Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Tea Description:
Unveil the sweet and spicy layers in our Chili Truffle tea made with Ceylon black tea; chili, chocolate and peppercorns.
Learn more about Spire Tea on their website.
Taster’s Review:
This tea isn’t technically a “chai” by what we here in the United States have come to call chai, however, the spiciness of this tea is very warming and reminds me of a chai, so I decided to categorize it as such.
I really like this a lot! Then again, that should not be surprising, given my love for chocolate. And when I shop for chocolate, I often find myself looking for (and purchasing) chocolates that are chili infused … I love the combination of sweet (or bittersweet) chocolate with spicy foods. The sweetness of the chocolate tempers the heat from the spice just enough while the notes from the spice cut through some of the sweeter notes of the chocolate to keep it from tasting so sweet. I love that contrast.
And that contrast has been captured perfectly in this cup of tea.
The black tea is a mellower black tea base – a Ceylon – but, it does its job here well. It supports the flavors of chocolate and chili very nicely without getting in their way. It is a strong enough Ceylon to be tasted without overpowering the spicy chocolate notes.
The chocolate – while it could be stronger (I do love my chocolate!) offers a rich, creamy taste that is more like dark chocolate than of milk chocolate … although if you prefer a milk chocolate taste that can be easily remedied by turning this into a latte. It adds a nice texture to the cup too, it tastes really rich and decadent!
And the chili adds just the right amount of heat. I would classify it as a mild-to-medium heat, it isn’t super-spicy, even as the heat builds as I continue to sip, I never feel it becoming TOO spicy for my mouth. Just a really enjoyable, warm heat.
A really lovely tea from Spire … this one might be my favorite yet from them!
On the Fourth Day of Christmas, Della Terra Teas sent to me …
Good day, and welcome to day four. Oh … wait, I guess I should save that for day twelve, right? (Anyone who is unfamiliar with Bob and Doug McKenzie probably don’t get that. For those of you who want to know what I’m talking about, click here.)
And now that I’m sitting here, listening to that, I think maybe I should have used “French Toast” as my inspiration behind the the 12 Days of Christmas tea swap I told you about yesterday. I should have been able to find a French Toast tea. Right?
Anyway, on to today’s tea that Della Terra Teas sent to me . . .
Chocolate Raspberry Truffle
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Della Terra Teas
Tea Description:
On the fourth day of Christmas your the calling birds will be calling for some of your Chocolate Raspberry Truffle!
A festive blend of the rich chocolate and tart raspberries create a decadent truffle in your cup. Being it’s the holidays, it’s perfectly fine to overly enjoy this one. Grin away!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
When I opened today’s package I was really excited! I mean, Chocolate Raspberry Truffle??? Hello? YUM!!!
I had very high expectations for this tea, because Della Terra Teas has one of the very best chocolate teas that I’ve yet to taste (which I’ve just realized I misspelled … it should be “Dubbele Chocolade” … sorry Della Terra Teas!) so I wanted chocolate – lots of it – and true raspberry flavor. I wanted liquified Chocolate Raspberry Truffle!
And that’s just what I got! 
This is rich and chocolate-y, and with just the right amount of raspberry flavor. The raspberry is sweet and tart. The sip starts out smooth and sweet and chocolate-y, and then about mid-sip, the raspberry comes in … it’s almost as if I were biting into a Chocolate Raspberry Truffle … I’d notice the chocolate first, and then the raspberry would come in. The finish is sweet with that berry tingle that tickles the tongue.
And, with all that flavor going on, you might be wondering if there is any tea to taste … and yes, I do taste the tea. It is a fairly mellow black tea base, it doesn’t really come forth in a very strong or powerful way. It seems kind of content to just work the background, and it does provide a very solid background.
Overall, this is a very satisfying Chocolate Raspberry Truffle flavored black tea. And certainly a treat that is perfect to enjoy this time of year … I’m really happy this was part of Della Terra Teas’ 12 Days of Christmas tea box!
Chocolate Orange White Tea from sTEAp Shoppe
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: sTEAp Shoppe
Tea Description:
Chocolate Orange Loose Leaf White Tea is a Delightfully mild citrus spice with a creamy touch on the tongue. The mild loose leaf white tea is the perfect vessel for this spectacular combination of creamy, tangy with a delicate touch of spice.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I was a little skeptical about this blend, to be honest, because it’s a white tea … and I generally prefer chocolate-y teas to have a black tea base. I was also skeptical because I felt that with the chocolate and orange notes to be strong enough that the white tea would end up being overwhelmed.
Well, the white tea is not overwhelmed. It has a light, fresh taste to it … somewhat vegetative, with a creamy note that is accented by the vanilla. I find that this creaminess highlights the chocolate and adds some much needed emphasis to the orange flavor.
