Tea Information:
Leaf Type:
Where to Buy: T-OolongTea
Tea Description:
All Natural Tea
Season: 2012 Spring (harvested in 2012 April)
Altitude: 300 meter above sea level
Varietal: Qingxin Dapa
Origin: Hsinchu County, Taiwan
Semioxidized
Packing Method: Vacuum packagingThis high quality Taiwan Honey Black Tea Oolong is all natural, handpicked, handcrafted and produced from Qingxin Dapa varietal, the tea leaves used to produce Oriental Beauty. This tea has an intense honey aroma and taste, very pleasant and enjoyable. The taste is a mixture of black tea and oriental beauty oolong. This tea is very rich, complex, smooth and delectable with almost no bitterness and astringency. The aftertaste is very sweet and long lasting and makes you want another sip.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Taiwan Honey Black Tea from T-OolongTea has the most decedent, honey kissed, chocolate, flavor one could imagine, it
gives such a sweet thick mouthfeel that just begs to be savored slowly.
There are also some sweet dark cocoa notes within the cup as well which are not to be overlooked as this cocoa note provides even more depth and complexity to the cup.
Then just as you think you have this tea figured out you will experience some caramel notes followed by candied plums playfully hiding in the background and peeking out now and then.
This is a very thick and rich brew that may please some coffee lovers because of the deepness of the flavor and robust flavors. This is not a shy tea! There is also a feeling in the throat that is more like a coffee than a tea in how full it feels.
Really this tea is like drinking a melted candy bar, its just that much of a treat! No bitterness, no astringency, so smooth, and invigorating. An excellent wake up tea for those lazy Sundays when you just want to snuggle into the covers of your soft warm bed, and sip slowly, reverently, and savor each pleasurable drop.
I for one love a tea that really stands up and demands to be recognized. This is a tea with attitude, “recognize” it states boldly – and I do! Yet it is so sweet, so succulent, that it woos me, makes me want to just keep breathing in its aroma.
A bold tea, with muscle, that has a soft romantic side. Oh yes!
Caramel Sundae Escape from Talbott’s Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Talbott’s Tea
Tea Description:
You ease into the first sip. Real caramel. You slide into the second. Real cocoa. With the addition of milk and sugar, you instinctively reach for a spoon.
All natural premium ingredients: Full-leaf black tea, cacao nibs, caramel pieces & natural vanilla flavor.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Caramel Sundae Escape from Talbott’s Tea is a mellow, caramel tea that has absolutely no astringency or bitterness. It is sweet but not overly so. The chocolate notes are slight, if you are really wanting chocolate decadence this may not be the exact tea for you but the chocolate notes are present. This is by far more a caramel tea, and after all it is named Caramel Sundae Escape. However it is part of the Chocolate Lover’s collection so some may be a little disappointed it is not more chocolatey!
Regardless, this is a really delicious cup! I was surprised at just how many bits were in the blend, plenty of caramel chunks for sure!
The tea base is lovely, it melds perfectly with the flavors and does not let the caramel or chocolate totally overrun the black base. You can actually taste the tea, which after all we are tea lovers, we want to taste some tea even in our rich decedent dessert blends!
I can’t really say if it tastes like a sundae or not, I guess I would need some cream elements, or more vanilla to mimic the ice cream for it to be a true sundae tea, but I really did not miss that. I didn’t think about what it was not, I was really enjoying what it was!
I just wish I had more of it! I will be savoring the rest of the sample I have and it will most likely get reordered.
Milkie Way Candy Bar Tea from Dori’s Tea Cottage
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Dori’s Tea Cottage
Dori’s Tea Cottage on eBay
Tea Description:
Just like your favorite candy bar, this tea is a yummy blend of chocolate-, cream- and caramel-flavored premium black teas. All the taste of a chocolate and caramel sweet — without the calories!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This is really yummy! I don’t know if this Milkie Way Candy Bar Tea from Dori’s Cottage tastes just like a candy bar, but, I do taste the flavors of chocolate, caramel and vanilla cream, along with a rich tasting black tea base, and I am really enjoying the taste of this.
The flavoring is about on even keel with the black tea base – that is to say, that while don’t think that the black tea stands out as the strongest taste in this cup, I don’t think that the chocolate, cream and caramel flavors are overwhelming the cup either. There’s a good balance between flavoring and tea.
