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.
Chocolate Frost Black Tea from Petali Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Tea Information:
Of all the mint chocolate teas we’ve tasted, this one is at the top. This is a dessert tea for pure tea lovers. The mint is gentle and the chocolate is natural. Think rich dark chocolate rather than sweet milk chocolate. Simply delicious.
This tea is available from Amoda Tea.
It’s also part of Amoda Tea’s Holiday Box!
Learn more about subscribing to Amoda Tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I’m trying the second tea from the Holiday Box that Amoda sent me. It took a lot of willpower to save this tea for second instead of trying it immediately, but because I didn’t get the mail until after my ‘black tea’ time in the day, I decided to hold off and try this when it would be more suitable for me to drink a black tea.
I have found that when I drink black teas late at night, I end up lying in bed awake and unable to drift off. I can drink some other teas without experiencing this so I’ve come to realize that it’s the caffeine level of the black tea that keeps me more alert at night and unable to get drowsy. So, I find that I need to stop drinking black teas about four or five hours before I plan to head to bed.
But this is one of the teas in the Holiday Box that I was especially eager to try! Chocolate! Yes please!
And when it comes to chocolate teas, I find it difficult to wait until the tea cools. I have to have just a sip of what’s to come! So I took a small sip and even though it was too hot to keep on drinking, I could definitely taste chocolate and mint. Mmm!
This is very crisp and minty. A bit more minty than it is chocolate-y, in my opinion. But there is a nice amount of chocolate to this tea. If I were to adjust anything about the tea, it would be to lighten up on the peppermint just a tad and add more chocolate.
But what I’m enjoying most about this is that the black tea base is solid. It’s a strong background of flavor. It’s well-rounded and the flavor of the tea complements the flavors of mint and chocolate nicely. The chocolate is rich and tastes of dark chocolate to me. It’s smooth and has a deep, deliciously chocolate flavor.
The three components all work very well together and it’s a well crafted cup of tea. It’s strong – robust enough for early morning if you need a flavorful boost. But it’s also flavorful enough that it tastes like dessert. So it’d be like having dessert first thing in the morning and as far as I’m concerned, that would make everything right with the world so early in the day!
Vanilla Cacao Tea from Tisano
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: Tisano
Tisane Description:
If you love chocolate cupcakes this is the tea for you… In the 19th Century Dutch settlers in South Africa created an herbal infusion from the Rooibos bush. It is a caffeine-free natural source of antioxidants with a milky and nutty flavor profile. Combining Rooibos, Vanilla Beans and Cacao Tea creates a creamy chocolate dessert in a cup minus the calories, sugar, fat and packed with antioxidant goodness.
Learn more about this tisane here.
Taster’s Review:
Oh. My. Goodness. This is so good. Definitely one of the very best rooibos blends I’ve ever had. And it’s all because of the chocolate, baby!
To steep this tisane, I used 195°F water and steeped it for 12 minutes. I used 2 tsp. of leaf for 12 ounces of water. This produced one serious cup of YUM!
Just as the description above suggests, this tastes like a liquefied chocolate cupcake! The rooibos adds just enough of a nutty, sweet flavor to give this just the right cake-ish flavor. I like that I can taste just a bit of the natural nutty tones of the rooibos without this tasting too much like rooibos. You can taste those nutty flavors but it doesn’t taste so distinctly like rooibos.
The vanilla is a strong note too – sweet, creamy and luscious! YUM! For those of you who like the flavor of a latte but want to limit your dairy intake, the vanilla in this gives it just the right creamy, almost latte-ish like flavor that you don’t need to add milk or cream.
But the real star of this cup is – not surprisingly! – the cacao shells! By now, those that have been reading my reviews enough should be aware of how much I love cacao shells. I think that they’re the perfect component to a chocolate tea. It adds a better chocolate flavor to a cup than cacao nibs do, better than chocolate flavoring oil does, and much better than chocolate chips/chunks do. Cacao shells are the KEY to a chocolate-y tea!
And this is chocolate-y! Rich and decadent and absolutely SINFULLY chocolate. So yum! The vanilla gives it just enough of a “milk chocolate” sort of flavor and enough of a creamy texture to satisfy that craving of a chocolate-y dessert (like that aforementioned chocolate cupcake!)
I don’t usually offer a “highly recommended” recommendation to a rooibos blend … but this one has earned it. I highly recommend this one! Two thumbs up!
