Cacao Mint Black

I’m a sucker for a mint chocolate flavour in all food and this tea doesn’t disappoint. It is more minty than chocolate and does tend to run bitter if over steeped but if done right or even under it is like a mini dessert. I find milk and a sweetener improves it even more. I’ve tried both rock sugar and agave nectar and been pleased with both additions. Add in some plain biscuits for dipping and you have a nice treat for yourself and ,dare I say it, a replacement for a chocolate bar.

First cup of “fall.” Weather is chilly. Tea is delicious. I add a bit of honey and that sweetens the sips.

This is a good, standard flavoured black. It doesn’t taste artificial, and is naturally sweet. Not something I drink often but it really hits the spot on days where I need something a little uplifting.

Stronger mint than chocolate, but still a good cup.

I think this may be the only Teavana tea left that I haven’t written about. I am not sure I tried it before today.

There are no surprises here. It smells like chocolate mint in the dry leaf, and in the steeped tea. In the steeped tea’s aroma, the mint is stronger than the chocolate. This is also true of the flavor. I wonder whether it’s just the luck of the spoon, though. It’s possible a different spoonful would yield more chocolate. I should probably shake up the tin before scooping next time.

It’s ok. There’s nothing objectionable about it. And, as I said, there are no surprises. It’s just not spectacular.

Here is the third and last of the teas I picked up at Teavana in Rochester while I was going to appointments at Mayo. This one sounded really good and I won’t have any trouble finishing the 2 ounces. But I don’t enjoy it as well as the Minted Monkey from Tippy’s. I think the mint must be quite strong because I can almost smell it. That is, I feel the coolness of mint when I lift the steaming cup to my lips and after I swallow. Can’t speak for the chocolate aspect. I would call this tea pleasant. Probably won’t pick it up again, but I’ll happily drink what I have.

Another office Sipdown. I love this tea! I’ll definitely be getting it, or something similar, again. I brewed it really strong but that’s partly because I was trying to use it up and partly because I just like my tea strong. (Maybe because I’ve drank coffee a lot longer in my life than tea?) Anyway I think it’s held up well for resteeps and I just love the way it smells and tastes, like Andes Chocolate Mints. :)

Surprisingly, for a Teavana tea, I actually like this one, for the most part. I thought for sure I had reviewed it before, but apparently not, or Steepster has eaten the review.

This is minty but I’m not picking up much chocolate. One of the other reviews I read suggested adding some hot chocolate and I think I might do that next time if I have any on hand. It was a bit disappointing otherwise.

In other news, I spent way too much time looking through posted teas on this site for spam tea. Found a surprising amount. Highlight was the escort girl spam. I’ve run through the first 500 pages of tea now. I’ll work on the rest later.

Sipdown (143/151)!

This is another sample from 221Tea – and this one I cold brewed. The idea was to try and recreate the delicious success I had with cold brewing Della Terra’s Minty Cow since these two blends are pretty similar. It worked.

Basically, this was like very smooth mint chocolate chip ice cream, but without as much vanilla in it as the Minty Cow. On the whole, Minty Cow is definitely better because of the vanilla aspect but for my mood at the time I drank this I think an absence of vanilla was more satisfying. Refreshing, and I suppose I’d drink it again if it was prepared the same way. Otherwise, not a restock and not a blend that holds my attention.

Nice chocolatey, pepperminty aroma, very well-balanced in terms of aroma (neither was overpowering, nor was one stronger than the other). Had a slightly more chocolatey flavor than pepperminty, although the peppermint lingered a bit more. I brewed mine perhaps a bit more strong (5 minutes) than recommended, but there wasn’t a bitter aftertaste (as can sometimes happen when oversteeping). A nice dessert tea that wasn’t too sweet.