Raspberry Ganache

Had a pot of this last night after dinner, caffeine be damned. Rich chocolate, juicy raspberry, a great dessert black tea with a teaspoon of amber sugar (highly recommend that as well!) and some milk. Glorious.

It definitely smells like Raspberry Ganache while steeping. It came out very bitter for me. I don’t think I oversteeped but I did get distracted by tossing a load of laundry in so it is possible. The raspberry is there and I get a “sense” of chocolate but also a chemical/artificial flavor kind of like coffee. This one was a cup that I didn’t finish.

I couldn’t pick up much scent from the little Tea Forte pyramid sachet. (But they are so cute and I am in love with the little triangular boxes…) So I went overboard and started the cup bag-in. You pick up the raspberry first; sweet, not tart, with the chocolate following very subtly in the background.

Then I got distracted (imagine that!) watching “25 Words or Less,” my vacation game show addiction, and it started heading toward bitterness. So between rounds, I removed the sachet, added some milk and reheated. With a little creaminess added to the mix, I think the bottom of the cup was better than the top.

Sipdown (690)!

This one was really weird; it tasted so distinctly of raspberry and chocolate that I really did get the “Raspberry Ganache” imagery quite clearly but it achieved that in the most artificial way possible. Nothing about the tea felt natural, harmonious or balanced. 100% gave a “chocolate flavouring” impression over, well, “chocolate”. Accuracy can only get you so far if the quality of the flavouring is just shit.

Miss for me.

I’m suprised at how good this is.

Cup one was brewed up strong with a generous amount of vanilla soy milk. It was rich, creamy, decadent. and very, very raspberry flavoured. It almost seemed buttery and creamy. (I was expecting cocoa with the word ganache in there, but maybe they mean ganache made with no chocolate?)

Cup two was less than stellar. No milk this time and although the dry leaf smelled delicious there was almost no raspberry flavour left. The base was weak and slightly bitter. It was a good blend just based on how amazing that first cup was, however it doesn’t resteep well.

Love the smell of this tea!!! This is from a single steeps sampler Warming Joy I picked up at Home Goods—needless to say I went back for more, even though the others are drinkable but not favorites. I only need to use half of a “single steep”—the whole sachet is too strong for me (then I get double for my $, right?) The smell of this chocolate raspberry is fantastic—like a high quality truffle. I pass it around work to smell and everyone goes “ooooh, ahhhh, that smells great!”. I use my tea forte kati cup, and the “hot” setting on the water dispenser, and seems to make the perfect tea, not even needing my usual honey. I am really good at determining fake smells, but this reeks of true chocolate, and juicy raspberry to me. Had it not been in the sampler, it is not a flavor profile I would normally be drawn to.

I think this was limited edition, which is good. This is terrible! There is a faint hint of raspberry (though it honestly tastes almost more like apple to me), and no chocolate flavor whatsoever. I’ve tried it plain, with some sugar, with sugar and milk…nada. I mean, OK, it is drinkable but not enjoyable. I’ve held onto this one for a while, because every time I try it, I refuse to think that a tea that supposedly is two of the flavors I most love in the world can be so awful, but it is now time to send it on its way. Blech.