This is a very flavorful black tea – I suspect it is a Ceylon, but it very good quality one. It has a rich taste to it, and I don’t know if it’s this particular combination of flavors that enhances it, but I do taste an ever-so-slight smoky note as well as hint of earth. There are notes of fruit … very distant notes, but I taste them.
There is a nice level of chocolate flavoring here, and I like the way it mingles with the aforementioned slightly smoky tones. It brings out the roasted flavor of the cacao. The caramel is sweet with a vague bitter burnt-sugar note. And then there is the cream which gives the overall cup a very luscious, sweet, creamy taste.
A very enjoyable cuppa, delicious hot or cold – very nice as a latte!
Chocolate Chai Pu-erh Tea from Della Terra Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Pu-erh
Where to Buy: Della Terra Teas
Tea Description:
This tea has all that you love about chai, the spice and the clove, blended just right with chocolate! Made with Pu-Erh tea it gives it a dark, rich, spicy flavor that, for the chai, chocolate or Pu-Erh lover, will having you steeping another cup before you know it! The chai hits you at first sip and and the chocolate soon follows. Delicious tea for all who love a nice, dark, rich tea!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This Chocolate Chai Pu-erh Tea from Della Terra Teas is a very tasty take on the traditional spiced chai blend. It has what I’d expect from a chai – exotic spices that taste warm and comforting – plus CHOCOLATE which you know I am loving … all with a rich, mellow Pu-erh base.
The Pu-erh provides a really solid background of flavor that is earthy and flavorful, without being extraordinarily robust. The Pu-erh complements both the chocolate and the spices here … the earthiness of the Pu-erh works so nicely with the earthy notes of the spices, while the rich flavor of the Pu-erh enhances the rich, sweet flavor of the chocolate.
I am also liking the way the orange comes in to play here. It isn’t a strong orange flavor — it kind of tastes like someone might have squeezed a few drops of fresh orange into my cup. It brightens the cup just a touch without offering a real pronounced citrus-y flavor. It tastes a little bit like someone liquefied one of those chocolate oranges and added a little drizzle of the liquid confection into my teacup along with the tea. Deliciously intriguing.
This is a really well-conceived cuppa … I found it very enjoyable to drink without any additions … although a little bit of turbinado sugar does bring out the spices just a bit and gives a nice sweetness to the chocolate. I bet it would be good as a latte too … but I found it really delicious without the dairy! Try it both ways and see which way you like it best … but you’ve got to try this. This one is a must try for spiced chocolate lovers!
Lavender Chocolate and Cinnamon Rooibos Blend from Lu-Lin Teas
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: Lu-Lin Teas
Tisane Description:
This is a caffeine free blend made from African Red Bush, cinnamon bark, cocoa shells and a sprinkling of lavender. The flavours infuse in a sweet and floral harmony. The perfect dessert tea as it contains no calories but satisfies your sweet tooth.
Learn more about this tisane here.
Taster’s Review:
This Lavender Chocolate and Cinnamon Rooibos Blend from Lu-Lin Teas just smells too good! The combination of cinnamon and chocolate evokes thoughts of my homemade hot cocoa … something I haven’t made in a long time (what can I say? I’ve been busy drinking tea!) but something that when I take the time to make is absolutely indulgent. And the hint of lavender adds such a lovely floral tone to the aroma without going overboard and making it smell like a bar of soap.
And the best part about this tisane is that it tastes just like I wanted it to taste. It is a pleasing balance of the key three ingredients … just enough of each one to provide a lovely flavor that is sweet, cinnamon-y … chocolate-y and floral … and not very rooibos-y! That’s a win-win in my book.
The cinnamon is sweet and has just enough sassy spice to keep the flavor interesting without overwhelming the cup – something that cinnamon can sometimes do! The chocolate … well, I am a chocoholic, so yes, there could be more cacao flavor here, but, there is enough to bring a smile to my face. It taste delicious and decadent.
But the real surprise here is the way the lavender plays in this cup … it is delicate and sweet. Lavender is one of those ingredients that when overdone, the tea ends up tasting soapy, and when underdone … what’s the point. This is has a lovely floral intonation but not so much that I taste “soap.” Instead, I just taste delicious lavender … one of my favorite tea floral flavors.
A really lovely tisane … I highly recommend this one, whether you’re a fan of chocolate, or of cinnamon, or of lavender (or if you happen to be a fan of all three, like me!) you really should try this tisane!