53 Tasting Notes
Enjoyed this more than I thought I would. Not too spicy — kept the steep time shorter than I normally would per everyone else’s experience (thanks, everyone!). The result was rather smooth with a smell and taste that lives up to the name.
Preparation
This has me curious. What’s the difference between this, their ginger black, their masala chai, and their oriental spice?
Did we take the same teas out of the TTB Mike? =P
@Ricky, haha maybe! Maybe I subconsciously took them based on what I had absorbed from your recent tasting notes…kinda scary ;)
Haha, it must be a New York thing ;)
I’m not a Heath Bar guy but recall it as mostly toffee wrapped in chocolate. I didn’t get a sense of the chocolate in this — toffee came through though. Honestly, without the description/name I would have suspected the active flavor to be caramel, not chocolate or toffee. Perhaps it’s my palette…I did notice hints of the “protein bar” smell you’d find in your typical chocolate flavored tea, but it was subtle (much to my preference).
Anyway, I enjoyed the tea, my first from 52teas (received in the TTB: http://steepster.com/discuss/212-travelling-teabox-on-the-way ). It was very smooth, not too sweet (something I was worried about). Overall, a very nice flavored black. Excited to try more from these guys!
Preparation
I like the taste of toffee, just not the hard crunch, so I’m excited about this! Although I’ve personally never gotten a “protein bar” smell from chocolate tea before…
That’s EXACTLY it! “Protein bar!” That’s what’s in most of my chocolate teas! Hahaha, thanks for pointing that out! It was driving me crazy!
I also get a lot of the “Easter bunny plastic chocolate” taste from a lot of chocolate teas as well.
Mike, I know exactly what you mean by “protein bar” chocolate flavor! I liked Simple Leaf’s Dawn if you’re looking for chocolate tea…tasted more like real chocolate, which is strange because it’s not even flavored…
The only unflavored tea I’ve had that tastes flavored is Adagio’s Dancong Aria oolong. I have yet to find a chocolate unflavored tea.:(
I’m finding that I prefer unflavored teas that taste flavored to actually flavored teas. I mentioned Dawn above as being one that tastes like chocolate…I also liked Simple Leaf’s Maharani, which tastes spicy, and “Shanti” was very smoky, but those are two unflavored teas. I haven’t tried enough unflavored yet to give any other recommendations yet, though. :)
This is exactly the same first tea I had from 52teas & TTB! =] What a coincidence!
Shanti, I agree when it comes to Adagio (the only company I’ve experienced that has an unflavored tea that tastes flavored). Dancong Aria tastes much more peachy than their white peach or oolong peach.
Interesting! I really like their white peach and Gemini blend (white monkey, white peony, white peach), but I thought they were already very strong, so I might not like the Dancong Aria (I always want to type Dancing Aria, lol). I prefer delicate flavors, which is probably why I like unflavored teas too.
Cofftea have you tried Adagio’s Black Dragon Pearls? They have a distinctly cocoa taste to them I find.
Yes I have. While I find it a smooth taste, I don’t find them very chocolatey.
Received as a sample with my last order. The (over) use of lemon grass produces a smell reminiscent of lemon scented cleaner. It lacks a fresh flavor, tastes artificial. Wasn’t able to even finish the pot. Sadly, it’s going to take some hard work to remove the smell from my pot :( …won’t miss it when it’s gone…
Preparation
Giving this another shot (although, I haven’t logged it before for some reason…bad Steepsterite!). It’s simply not tart, it’s just bitter. And for a flavored black, especially one named for a fruit, one has greater aspirations. I’ll drink this pot and update if the liquid nearer to the leaves brings some tartness (didn’t mix well post-infuse…which reminds me… new teapot! 34 ounce version of this: http://www.amazon.com/Bodum-17-Ounce-Glass-Stainless-Steel-Filter/dp/B000MWG4CY …love the spout).
Preparation
that’s a cute pot! I assume the infuser bit can be taken out, but does the lid still fit properly if you do that?
Unfortunately no, lid doesn’t sit well if you take it out the infuser, so it lacks that flexibility. But! I just leave the infuser in and push down the plunger (it has a really tight seal at the bottom of the casket, which is what I was looking for…old one started to leak), works well enough for me. Well constructed, easy on the eyes ;)
Hmmm… Doesn’t sound like a good fit for me. I’ll keep looking then. I tend to prefer having my leaves loose in the pot, especially if it’s a larger leaf-size. (Also one’s boyfriend might also choose to comment on the fact that *cough*ten*cough* pots seem to be enough for most other people)
@Angrboda Bodum makes a very similar pot with a removable plastic filter that I use daily. The plastic has started to get a bit stained after several months’ use, but it works well for me.
@Mike I completely agree with you about this tea. It is one of the most bitter teas I’ve ever tasted, which is unfortunate because I love blackberries.
@Angrboda I found the pot I have – it’s the Bodum Assam.
Cool Bethany. I’ll add that to my birthday wishlist. :)
First, the smell reminds me of the pseudo-chocolate flavoring that you’d find in a PowerBar. Not a good thing…in my opinion. The story gets better with taste. The chocolate is far more subtle than the aroma lets on. There are problems with that though, since even though the taste isn’t as offensive as the smell, there’s nothing about it that really stands out. I know none of that gives a very strong impression of what this tea actually tastes like…and I think that’s because I just don’t have an impression. On top of that, I can’t really say I’m looking forward to another brew :(
Preparation
Man that’s disapointing. With a fancy name like ‘Chocolate Souffle’ you’d expect the flavour to be so incredible it knocks your socks off.
Seriously! The name gives you such high hopes…darn these marketing peeps! I guess that’s one of the reasons we have Steepster ;)
Ew. Powerbar.
My Chocolate Souffle Steepster Select came yesterday with this in tow. Reminded me of an apple chai. Not enough apple came through as I had anticipated from the aroma. Given the name, I thought it may have a natural sweetness from the caramel/almonds, but that wasn’t true either. Going to have to give this another shot but my first impression is of slight disappointment. Not a bad option (especially as it’s caffeine-free) for an evening tea, but not great either.
Preparation
After a late night of releasing some updates to Steepster (whoo!), needed something strong. This is almost doing it. Tried a longer steep this time (not recommended)…need the caffeine anyway :)
Preparation
Mix it w/ a chocolate chai- THAT’ll wake you up!=P
Good recommendation! …now only if I had some chocolate chai laying around ;)
ARGH! Every time you log this, it makes me want some of my caramel tea. And I’ve just made somehthing else. Dilemma dilemma dilemma…
Dashboard update is fanTAStic, though. I totally think it was worth the Steepster Overlords staying up late. nods (Also double cool that the downtime was while I was at work and not (supposed to be) around anyway! thumbs up)
Yep, and I was sleeping. Although I knew something was up cuz the tasting note form looked a lil different.
Thanks! We pulled the site down at 2am here and worked on publishing the update till 5:30am or so :) Didn’t want to disturb anyone too much… ;)
