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“SIPDOWN! So apparently I never reviewed this before, and now I’m sipping it down, so I better do so now! In fact, if I had known I never wrote a review of this previously, I would have tasted it...” Read full tasting note
“This was the tea of the week for February 4. This is really tasty on it’s own – the white chocolate adds some creaminess to it – but I prefer it as a latte. Most of the chai blends that I’ve made...” Read full tasting note
Tea of the Week for February 3, 2019!
If I’m completely honest, I’m not a big fan of white chocolate. I absolutely adore dark chocolate. I also love milk chocolate. I’ve often referred to myself as a chocoholic & it’s dark chocolate – and to a somewhat lesser extent milk chocolate – that I’m addicted to. White chocolate – on the other hand – not so much.
Oh, I like white chocolate OK but I certainly am not addicted to it. I could go weeks, months, even a couple of years without indulging in it & I doubt I’d even miss it. I will turn down white chocolate in many forms including white chocolate truffles & white chocolate ice cream. I probably wouldn’t turn down a freshly baked white chocolate macadamia nut cookie, but if it isn’t fresh & warm, I’d be more likely to turn it down. I guess what I’m trying to say is that – for the most part – white chocolate just comes off as too sweet for my palate. I prefer the complexity of a good quality dark chocolate over the sickly sweetness of white chocolate.
One exception to my anti-white chocolate snobbery would be as part of a black tea blend. I like the way the creaminess of the white chocolate works with the robust notes of the black tea. White white chocolate comes off as too sweet in confections, with tea, that sweetness finds a nice contrast with the rich flavor of black tea. It just works for me.
White chocolate is one of those ingredients that I’m often asked to utilize in blends more often – so I decided to craft a chai blend using black tea to answer those requests, but I wanted to make this chai a little less ordinary.
I started off ordinarily enough – with a rich blend of organic Assam teas – & added some of the “usual” masala spices: cinnamon, clove, cardamom, ginger & black pepper. Then I decided to use some pink & white peppercorns too as well as some bay leaf (white chocolate & bay leaf work together incredibly well) & of course, some white chocolate chips. (Vegan white chocolate, of course!)
The result is a delicious, warmly-spiced but not too spicy (I didn’t want to overwhelm the creaminess of the white chocolate too much), fragrant & sweet white chocolate-y cuppa yum that’s not only vegan, but also gluten-free, nut-free & all-natural!
ingredients: white chocolate chips (sugar, palm oil, soy flour, emulsifiers, soy lecithin, cocoa butter, salt, flavors, vanillin)
organic ingredients: black teas, ginger, cardamom, cinnamon, clove, peppercorns (black, white & pink), bay leaves & natural flavors
At 52teas.com, you will find unique, hand-blended artisan loose leaf teas: a new limited edition creation every week of the year. We pride ourselves on offering truly unique, one-of-a-kind tea blends that you won’t find anywhere else.
SIPDOWN!
So apparently I never reviewed this before, and now I’m sipping it down, so I better do so now! In fact, if I had known I never wrote a review of this previously, I would have tasted it before I latted it. But I didn’t so this review is of a latte.
Ok, so I will say right off the bat that I’m getting a large note of peppercorn from this. I don’t mind it, actually, it’s refreshing. Not enough chais have a strong pepper flavor, and I’m a huge fan of pepper, sooo…
There is also a very clear white chocolate flavor to this. The milk only amplifies it, and it’s heavenly. Now I’m getting sad that this is a sipdown, because I feel like I’ve been sleeping on this. It’s delicious. I’m saying now that the rest of the chai flavors besides the peppercorn are muted, but that could be the latte doing that. You can tell it’s a chai, but it isn’t a particularly spicy one. That’s fine though, I can deal with a mild chai. However, that delicious white chocolate is so good that I could drink this all day. (You know, come to think of it, the mildness could be due to the slight underleaf. As this was a sipdown, I only had what was left in the bag, and it wasn’t quite enough for my 12oz mug, so that could be why it is so weak on the spice. I also probably could have steeped it longer. Just a thought.)
I’m saying this now if this ever gets reblended, I’m getting more. It’s good stuff. Love it. Great job as usual!
Flavors: Peppercorn, Spices, White Chocolate
This was the tea of the week for February 4. This is really tasty on it’s own – the white chocolate adds some creaminess to it – but I prefer it as a latte. Most of the chai blends that I’ve made in the past have been ones that I’d prefer served straight – this one is definitely best served as a latte and I’m loving that. Creamy, nicely spiced and just – so – good!!!
I wanted to make this one a little different, so I added bay leaf to the blend in addition to the usual masala spices of cinnamon, cardamom, clove, ginger and peppercorns (I used not just black pepper but white and pink peppercorns too). The bay leaf gives this a slight earthiness – as well as enhances the spice notes overall.
sounds interesting :)
I made this as a latte yesterday and it was delicious that way. :D I’ve only made like 3 tea lattes in my life so I don’t know if I made it correctly but it was delicious lol.
My thoughts on that are if you are enjoying it, then you made it correctly. :)
Seriously, though – that’s what it’s all about. Enjoying what you’re drinking!
