Fireside Mocha

I was a bit skeptical of this one from the TTB. The name and description were appealing, but when I opened the package, it was all stuck together in a clump. But, it’s summer and there’s a gum in the ingredients list, so I figured that the weather had caused this clumping effect at some point. Squeezing and shaking the package de-clumped it fairly effectively, so I decided to try brewing it up anyway. And you know what? Credit where credit is due. The flavor here is on point! I added some oat milk and ended up with something that tastes very much like a mocha latte. Even my tea-averse partner commented on how the mocha smell wafted through the whole apartment. This turned out to be a really pleasant surprise, both hot and when it got cold. Others have mentioned stevia, but I’m not tasting any and there’s none listed in the ingredients of this formulation (thankfully), which makes me wonder if this is a particularly old bag.

My feelings about this tea are colored by a memory.

Not too long ago, I discovered the brand and grabbed an advent calendar in sachets instead of loose leaf. My partner had to complete field work someplace near some of our close friends, so we all packed up and spent two weeks in a hotel covered by the company.

I took to bringing my sachet down in the hotel for breakfast with my oldest, a toddler at the time, and tasting the tea while she bounced around in her seat and we figured out what we were doing that day. Some of them were misses, but I was so surprised by this one. It smelled like coffee and chocolate, tasted sweet and mild, and really turned tea on its head for me.

It is sweeter than I would prefer, but when I drink it now I remember that trip, that hotel, that silly little girl and all the adventures we got to take when she was tiny, and so I’ll always take an opportunity to enjoy a cup.

DAVIDsTEA advent, day 10

DAVIDsTEA Advent Calendar 2021 – Day 10

Hmmm a fruit tisane. I do like coffee-flavored teas, so the name sounds yummy. It also smells quite yummy in the tin, rich chocolate and coffee scents. And super cute Christmas tree sprinkles!

Blah, stevia again. And sugar, because just one sweetener isn’t enough apparently… :/

Anyway. The coffee is nice, but the chocolate is super artificial-tasting, which is not a surprise. Chocolate flavoring pretty much always tastes highly artificial to me. I get a touch of apple in the beginning of the sip, but otherwise it tastes like a mocha-flavored Tootsie Pop.

So yeah – very, very sweet and artificial. But honestly, it’s not horrible or anything. Just not something I can drink because of the overwhelming sweetness. :(

Sipdown (255)

I didn’t like this one. It was just way too sweet and artificial for my tastes. The Christmas tree sprinkles were super cute though.

TTB #25

If they’d only left out the stevia, I think I would have really loved this tea. It had a mouthwatering aroma and a delicious flavor of chocolate and coffee, marred by the overly sweet stevia. I added some milk to cut the sweetness and that was better, but it still had that stevia aftertaste that I really don’t enjoy.

I bought this for my sister for Christmas, and she let me try a little. The scent of this tea fills the room, and it’s totally delicious. It’s pretty good both with and without milk. You get a mocha vibe from it without it being too strong. It’s sweet and desserty. Really nice. You might want to overleaf it because it could be a little thin for some people or maybe too appley – for me it was great.

So I received my order of a handful of Davidstea’s (mostly established favorites).  This one I wavered on…. I was questioning the apple base fitting with the mocha flavoring.  I didn’t want the apple to show up in the cup at all.  I’m glad to report: it doesn’t.  It’s mocha and slightly cocoa and slightly creamy and sweet. NO APPLE.  So the blend does what I want it to do and I’m happy with it!  How could I not be, with those cute tree sprinkles??  It will (hopefully) curb any sweet cravings and also taste mighty nice as a no-caffeine late night option…but with the flavor of mocha it will SORT OF keep me awake? It will trick me a bit.  The lingering flavor is lovely.   The second steep had almost the exact same flavor as the first.  I think I steeped it perfectly.  I’m glad I decided to go with this one when it was much cheaper than usual.  The only thing is any splenda here might age this one quickly.
Steep #1 // 1 1/2 teaspoons for a full mug // 5 minutes after boiling // 4 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 15  minute steep 

Day 10 of our Advent Tea Swap. From amandastory516.

What a fun tea! There are little candies in here shaped like trees plus sugar crystals and pieces of chocolate. Amanda gave me a TON so I opted for two teaspoons today.

I had someone come up to my desk while it was steeping and they asked if I was having hot chocolate. That is indeed how it smells. The taste, however, is not hot chocolate. I mean, there is some chocolate flavor there, but it’s artificial like an artificial sweetener. It’s cloudy too after steeping which isn’t very appetizing. There’s almost a plastic sort of taste to it also which is strange.

This was such a surprising cup for me because the flavor is so much different than the aroma coming from the dry and steeped blend. I know I’ve seen some reviews where others have loved this tea, but I’m thinking it’s not for me.

I found this tea pretty gross, and had to dump it after just a couple sips. The apples create an extremely odd flavor profile against the strong coffee notes. It is also sickeningly sweet, and was overly my main issue. A solid nope for me.

As another reviewer mentioned, this is phenomenal with a touch of vanilla or hazelnut creamer. I like Silk’s soy creamer and it has a lot of flavour but in a way that compliments the coffee bean, toasty, and chocolate notes.