Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: PMD P.M. David Silva & Sons
Tea Description:
We have taken this cherished tea back to its roots. Many of the Earl Grey teas on offer are created to misguide consumer’s senses. Tea makers mask poor quality tea with blue cornflowers as a visual distraction and then over scent the tea with artificial Bergamot essence. At PMD we have selected a high quality low grown tea and married it with natural bergamot oil; creating you a heavenly aromatic experience whilst finishing with smooth, citrus notes.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Earl Grey is a hit or miss kind of tea for me. I either love it or hate it. I’m not a huge fan of floral teas that completely overwhelm the senses. I even shied away from them until I met my boyfriend who loves them. He fell in love with them when he was traveling abroad.
This tea comes in two different variations, loose and bagged, which is very convenient for on the go people or for work. I have all of my tea hardware at work (kettle, teapot, filters, etc.) but sometimes you just want to plop the tea in some water and go. This is a tea that I think you could do just that with. I brewed this up on in my favorite rooster mug (yep, I have a rooster mug) with 1 cup of 212F water for about 3 minutes. Without question, I could tell this was an earl grey and hesitation started to grow. I wasn’t in the mood to be smacked in the face with a huge heaping of cup full of bergamot oil.
First sip, holy cow! This is a sleek and polished earl grey! Very smooth! With an incredible rich black base to boot! The citrus notes are a delightful addition. After a few sips, I added in some milk and made myself a latte which brought out the richness even more. As it cools off, the flavors mingle delightfully together and really provide a fantastic treat. Yum!
I’m incredibly impressed with this one! This Earl Grey may be the best bagged Earl Grey I’ve ever had!
Choco*Late from American Tea Room
Tea Type: Rooibos
Where To Buy: American Tea Room
Product Description:
This sumptuous, caffeine-free, fat-free blend of organic cacao husks, organic vanilla beans and organic rooibos is sure to be an instant American Tea Room classic.
If the color and aroma of our Choco-Laté blend doesn’t evoke chocolate, then nothing does. Rich brown cacao husks, dark flecks of vanilla bean and umber-colored rooibos present a beguilingly sweet dark chocolate aroma that’s backed with the naturally sweet, woody scent of antioxidant-rich rooibos. The deep garnet brew has a seductive aroma akin to European sipping chocolate. Its smooth flavor is a perfect balance of chocolate, vanilla and rooibos that appeals to chocolate lovers and rooibos lovers alike. The lingering, cacao-rich aftertaste is enough to satiate even the most ardent chocoholic.
Drink Choco-Laté on its own as a naturally sweet, fat-free snack or dessert, or dress it up with agave nectar and rice milk for a healthy tea latte. It’s a natural pairing for chocolate, but if you’re trying to be good, sip it alongside fresh fruit instead. Delicious!
Tasters Review:
There has been quite the amount of chatter about this one on Steepster – an online tea community that both Anne and I belong to.
83 is the LOWEST rating for this one here so far on Steepster and there are at least 14 ratings so far. It’s also the #1 Rated Tea on that website! Needless to say – I have been wanting to try this since it was brought to my attention. And recently I was lucky enough to receive a sample of it from American Tea Room!
The aroma is that of a semi-sweet chocolate but certainly not over the top intensely scented. By that I mean it doesn’t smack you in the face when you open the package. You can see the many ‘husks’ within the ‘mix’. The aroma post-infusion seems to be 33.3%-33.3%-33.3% across the board – Semi-Sweet Chocolate and Cocoa combined with Rooibos and with Vanilla.
The taste is VERY smooth and chocolaty with a little woodsy aftertaste. It certainly is one of the better tasting chocolate-type attempts I have had and it works very well with the rooibos.
I think I am in the middle of everyone else’s ratings. Where I wouldn’t give it a perfect 100 I certainly wouldn’t go below the lowest score of 83, either. My fear was, after reading the other reviews on Steepster, that this one was pumped up too much and I would be disappointed but that is far from the truth! This is very good! It does deserve the ratings as I have found it hard to find a sweet, smooth, chocolaty flavored Rooibos that the Rooibos isn’t still overpowering the rest of the mix. The ingredients live in harmony with each other on this one and it’s lovely.
A fellow Steepster recommended tripling the amount of the dry and then infusing. I am going to try this very soon! I also want to point out that this is vegan according to a online friend of mine! A perfect chocolate treat without the dairy!
