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!
I Dream of Macchiato Dream from Steeped Tea
I don’t discriminate when it comes to tea and coffee, I like them both, hot and iced, and I often find myself drinking one or the other depending on my mood. I was very intrigued to try a rooibos tea with real coffee beans mixed in the dry leaf. Visually, this blend is intriguing, with the fine red grains of rooibos mixed in with dark, roasted coffee beans and chunky cocoa shells.
The smell of this tea is amazing right from the start: there is the sharp, earthy, depth of roasted coffee beans, the sweet decadence of cocoa, and the bright vanilla nuttiness of the red rooibos. Without even brewing a cup, this tea smells like a mocha dessert or java ice cream.
Brewed hot, the cocoa and coffee take over, completely masking the rooibos. This can be a benefit– I’m not always in the mood for the particular taste of red rooibos, though its caffeine-free status is hard to beat. The brewed tea has a smooth mouthfeel, warming and coating my throat, and the sweet flavors almost trick my tongue into thinking we’re having dessert instead of tea.
Even with the coffee beans, there’s not as much caffeine in this blend as other black teas or full-on coffee, so there is more flexibility as to when you can indulge in Macchiato Dream. I’m not as ambitious as some SororiTea Sisters when it comes to building lattes, but I can already tell that this tea will be a winner when mixed with milk and sweetener.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: Steeped Tea
Description:
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Have a cup on Lord Grantham with Downton Abbey Tea Blends #RebpulicofTea
Grantham Breakfast Blend is one of the Downton Abbey themed teas from The Republic of Tea. This blend is built from a strong assam base with added ginger, meant to be masculine and just a touch fiery. The ginger came to life right as I poured hot water on the leaves, surprising me with an almost-chai smell for a moment. As the tea steeped and cooled, the assam really took the lead, providing deep and malty black tea tones.
This tea echoes Lord Grantham, pictured on the tin, clad in upper-class white-tie attire. Both the man and the tea are strong enough to help you power through an early morning of managing accounts, spicy enough to manage bold daughters, and warm enough to provide comfort during a family tragedy.
After trying this flavor, I had to take a look at the other Downton Abbey blends on Republic of Tea. They have several options, a few of which include Miss Patmore’s Pudding, black tea with vanilla sponge cake flavors, English Rose hibiscus tea for the lady-like sisters, and Downton Abbey Estate Earl Grey, for your more traditional tea outings.
These teas would be great for a Downton-themed tea party of your own!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Republic of Tea
Description:
Full-bodied, malty, organic Assam black tea is infused with the spicy flavor of organic ginger root. Try with a splash of warm milk and sweetener for a flavor reminiscent of sticky ginger pudding. This energizing tea is perfect for an early morning foxhunt or preparing for the dramas of the day.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
English Breakfast – Solstice Tea Traders
Scroll down and look at the description. A bit disappointing right? Especially considering how nice and earthy the flavor is. Honestly, I tend to not drink many Irish or English breakfast teas because I tend to stick to the greener side of teas but it is good to try the ‘darker side’ particularly when you savor a clean flavor like this one.
Clean seems like it might be a weird word to use to describe tea but honestly that was what my first thought was. Perhaps pure would be better? Even the color of the brewed tea is somewhat more elegant.
Truly its the flavor that impresses me the most though. Definitely earthy with essences of both wood and forest. The wet aroma is reminiscent of wood chips.
This is the type of black tea that will make you cringe when people ask you to put milk in it. No offense if you do of course. Now that I think about it though, I wonder if you ground up the leaves like match and made a latte…. with some frothed vanilla almond milk?
If I had the ability to froth milk I would do this. . . .
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Solstice Tea Traders
Description
English Breakfast Tea– Just as Irish Breakfast Tea, English Breakfast Tea is and always was a tea sourced from India or Sri Lanka.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Sensiblyscript’s Tasting Notes on Passion Berry Jolt by Tiesta Tea. . . .
I steeped 1tsp tea for 4 min. in one cup of water at 200-205 degrees, which produced a cup of tea with a nice dark amber color. Though there’s no berry coloring, there’s plenty of berrylike fragrance. The tea leaves themselves are attractive, with marigold and cornflower petals providing some nice color contrasts.
The berry smell blends with the black tea fragrance surprisingly well. (On a side note, I’m glad they used a high-quality black tea for this blend, as I tend to tire easily of “black tea” bases that have no actual tea flavor so that all you can taste is the flavoring.)
First sip: Not too astringent or acidic, which is nice. There is a bit of astringency, though. The berry flavor I’m finding in this tea is a bit friendlier, somehow, than most berry flavored teas I’ve tried. Perhaps a bit smoother? I’m sensing a rich, strawberry-like flavor here, and maybe a bit of raspberry as well. Maybe that’s why it’s less astringent and acidic than other berry-flavored teas that are heavy on the raspberry and blueberry. (It turns out that the strawberry-like flavor must have been from the “natural passion fruit flavors” in this tea. I guess I’m just not that familiar with passion fruit.)
It’s also not bitter at all, which I appreciate.
While the black tea flavor is present and isn’t overwhelmed by the berry flavor, it’s not super prominent either and doesn’t overwhelm the berry flavor. They exist side-by-side rather elegantly.
When I add milk, it tastes like berries and cream just as I’d hoped. MMMMmmmm! I like it best this way. (Okay, that’s not really a surprise.)
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black Tea
Where to Buy: Tiesta Tea
Description
Ingredients: black tea + natural passion fruit flavors + cornflowers + marigold petals + raspberry bits
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
