler and poured 12 ounces of boiling water into the tumbler. Then I let the tea steep for 3 minutes. I let the tea cool a couple of minutes before taking a sip. That very first sip was not only still quite hot but also a little ‘muddied’ so I let it cool a few more minutes.
After the tea had cooled to a drinkable temperature, the flavors were much more distinguished. The raspberry is strong. It’s sweet with notes of tart. But it doesn’t taste quite as authentic as I would want from a raspberry flavor. It seems a little contrived, and I’m not sure if that’s because of the Keemun’s presence in this blend.
The black tea base is a blend of Assam and Keemun. I’m getting lovely notes of malt and I like the way these notes play with the chocolate-y flavors. The Keemun offers a hint of smoke to the cup as well as a hint of wine-like flavor. The wine notes interact with the raspberry and I’m not sure that it does so in a good way. I’m not sure if it’s the raspberry flavoring itself or if it’s the way the Keemun tastes with the strawberry, it just tastes a little bit off to me.
The smoke from the Keemun adds some interest to the cup as well, although I can’t say that it’s my favorite thing about this tea. It adds interest, but does it improve the flavors? Not really. It almost seems like an odd note, standing out a little in the crowd, it’s just kind of different and doesn’t seem to meld with the other flavors quite right.
So, maybe it’s the Keemun in this tea and not so much the flavoring? I’m not quite sure.
As the tea cools slightly, I pick up on more chocolate-y notes and that’s a plus. The chocolate reminds me of a dark, powdery cocoa, as if it were derived from Dutch powdered cocoa. I can taste the bitter and the sweet. I think I’m just wanting more of it.
Interestingly enough, I needed to leave my cup for a while and when I returned, it was quite cold. I found this to be a much tastier cup of tea when it was cold than when served hot. I don’t usually find this with a chocolate tea (and maybe that’s my own perception because I think of “hot chocolate” when I think of a chocolate drink).
Overall, it was an enjoyable beverage, but there was something just a wee bit off with either the raspberry or the Keemun … or possibly both. I’m still unsure.