Tea Reviews | It's All About The Leaf

Posts Tagged ‘Cacao Nibs’

The way I’ve learned to make chai is a stove top method.  Rather than just simply brewing like tea, you do the following:

For each 2 cups of chai tea:
Take 1 cup water, bring to a boil on the stove in a small saucepan.  Once the water comes to a boil, add 1 tbsp. chai tea, and 1 tbsp. sugar.  Return to a boil, and let boil for 5 minutes.  Turn off the heat, and add one cup milk (the more milk-fat, the more flavorful).  Let rest on the stove for at least 10 minutes, and then strain, and drink.

This method of preparation takes most chai mixes and makes them amazingly flavorful.  I know it’s sacrilege to boil tea, but the spices in chai cover any over-steeped flavor, and it ensures you get the most out of the spices.

So, wanting to get the most out of this chocolate chai (because really, what could be better?  Chocolate *and* chai spice?  YUM), I prepared it in the stovetop method.  It surprised me.  It was a very mellow cup.  Like a mildly spiced chocolate milk.  The chocolate flavor is at the forefront, and there’s a taste of generic spices as an aftertaste.  None of the particular spices stand out, but there’s the sensation of clove, and a tiny burn from possibly a little pepper.

So, it’s very yummy, but a little less spicy than I was hoping.  If it wasn’t caffeinated, I could see drinking this at night as a soother.

I wanted to make sure it wasn’t the stovetop method somehow skewing the flavor of this tea.  So I brewed it like a regular cup of tea as well.  And no, it does MUCH better brewed stove top method.

Prepare for something lovely.  It’s a great cuppa.  Just don’t expect a lot of spice, and revel in the chocolate.

You can purchase the Chocolate Chai directly from the Mark T. Wendall Tea Company website.

The dry smell is just like ice cream. How can this be? Let me assure you that this is the most delicious tea. I don’t know how Frank does it; he just seems to have a way with honeybush that leaves me coming back for more.

All three flavor profiles are present. The strawberry is represented by dried strawberry bits that impart the juiciness of a fresh picked ripe strawberry. The vanilla bean gives this blend the creamy aspect of ice cream. The chocolate was the most surprising to me, it is subtle, and a delicate cocoa that rounds out this threesome perfectly. Since my honeybush order arrived, I have had a hard time choosing other teas. I drink some kind of honeybush from 52 Teas most every night. Honeybush is sweeter and less woodsy in taste than rooibos and it is naturally caffeine free. Enjoy.

You can purchase the Neapolitan Honeybush directly from the 52teas website.

From what I can tell of the leaf, it contains cardamon, what looks like yerba mate, pu-erh, and cocoa. The aroma has chocolate, cardamon, and ginger notes.

The steeping instructions call for one cup of boiling water, one cup of boiling milk, to mix in the ingredients and to let it steep for 3 to 5 minutes. Sweeten to taste.

I did not add any sugar; the taste was fine as it is and I think better without it. The chocolate notes rounded out the ginger and spice that peeks through ever so slightly. It has a sort of grounded, chocolate, round, creaminess with a bit of hui gan bitterness at the end after you swallow which I think can be on account of the pu-erh bits mixed with the cocoa. I think adding sugar would ruin the taste as it would give it a sharpness which does not complement the taste of this beverage. The rounded, soft taste without the edge suits the creaminess and milky mouthfeel, with only the peeks of spice and ginger.

I would recommend only letting the ingredients steep in the milk and boiling water for the suggested 3-5 minutes then strain out all the ingredients from the pot. Do not let the ingredients sit in the solution as it will make the beverage taste very gingery and strong hui gan bitterness.

I like this blend. When I first read chai with pu-erh I thought that it would be a catastrophe but it works! If steeped correctly, it’s like a creamy (unsweetened) cocoa, with hui gan bitterness and the occasional peeks of spice and ginger to liven up your taste buds but still overall a soft and round beverage.

You can purchase the Chocolate Chai directly from the Rishi Tea website.

Even though the instructions say to use boiling water I’ve heard that maté can get scalded and become bitter like green teas, so I kept the steeping temperature at 90ºC. The tea smelled so incredibly chocolatey when I opened the package, like one of those rich chocolate shakes you can sometimes still get at diners. I could see that cocoa nibs mixed in with the mate leaves aswell which is a good sign – I always like it when a company uses real ingredients instead of ‘flavouring’.

The first thing I can taste when I sip the tea is the mate; it has the roasted, nutty, and slightly vegetale flavour that is unique to that particular plant. But underneath there’s a creamy, malty flavour with a hint of sweetness that makes me think of Ovaltine a bit. The chocolate is there too but maybe not as a stong as I wished I was – although that might just mean that I need to steep it longer. The taste lingers subtly and pleasently in the mouth, not letting itself be dismissed.

This is a wonderful, unique blend that I really enjoyed drinking. Congrats to Frank for creating another winner.

You can purchase the Malted ChocoMate directly from the 52teas website.

Product Description: Real chocolate draws your eye. The scent of exotic spices pulls you closer. By the time you taste this rich and complex black tea, you’ve already fallen in love.

The first time I tried a tea from Talbott Teas was last year and it was their Chocolate Almond Allure and I instantly fell in LOVE.  Not too long ago I was corresponding with Dr. Steven Nakisher from Talbott Teas on Facebook and he ended up sending me a few samples to try and possibly review.  I was so excited!  This was the customer service all other companies should take notes on!  They are so nice to customers and potential customers!  AND they have some really awesome ways to promote their products!  Their website is wonderful and their labels and tins are clean, crisp, and tastefully done!  Overall, Talbott Teas, is probably one of my favorite tea companies!  They seem to have the complete package!

One of the teas that I have tried from them recently is their Cocoa Cardamom Seduction.  I must say I was ‘taken’ by the name… does that mean “Mission Accomplished?” Perhaps.

The first cup I had of this I could clearly see ALL described ingredients! I couldn’t stop sniffing it!!! It was an AWESOME Chocolate Peanut Butter type smell.

The first sip I really did notice the cardamom but I think that was the idea of the whole thing, right!?  I continued to sip and certainly picked up on both the Almond and the Cocoa.  The cinnamon and cardamom pair together as they should and the pairing jumps up in front of the line but the Chocolate/Almond taste isn’t fair behind. The color of the tea liquid is a light-medium brown.

Now… the 2nd time I tried this tea… I purposely chose the loose leaf with less cardamom in it to see if there was a difference and there absolutely was! LOVELY! I enjoy it both ways, but now I LOVE the fact I can taste the difference with ease based on how much cardamom I choose to add or not add for my liking or tastes based on my mood!

So far… my favorite Talbott Tea is the Chocolate Almond Allure but this Cocoa Cardamom Seduction is a near second.

You can purchase the Cocoa Cardamom Seduction directly from the Talbott Teas website.