Throwback Thursday! I was a bit sad to see this tea was discontinued… because it was a tart/tangy blend with hibiscus/cranberry/goji I guess it wasn’t very popular so Nil Organic Tea stopped blending it. I’ll admit, when I sampled this a year ago, even me, Queen Hibiscus, found this a bit tart, but it made the most decadent chocolate almond milk latte and I remember it tasted exactly like a cherry cordial, and even plain, it reminded me of those bittersweet dark chocolates with the tart, fruity notes. I had rated it quite highly! I’m a bit sad to see it’s gone. It’s been a while, so it’s well worth revisiting.
The tea is very thick, and I actually have to strain it through a hand strainer, as it is too thick from the cocoa powder and the abundance of fruit to strain through the gravity well mesh. Since the fruit is very thick and chunky, though, it catches easily. And… yes, it is still way too tart to be taken plain. Queen Hibiscus hath spoken. But once that milk goes in… once again, heaven in a cup! I’m sure the most stalwart of hibi-haters would probably still not like this, but the chocolate milk creates that much needed sweet, creamy counterpoint, and the tea was already very thick and slightly creamy from the cocoa powder in the blend, and the tangy/tart berries compliment against that flavor so nicely. It’s like chocolate-covered cherries with a little extra bite, and I love it.
Whenever I have some chocolate almond milk around, and I need to use it up before it goes bad, this is going to be my go-to tea. It isn’t palatable otherwise, but simply divine when turned into a fruity hot cocoa. So my opinion on this one is the same a year later. Rating unchanged.
Maybe when it’s gone I can try infusing a small amount of hibi into cocoa powder… I wonder if it would have the same effect…? Hmm…
Flavors: Berries, Cherry, Chocolate, Dark Bittersweet, Sweet, Tart
Ooh, that sounds like a good one.
Hmm.. hibiscus with berries and chocolate DOES sound somehow delicious.
It’s really nice. Tonight I just skipped infusing in water altogether and dumped the tea into my milk frother and let it wisk, then put a strainer over my cup to catch the berries. Perfection as far as taste and saves the extra step. Should’ve just thought of that from the start.
I’m disappointed that it was discontinued. :( I hope they bring it back so we can all try it. :D
They are a smallish indie company out of Portland. They are currently making a blend with the cocoa powder and fresh mint leaf, but no longer making the hibi one. I’m betting it wasn’t popular… unless she was having trouble sourcing one of the ingredients? Which could also be a possibility. If I still had a bunch of this left I’d offer it out but now I only have a serving or two left at the bottom of the bag!
I’m hoping to go back to Portland in July, if she’s still doing the Farmer’s Market and I can talk to her I may ask her directly about the blend, and if there is any possibility of getting it via special request if the ingredients are still available, or something.
The milk doesn’t curdle because of the hibby?
Nope, not at all. The tea was basically some hibi petals, dried goji berry, and dried cranberry thoroughly dusted in cocoa powder, and when I was finishing it off (which I did this weekend) I actually started to infuse it directly into milk, foregoing water altogether. I’d just dump the tea and milk into my milk frother and let it wisk, and it looked like really frothy hot chocolate. Then I’d put a strainer over my mug as I poured to catch the petals and fruit. It basically tasted like hot chocolate with a subtle tangy cherry undertone.
Fascinating. I was under the impression that it did – I think DavidsTea won’t do teas with hibiscus in them as lattes. But this actually sounds pretty good.
I think it has to do with how acidic the tea is vs. the milk. This is pretty strongly hibi so I don’t think it was a case of being light in the acid content, but I’m wondering if the cocoa binds into the milk in some sort of way that just doesn’t cause the same sort of chemical reaction… I never took chemistry so I haven’t the slightest clue. I only know this tea doesn’t have that issue.
For some reason I didn’t catch this the first time around – are you using non-dairy milk (almond?) If so, maybe that’s the key (although I believe at DT, they have both almond and soy milk available).
Oh, yes I am. I use almond milk or coconut milk depending on the tea latte; in this one I used chocolate almond milk!