Even though I am a huge tea drinker, I do love my coffee as well. I actually start each day with coffee. Being not a morning person, I’ve bumbled tea steepings one too many times and it seems like coffee is just an easier choice for me- plus coffee is just an alluring smell for thing in the morning.
Recently I tried a coffee tea blend where there was actual coffee in the tea blend itself (not coffee flavorings) and I fell in love with this unique blend. Around the same time, Rave Coffee reached out to the SororiTea Sisters to see if we would be interested in checking out their coffee and it was like it was meant to be. When the coffee arrived- I was floored. The coffee smelled amazing, fresh, and vibrant. Along with the coffee was this really lovely education pack. I’ve never seen such a cool education guide to help you learn and explore your coffee. There is so much info on how to brew your coffee, how to taste it, they even included a coffee tea tasting log. Very very cool and slick in style.
Before I started experimenting with the tea and coffee blend, I decided I wanted to try the coffee on its own and it was amazing. My particular palette I feel is more set up to tastes the unique properties of tea more than coffee but what I can say is that this tea was divine. Rich, smooth, without any bitterness and addicting! I found myself eagerly drinking cup after cup as regular coffee, lattes, cold brews, you name it- I tried it- and always with success. Just plain delicious and highly recommended.
When it was time to start brewing the coffee up with tea- I decided to go with an blend of Assam to get that right taste. I also added a few cocoa nibs just to give the coffee and tea a bit more flavor to play off of. Brewed up the tea with 212F prepped water for right around 2 minutes. The result- Delicious mix of the two worlds that I adore- coffee and tea. Each flavor is allowed its own time in the spotlight- you can literally tell the familiar notes of coffee with the familiar notes of tea. I was assuming there might be a mixing of flavors but there really isn’t. Which sounds a bit odd, but I’m actually enjoying this and my own little experiment tastes a lot like the coffee tea blend I had not too long ago. I’m excited to really explore this idea more with different coffee and tea blends.
I’ve had several different coffee subscriptions from a lot of different places but Rave is one I’m really excited to get going to really take a deeper dive into all things coffee and possibly even blend up a puerh coffee blend on my own. Rave Coffee has so much to learn on their website just in general but it will be fun to really take the time to enjoy their coffee like I do some of my favorite teas and to take the time to really learn about that cup of joe I enjoy so much in the mornings.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Where to Buy: Rave
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Coffee or Tea? from Tea Taxi. . . . . . .
You know the Old El Paso taco shell commercial where they’re trying to decide between hard shells and and soft shells for tacos and then the cute little girl comes along and asks “Why not both?” and the whole city celebrates this great revelation? That is what coffee-flavored teas make me think of – someone trying to bridge the gap between the coffee camp and the tea camp, bringing us all together with one hybrid beverage. Such is the case with this Coffee or Tea? drink from TeaTaxi.
This blend is made of black tea, broken cocoa bits, brittle pieces, chocolate chips, roasted coffee beans, and free-dried yogurt granules. I set up half my sample (about 1-1.5 tsp) in vanilla almond milk yesterday to cold brew overnight and the rest was steeped per the package directions, 3 minutes in almost boiling water.
Now I don’t drink coffee so I am probably not the best person to determine accuracy of flavor but the hot tea definitely has the taste of the roasted coffee beans (at least it reflects how they smell) combined with chocolate. It is a medium-bodied tea with strong flavor which makes for easy drinking. It is a touch bitter but that is balanced by the slightest bit of brittle peaking through. It is by no means a cup of coffee but it does have more coffee to it than the other coffee flavored teas I have tried.
This cold brewed in vanilla almond milk is not my favorite. I think the vanilla of the almond milk is just far too strong and it butt heads with the more roasted quality of the coffee beans. I thought it might make for a sort of coffee with cream vibe but instead the two flavors just don’t blend at all and the vanilla drowns out the chocolate that worked so well with the coffee in the hot tea. So this was a bit of a fail, more because of the flavored almond milk than a reflection of the tea itself.
I am definitely a member of the tea camp and though coffee-flavored teas catch my interest, I am usually never a fan. Though this is not one I intend to stock anytime soon, I will say it is one of the better coffee-flavored teas I have had. The combination of the coffee and chocolate with the hint of brittle in the hot tea reminds me ever so slightly of a more roasty coffee crisp bar or perhaps dark chocolate covered coffee beans.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Tea Taxi
Description
This chocolaty black tea with a high caffeine content offers the best of both worlds.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
My Morning Blend from The NecessiTeas. . . .