Mint Cacao Tea from Tisano
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal Tisane
Where to Buy: Tisano
Tisane Description:
Tisano is redefining mint-chocolate. Our CACAO MINT TEA is pure and simple, we take our signature CACAO TEA and artisanally blend it with organic Egyptian peppermint, creating a rich yet refreshing chocolate experience that lingers on your lips. Great for early morning or as an after dinner delight.
Learn more about this tisane here.
Taster’s Review:
Yummy!
Yeah, I say that a lot. That’s because I’m surrounded by so much delicious tea! And this … is not so much “tea” as it is a chocolate tisane, but, without getting technical, I’ll just say that I’m really enjoying this Mint Cacao Tea from Tisano! It’s so yummy!
Every time I lift my teacup to my lips, I’m greeted with a strong aroma of CHOCOLATE! That smell gets my taste buds all excited for what they’re about to experience – a deliciously decadent, sinful taste of dark chocolate and crisp, cool peppermint. Sweet, just a little bit bitter (as in bittersweet chocolate), and minty. So good!
The combination of chocolate and peppermint is a classic one, and Tisano has taken this classic combination and created a really delectable “tea” that can be steeped in water or if you really want to go for the gusto, you might try steeping it in hot milk. Personally, I don’t like steeping tea in milk because it makes a mess. I like my tea brewing experience to be as carefree as possible, and this means the less mess, the better. But if you do choose to steep it in milk, I think you’ll be rewarded with a very satisfyingly rich, “hot cocoa” kind of cup.
Me, I steep it in hot water – 195°F to be exact. This tends to be my go-to temperature setting for tisanes, as I find the slightly lower than boiling temperature works best to extract the best flavor from herbs. I let it steep for 12 minutes as there are no Camellia Sinensis leaves in this – so I don’t have to worry about oversteeping or tannins. Rather than just 1 tsp. of dry leaf for 12 ounces of hot water, I go with 2 tsp. because the way I see it, more chocolate = better. These parameters produce a very flavorful cuppa that satisfies this chocoholic when the chocolate cravings set in. It’s a little like a thinned hot cocoa that’s full of dark chocolate flavor with a refreshing note of mint.
And even though this is not a true “tea” – this beverage definitely brings a smile to my face. It’s sweet and chocolate-y and just … oh-so-good!!!
Original Cacao Tea from Tisano
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal Tisane (I wasn’t sure how I should categorize this!)
Where to Buy: Tisano
Tisane Description:
Tisano CACAO TEA is an award winning herbal chocolate tea. We don’t use artificial flavorings – just 100% of world’s best organic cacao – creating a rich, natural and one-of-a-kind chocolate experience. Tisano is the innovator behind real chocolate infusions – join our adventure.
This healthy addiction is rich in antioxidants and has zero fat or calories. Cacao Tea contains Theobromine, a natural mood booster and with less caffeine than green tea or decaf coffee it is an ideal healthy alternative. Give it a try and unlock the wisdom of cacao, the original fruit of the gods.
Learn more about this tisane here.
Taster’s Review:
One word is all that is needed to really describe the flavor of this tea: CHOCOLATE! Yes, I said chocolate.
I previously reviewed this tisane on another tea review site – unfortunately, the archives are not available at this time (I don’t know if this is a permanent situation or not!) so I can’t route you there with a link. But, even though I’ve already tried this tisane, it doesn’t mean that I’m not willing and eager to sample it again and write more about it. I mean, hey, we’re talking CHOCOLATE here! Well, cacao shells. But once they’re brewed, they taste like a great big mug of sweet, sinful, indulgent hot chocolate.
The consistency of this drink is a little thinner than my “usual” hot cocoa because I like to make my hot chocolate with hot milk rather than water. But, this has all the rich, chocolate-y flavor of a hot cocoa. In fact, I prefer the flavor of this to a hot cocoa because it is more like the dark chocolate that I prefer. I get that dark, bittersweet flavor of dark chocolate that I love and there is a wonderful contrast between the bitter and the sweet.
If you prefer a creamier or (milkier) chocolate, you can add a splash of milk or cream to the cup. I would recommend brewing this a little stronger if you plan to go latte though so that you get a stronger impact from the chocolate. Because let’s face it, if you’re going to be drinking a product that is 100% cacao shells, you’re looking for some decadent chocolate flavor!
And that’s exactly what Tisano delivers. This product is 100% cacao shells – nothing else! – and it delivers a rich, delicious chocolate-y flavor that’s sure to please even the most particular of chocoholics out there.
There are few things out there that I love more than chocolate. And this Cacao Tea from Tisano makes me a very happy chocolate lover.