The chocolate comes through nicely, as does the vanilla. I wish the same could be said for the orange. I taste the orange, certainly, but it isn’t as bright or vivid a taste as I think it should be for a tea called Chocolate Orange.
My favorite part of this tea is the touch of cinnamon, which adds a very pleasing, autumnal taste and a sense of warmth to the cup. I like that the cinnamon is a gentle, sweet cinnamon, just enough to spice up the tea without adding an overpowering amount of flavor (something that cinnamon often does in a blend – I’m glad that’s not happening here).
Overall, this is a very enjoyable blend. A little weak on the orange, but, the other flavors are very pleasing – I like that the chocolate comes through, and I love the little touches: a touch of vanilla, a touch of cinnamon. It makes for a very delicious cuppa.
Orange & Dark Chocolate from Spire Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Spire Tea
Tea Description:
The perfect blend of chocolate with the right amount of orange.
Learn more about Spire Tea on their website.
Taster’s Review:
Even though it’s just before Thanksgiving as I sip this tea, I am scheduling the review for about a week before Christmas eve, because this tea reminds me of the joy of Christmas and the Night Before! You know those chocolate oranges? Those have become one of my favorite Christmastime treats, and I like them so much that I’ve decided to add them as a “tradition” to my daughter’s stockings every year (other traditions are 2 pieces of fruit and a Lifesavers storybook). The chocolate orange tastes so much like Christmas to me … and this tea has captured that flavor perfectly!
The chocolate is a dark, rich tasting chocolate and the orange is sweet and juicy. The orange is slightly lighter than the chocolate, just enough to add a touch of brightness to the cup without overwhelming it.
The black tea base tastes like a high grown Ceylon to me, it is brisk and tastes very pleasant, but it isn’t an overly aggressive tea. It holds it’s own, and doesn’t allow itself to be overpowered by the flavors, but, it doesn’t attempt to intrude upon the flavors either. I’m really enjoying the balance of tea and flavor, although, you wouldn’t find me complaining if there was a bit more chocolate in it. (More chocolate is always better)
A very enjoyable cup of tea – one you WANT to have this time of year to serve to your guests. It is so delicious and one of those “welcoming” kind of teas – your friends will feel like family when they drink it, and your family will feel all the more special.
Chocolate Strawberry Saffron from Inspired Leaf
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Inspired Leaf
Tea Description:
Fresh picked, chocolate-dipped with an Eastern twist.
Inspiration No. 22: You are amazing…you deserve great tea!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This is a very interesting tea.
I’ve had at least one other Chocolate Strawberry Saffron tea, and the two teas very likely came from the same source, but I’m liking this one better … it could all be the result of a better batch, but, I just know that I am finding myself more impressed with this cup of tea than I was with my previous experience with a Chocolate Strawberry Saffron tea.
But, I do think I could be more impressed by this tea, too. I’ll get to that a little later though.
This tea does deliver with what it promises: I taste chocolate, and it is prominent; I taste strawberry, and it is sweet and tart, just like a fresh berry; and I taste the saffron which interacts in a very pleasing way with the chocolate, giving it a semi-sweet, bitter note that I find very enjoyable.
The chocolate in this blend comes from cocoa beans, white chocolate chips and dark chocolate flakes, as well as some flavoring, I’d imagine. The combination of these, together with the saffron, creates a very creamy, rich, chocolate-y flavor that is bittersweet and also has just a hint of vanilla undertone that I really like. It’s a pleasing, complex chocolate note.
The strawberry flavor is emphasized by the addition of currants to the blend, which seem to highlight the tartness of the berry. The result is a strawberry taste that is tingling on my tongue in the aftertaste with that berry tartness. I like this, because it offers a contrast to the sweetness of the chocolate, but I think that if the sweet chocolate notes were not there, I’d probably find this a wee bit too tart for my liking … so it is fortunate that there is some sweetness too.
As I mentioned before, I think that this tea could be improved and take it from something that is good and tasty to something that is rather exceptional. The change would be in the black tea base. I suspect this is a Ceylon, and here, it tastes kinda wimpy. It is very thin in the midst of all these other flavors, and the end result is more of a highly decorated, yet thin hot chocolate rather than a flavored tea. I think that by adding a Nilgiri or an Assam to the base, or perhaps even a Fujian Black tea, that it would give the cup some much needed body and flavor. I wouldn’t want something too aggressive, because I like the flavors the way that they are, but, I just find myself wanting more tea out of it, because as it is … it is just too thin. I don’t like thin hot chocolate, and I don’t like thin tasting tea either … and this seems like it’s stuck somewhere in one (or both) of those confining boxes.
A good tea, but not a great one.