Buckwheat Tea Drink With Cocoa Grist

This was a gift from derk, thank you so much!

Some rain has finally pushed in this morning, causing me to brew my first cup of hot tea in months. I enjoy plain mugicha, so I’ve been looking forward to this!

I’m surprised how strongly I can smell the cocoa on the nose. It’s sweet, like chocolate chip cookies on a cooling rack. It really comes through in the taste, too! I was expecting that strong, roasty, coffee-esque flavor of the barley with maybe a chocolately background hint, but instead I’m getting gooey chocolate chips and sweet dough with crispy cooked edges. There is something a little peanutty about the flavor too, reminding me of soba tea.

It’s not what my brain was expecting, but it’s delicious! Tastes more like chocolate chip cookies than any tea I’ve ever had before specifically titled as such.

mmmm… of course I love this one.  Thanks so much, Kawaii433!  Other Steepsterers have not been wrong about this one!  I knew I loved buckwheat… it’s a fantastic flavor change from a usual nighttime tea. BUT THEN added with anything chocolate flavored!  That is amazing stuff.  The buckwheat itself is somehow a complex flavored thing — I swear each sip is different as it moves around my tastebuds.  And the chocolate just mixes perfectly with it.  However, I think it would be even better with cocoa shells than cocoa nibs.  I could always remedy that though, and add my own cocoa shells.
Steep #1 //  1 1/4 teaspoons for a full mug // 10 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 //   just boiled // many minute steep (10+?)

Kawaii must’ve gone back in time to hijack an Aloha Airlines plane to use their cookie oven and then piloted the plane through a portal above Mt Shasta only to end up in my kitchen 4 hours and 30 minutes south down I-5 with a pan full of warm chocolate chip cookies that turned into a mug of tea as she disappeared before my eyes with arms full of smiling kitties.

Really, you shouldn’t have!!

2tsp:10oz, 212F, 5+ min

A little sample of this came my way from ashmanra (thank you kindly)! I’ve never tried buckwheat tea in any configuration, but after smelling this as it steeped and tasting it afterward, I don’t think there could be a better combination. Scented just like fresh chocolate chip cookies! The flavor is milder, but certainly carries the cookie vibe well.

Conditions being what they are, and this originating from a Russian company, I’m thinking the opportunity to purchase this may be limited in the future, but for this moment, I’m sitting here smelling the empty mug and smiling.

So I love buckwheat tea. Always buying all kinds. This company makes one with cocoa grist so I decided to try it. Let’s just start that the aroma is utterly intoxicating. The chocolate aroma is similar to someone is baking cookies. I can’t get enough of the aroma. The taste is equally as good and it isn’t sweet. It’s chocolately. I mean, real chocolate notes not an “Am I just fabricating the taste in my mind?” type of chocolate tea. The cocoa goes so well with buckwheat.

I tried to find other makers of a similar combination but the only one is this one and it is from Russia. I have bought 3 or 4 bags of it because I always want it around. The kicker is… I don’t even like desserts but this is so good, so comforting to me and it is good for me.