Snowball Hot Cocoa (formerly Snowball)

There was a glitch in the system when I placed my recent Bird & Blend order, resulting in me ordering a sampler that was already sold out, which was pretty disappointing, as I really wanted to try the included teas! However, to make up for it, I was both refunded for the sampler, and B&B included a whopping 5 samples of other Christmas teas, none of which I had tried. Very generous compensation, so thank you!

This was one of the freebies they sent along, and perhaps the most interesting-sounding of the five, as I like a good desserty chocolate/coconut black. The aroma when I opened the bag was a bit disconcerting though – despite the best before date of January 2020 (I think), it smelled like the coconut was going off. Just barely, but that familiar, dreaded pungency was present. It’s also detectable in the flavour, but as this was a free sample, I’m not too worried about it (though I probably would be sad if I’d paid for this tea.) Ignoring that, the flavour is coconut-creamy, chocolatey, and a bit thin in body though there’s a good amount of flavour – kind of like DavidsTea’s Chocolate Macaroon, if I recall correctly. Not sweet at all, which is good, though it may or may not curb a sweet tooth (I say this while I have a box of cereal out for a midnight snack – yeah, my sweet tooth is not buying this substitute dessert business tonight.) This tea probably is best as a latte, or at least, with added milk for body, so I may try that next time. Which should be soon, as this tea is going to be flagged for coconut which hopefully means I get back to it sooner rather than later…

I have received this as a tea bag with my subscription. As well some secrets (how to order some blends those are not available anymore – I can share)

Moreover, it is “only” 5 months to Christmas!!! So it is perfect date to drink Christmas tea. Haha.

Okay. Ingredients sounds promising, scents not so much. Coconut is maybe too strong. It reminds me one Christmas sweets we bake. It is not bad. But bit artificial. Bit of marshmellow.

In taste it is really sweet, black tea base is not noticable at all. Coconut cookies, with cocoa (or chocolate) dip. Then the marshmellow appears here too.

In conclusion – I do not know. It is sweet (I am afraid getting a heartburn), cookie-like tea with hints of marshmellow. Honestly I thought it will be like this and it is how I expected. I am not a fan of it though.

Thank you Cameron B. ^^

Sipping this… It’s decent but not for me. The aroma is really strange to me. It’s probably the coconut. I can eat raw coconut all day but I’m not really into coconut flavored anything. Like, I don’t like those snowball cookies with coconut. I don’t like Mound candy bars. Eww. I always traded that with literally any other candy bar during Halloween time. lol So take that into consideration with this review. I won’t rate it to be fair.

I do love a good Thai curry that has the coconut milk base though. :D

It’s creamy and that’s a plus. It has nice chocolate notes. I think the marshmallow is what is making it creamy sweet.

Holiday Tea-son! The ninth tea from my advent calendar. I actually had an extra teabag of this as a freebie with my advent calendar order, and I just stashed it away figuring it was probably in the calendar too, since it is one of their popular holiday flavors. So this morning I was able to make a pot of tea using my 16 oz. dobin using both teabags instead of just a single cuppa. Huzzah!

The dry leaf has a strong scent of chocolate and coconut, which are two of my favorite things, but I’m a little sad that the teabag version given out for the samplers doesn’t have the vegan marshmallows… they would’ve added a nice, sweet, creamy element. Ah well.

The cocoa shells and nibs actually have a pretty forward flavor here, reminding me of when I steeped plain cocoa shells, creating that bittersweet/dark chocolate flavor in the cup, and I am getting a coconut note as well. The black tea is coming out relatively smooth and lacking in bitter/astringent notes, though without the marshmallow which would’ve added some sweetness to the blend, the cocoa itself is a bit bittersweet so the tea could do with some sweetening in the teabag form. What is lacking to pull it all together for me is a sweet and creamy element, since it tastes like it wants to be hot cocoa, but has the light mouthfeel of a tea, so I think this is a tea that is simply meant to be taken as a latte. Once I mixed some warm coconut milk (and I use the sweetened kind!) into my cup, it really pulled it together. The coconut notes were emphasized, the cocoa flavor now felt more like creamy hot cocoa than bittersweet hot cocoa water, the sweetness it was lacking was provided from the milk, and it was quite nice. It felt a little bland before that. The flavor was there, it just really needed the thicker/creamier mouthfeel and a little more sweetness to make the chocolate and coconut come together for me.

I had to come back and raise my rating on this one a bit. It’s a chilly morning here, I’ve turned on the heat, and casting about for nice, warming, comforting cuppa, felt like it might be just the time to try this one again, coming back to it with two differences: 1) not having some specific imaginary tea in my head that this was supposed to duplicate, and 2) not underleafing the first cup (it’s hard to get away from that first “watery / weak” impression when trying something for the first time).

Making this nice and strong, with milk and sugar, it’s yummy, toasty winter cheer; an in-from-the-cold-and-snug-by-the-fireside, warming sweet treat that is more of a chocolate drink than a tea drink, but much more fun than plain old cocoa. Oh wait, I just had a thought! I should try this with some maple syrup instead of sugar. oooooh.

Bird & Blend Advent Calendar 2021 – Day 18

A bit late for a black tea, but the evening got away from me. Luckily, I’m not much affected by caffeine. :D

I’m not a big coconut fan, at least in tea, so this isn’t my favorite. But I can see the appeal, as it does have a nice balance of sweet and creamy coconut with chocolate. And the chocolate here is quite authentic tasting, which I appreciate.

So not a tea for me, but I understand why it’s apparently their most popular holiday tea.

With the hot weather and a job change, I’m only now beginning to bring parts of my stash to the office. I picked this up not too long ago when B&B did their Christmas in July sale, because everyone raves about it. For good effing reason. I was nervous because chocolate teas AND black teas aren’t really my thing, but coconut IS. It’s amazing! The perfect amount of coconut with just a hint of chocolate in the background – enough to make it feel creamy and warm but not watery like most chocolate teas feel for me. I bought the big bag of sachets so the marshmallow element feels a little lost presentation-wise, but I know they’re contributing to the creamy factor. Yay! Now to deal with the anxious jitters I get from multiple cups of black tea….

Adventaggedon Day 4 – Tea 4/6

Interesting how your tastes can change from cup to cup – I see that in the past I’ve rated this tea very highly but based on my experience with it today I’d probably rate it much lower. It wasn’t unpleasant in any way but the chocolate, coconut and slight roasty notes were a little unforgettable for me. Someone in our advent chat group compared it to DT’s Chocolate Macaroon and I actually do agree with the comparison – this one is a little more coconut forward and a bit less sweet, but I totally think people who like one would enjoy the other. I just happen to not be big on chocolate in tea.

Advent Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/CIZC-u1gDbW/

sample from variaTEA. Apparently i’ve had this one before and liked it less than i did this cup. Not sure if the balance just shifted, but bumping the rating up a little. I don’t LOVE coconut teas, but done right they can be great. this is just sort of middle of the road..chocolate and coconut tea? yes. need more? nope.

Latte Sipdown (263)

My friend asked me to try a tea and so I spent yesterday filling a box with teas to send her. I thought she’d like this one so I pulled out just enough for a latte for myself. Then tonight I was lazy and this was premeasured.

I overpoured the water so it’s a little watered down but ultimately it’s got a rich chocolate coconut flavor. It’s very creamy which gives the chocolate a milk chocolate cone to it. It’s nice as usual, and one I’d revisit if I order from Bird and Blend around the holidays.