Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black & Green Tea
Where to Buy: Just Add Honey
Tea Description:
warm, earthy, and decadent, this tea densely aromatic and flavorful black tea combined with cocoa beans, vanilla, barley, and yogurt bits produces a hearty and balanced cup that feels like an indulgence. best enjoyed with milk to enhance the notes of both the tea and cocoa.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
The first time I brewed this Chocolate Delight Black Tea Blend from Just Add Honey, I did so without reading the website description or the ingredient list, and I did not realize that this was yet another black tea blend from Just Add Honey that also included green tea (a genmaicha, it would appear!) so I brewed this as I would a usual black tea – using boiling water.
And prepared this way, it doesn’t taste bitter. It tastes rich and chocolate-y! It tastes YUMMY! That said, I don’t taste any real “green tea notes” here, or even anything that would indicate to me that there is genmaicha in this blend. I taste a rich black tea base with a strong chocolate essence. There is a distinct creaminess to this cup (courtesy of not only the chocolate but also the yogurt!) I do taste the barley and it definitely accents the chocolate, giving it a depth and an almost “malty” kind of richness.
Now that I’m more than halfway through the cup, I notice an earthy roasty-toasty-ness to the cup … which I guess can be attributed to the genmaicha (after all, it is a roasty-toasty kind of tea!) but that could also be attributed to the barley. I have to admit that I REALLY like this, just the way it is, even if I’m not tasting much of the green tea’s contribution to the cup. When it comes to chocolate, I mean, what can I say? Tasting the chocolate is of utmost importance, and because I can taste it here – and I’m really liking what I’m tasting! – I’m a happy chocoholic!
Given how good this is prepared using boiling water for 2 1/2 minutes, I was rather reluctant to brew a second pot using a more gentle method for the green tea. But I did … for no other reason than for the purposes of this review. And I have to admit that while I do taste more of the green tea, more of that sweet, vegetal flavor from the green tea … I do not like it better than I did the first pot of tea when I tasted more of a rich, earthy, deep chocolate flavor. This cup is lighter and less chocolate-y, and when it comes right down to it, for me, it’s all about the chocolate!
So, if you do decide to try this chocolate tea (and you should!) try brewing it both ways to see which way suits your fancy … and let me know what you think!
Georgia Peaches from Just Add Honey
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Just Add Honey
Tea Description:
a fruity and aromatic blend of brisk Ceylon and Darjeeling black tea paired with freshly hand-ground ginger, sweet dried peaches, and a touch of cinnamon and clove to provide additional sweetness and body. wonderful hot, makes a delicious iced tea.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I discovered this company through one of those flash sale type of sites, and I ordered from them right away. It wasn’t really this particular tea that captured my interest (it was the chocolate one of course!) but interestingly enough this is the first tea of the three that I ordered that I reached for when it came time to brew one of them.
When I ordered this tea, I expected big, juicy peach flavor. This expectation is based upon the name “Georgia Peaches” and the fact that the company is from Georgia, I figured they knew their peaches in Georgia, right? But after I opened the package and began to measure out the tea and I saw bits of cinnamon, ginger and cloves in there, my ideas of what this tea might be also began to change. All of the sudden I was expecting a ginger peach kind of flavor or at the very least, a spiced peach cobbler filling type of flavor with the spices in there.
But neither of these expectations prepared me for what I’m tasting. The flavor is neither in-your-face, bite into a peach and juice is running down your arm kind of flavor … nor is it a spiced peach kind of flavor. It tastes … well, it tastes like a peach flavored black tea.
And a good one, at that. The black tea base is a blend of Ceylon and Darjeeling – and this base provides a light, crisp sort of taste. It’s not a bold or hefty black tea flavor and it isn’t something that I’d recommend drinking first thing in the morning if you’re looking for that jump start. But it is a delicious and medium-to-full-flavored black tea that is brisk and refreshing.
The peach notes are strong … but they’re not overpowering. There is a careful balance between black tea and fruit here, with neither overwhelming the other. The peach flavor is sweet and tasty, but doesn’t taste too sweet. There is a very slight artificial note to the peach here, and it’s hardly distinguishable … only when I really try to focus on the flavors to pick out the individual notes of the tea do I notice it. It really has very little impact on the overall taste of the tea, but it is there.
But what I’m liking best about this blend are the spices. I thought that these spices were going to turn this tea into a heavily spiced blend, but it isn’t. The cinnamon, cloves and ginger are extremely subtle here, offering hints of warm spice to the background, sort of “filling in the spaces” of the background with their earthy qualities, while enhancing the sweet peach notes.
Overall, a very enjoyable peach offering from this company – it’s the first that I’ve tried from them and I’m quite satisfied with it. I look forward to the others that I have to try from them.