This robust tea is made from two simple, quality ingredients: black tea leaves and roasted cocoa beans. This tea has everything that is good about hot bold black tea, hot chocolate, and coffee. The black tea gives enough fresh tartness to keep the chocolate from being too sweet, and the roasted cocoa beans add a decadent smoothness that hints at the rich and nutty tones of coffee. No matter how long I steeped the leaves, the blend stays strong and smooth, with no bitter astringency.
Many black teas in people’s cupboards are English breakfast blends. I feel like My Morning Blend could easily be called American Breakfast, with all that Hershey chocolate flavor over the top of a welcoming tea brew (if we Americans weren’t already drinking coffee as the breakfast beverage of choice, that is).
I recently tried some cocoa shell tea for the first time, and found it to be a tasty, unique experience, a mix of sweet and salty, almost like chocolate-drizzled popcorn balls. Cocoa shells are well and good, but as a tea-lover, sometimes I just need that black tea undertone. My Morning Blend from The NecessiTeas was the perfect fix.
This blend takes milk like a champ, only growing more delicious and creamy with rich chocolate and toasty tea notes. This blend should be an essential on everyone’s tea shelf for those mornings when you want a cup that feels like putting on your favorite sweater and smells like your favorite cookies baking in the oven.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: The NecessiTeas
Description:
If you are looking for a wake-me-up, perk-me-up cup in the morning, that’s off the beaten path of coffee, look no further. This strong black tea has the smoothness of chocolate, and the boldness of roasted cocoa beans. Doctor it as you would a cup of coffee, with milk and sugar to start off your day!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Taking The Day On With My Morning Blend from The NecessiTeas. . .
I drank three cups of this before I wrote this review because I read that there were chocolate/cocoa nibs in here — but I could never find them. I’ve never given up on locating Waldo, so I don’t know why I’d quit on this tea.
But friends, despite the delicious chocolate smell in the dry leaf, I cannot pinpoint any chocolate flavoring in this tea.
Which is not to say the tea is bad. It’s a lovely Assam-y bread-y malt-y mix. A dark blend of sultry Eastern European men telling fortunes and learning to box. Like, if the Winter Soldier were a tea, this might be the one.
The caffeine content is no joke. I could actually feel my brain rousing itself. “AHA. THE DAY. GOT IT. ON IT NOW.”
It’s weird that wake-up juice comes from natural sources like tea leaves. Doesn’t caffeine seem like something that would have come from a lab, like some kind of drug? You could imagine some sort of mad scientist raging “LIKE GARFIELD, I HATE MONDAYS. I MUST IMPROVE MY LOT.” And storming around, lab coat flapping behind his frenzied, sweaty body, as he crafted a glowing substance that looks a lot like alien pee and/or Mountain Dew.
Nope? Just me?
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black Tea
Where to Buy: The NecessiTeas
Description
If you are looking for a wake-me-up, perk-me-up cup in the morning, that’s off the beaten path of coffee, look no further. This strong black tea has the smoothness of chocolate, and the boldness of roasted cocoa beans. Doctor it as you would a cup of coffee, with milk and sugar to start off your day!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Macchiato Dream Rooibos Blend from Steeped Tea. . . . .
“OK, cats, throw your mittens round your kittens. Away we go!” It’s time for a wild ride with Macchiato Dream Rooibos Tea from Steeped Tea and if you can name the movie this quote came from you get 3 gold stars for the day!
Macchiato Dream Rooibos Tea from Steeped Tea contains Red Rooibos, cocoa bean bits, coffee beans, and flavoring. It smells like coffee and rooibos and it looks like a rooibos tisane color once infused, too!
The flavor is a hefty combo of coffee, sweet rooibos, and cocoa. If you are switching from coffee to tea or want to combine your coffee and tea flavors this is ideal! Sure it contains caffeine but I’m not afraid. Macchiato Dream Rooibos Tea from Steeped Tea takes you on a wild ride that’s for sure! I drank this straight-up but I’m betting it would work well with your favorite milk or non-dairy milk alternative to bring the flavor to another level!
BAM! I’m ready to face the day! A mighty fine flavored Red Rooibos! Macchiato Dream Rooibos Tea from Steeped Tea!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: Steeped Tea
Description
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
