but with a twist!
I’m f-f-f-f-f-freezing! So I wanted a tea with a warming sort of flavour. You know chocolate with chili in it, right?
So I had this chocolate tea and I had this here chili powder and I thought, “hmmmmm…. Self, it’s worth a try.”
I made a small strong pot of chocolate tea and added half a teaspoon of chili, stirred and steeped.
The result was… this very red sort of tea, seriously it’s almost as red as a pu-ehr. It smells like a spicy spaghetti sauce and the flavour has gone really sweet in an unpleasant sort of way, with the hotness of the chili scratching my esophagus all the way down.
It’s not very pleasant and it’s not even warming. It’s not impossible that I used too much chili, but I don’t really feel inclined to experiment further with this.
I’m not going to drink the rest of the pot, but at least I’ve learned something. That in itself is a good thing, right?
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Well the Aztecs drank it that way, but then again a people who loved bloody human sacrifices might not be the best thing to compare yourself against. ;)
Maybe something a bit milder like cinnamon would work instead.
I don’t much care for cinnamon in tea, but I’ve had good experiences with adding other things to this, like for example a smidge of mint tisane.
Elsewhere I was also suggested to try it with cayenne instead of chili since a lot of commercial chili powder is actually a spice mix, and sure enough mine was! So I’m guessing there were several factors that made it a bad experience.
I have soooo many ideas for variations on this tea though!
Now you’ve got me eyeing my Chocolate Chip tea from Adagio in a speculative manner. I afraid of wasting it though since it’s only a sample tin and it’s almost gone.
I think if you started off by adding less chilli (say 1/4 tsp) and slowly work your way up in amount it might turn out better tasting. Ginger might be another warming spice you could add instead. If you’ve ever eaten chocolate-covered ginger you’ll know how good they taste together.
Yeah, I think that might be a tad too much. I suggest using cayenne pepper instead. (AND ONLY A TINY SPRINKLE.)
Jillian: I don’t much care for ginger at all, so that’s not really something I’d ever consider.
I’m not sure it would work with Chocolate Chip…? How is it different from just the chocolate variation? I’m sort of thinking of cookies. :p
Tabby: I’ve had lots of people suggest cayenne, so I’ve filed that away for future experiments. If eventually I decide I dare. ;)
I’ve also had suggestions of ground pepper, so I’m currently looking into what sort of teas they use that with. I suspect not every tea would be able to carry pepper very well.
I’ve never tried the plain chocolate one, but from the description the only difference is the absence of tiny, dark-chocolate chips in the tea. The chips melt in the hot water and it makes the tea extra cocao-y, mmmmmm. Actually I think I’ll make myself of a cup right now. :D
As for the ginger, I’m just sugesting what I remember of the ‘warming’ herbs and spices that are used in eastern medicine.
I think the Cayenne chili (pepper) powder (or any hot chili pepper powder) will work. I’ve used it in hot cocoa to make spiced cocoa. I’ve also used ginger powder (and mint extract and vanilla extract). Use very little and work your way up. Since I do not think steeping will make any difference, you should be able to stir it in before drinking and add more as needed. I do not think black pepper would taste good.
Also, dried herbs and seasonings are about three times stronger than fresh. Chili powder, in America at least, tends to always be the stuff you’d season chili with (as your was) and not hot pepper (chili) powder.
I look forward to hearing about your future experiments and I love your avatar.
Well the Aztecs drank it that way, but then again a people who loved bloody human sacrifices might not be the best thing to compare yourself against. ;)
Maybe something a bit milder like cinnamon would work instead.
I don’t much care for cinnamon in tea, but I’ve had good experiences with adding other things to this, like for example a smidge of mint tisane.
Elsewhere I was also suggested to try it with cayenne instead of chili since a lot of commercial chili powder is actually a spice mix, and sure enough mine was! So I’m guessing there were several factors that made it a bad experience.
I have soooo many ideas for variations on this tea though!
Now you’ve got me eyeing my Chocolate Chip tea from Adagio in a speculative manner. I afraid of wasting it though since it’s only a sample tin and it’s almost gone.
I think if you started off by adding less chilli (say 1/4 tsp) and slowly work your way up in amount it might turn out better tasting. Ginger might be another warming spice you could add instead. If you’ve ever eaten chocolate-covered ginger you’ll know how good they taste together.
Yeah, I think that might be a tad too much. I suggest using cayenne pepper instead. (AND ONLY A TINY SPRINKLE.)
Jillian: I don’t much care for ginger at all, so that’s not really something I’d ever consider.
I’m not sure it would work with Chocolate Chip…? How is it different from just the chocolate variation? I’m sort of thinking of cookies. :p
Tabby: I’ve had lots of people suggest cayenne, so I’ve filed that away for future experiments. If eventually I decide I dare. ;)
I’ve also had suggestions of ground pepper, so I’m currently looking into what sort of teas they use that with. I suspect not every tea would be able to carry pepper very well.
I’ve never tried the plain chocolate one, but from the description the only difference is the absence of tiny, dark-chocolate chips in the tea. The chips melt in the hot water and it makes the tea extra cocao-y, mmmmmm. Actually I think I’ll make myself of a cup right now. :D
As for the ginger, I’m just sugesting what I remember of the ‘warming’ herbs and spices that are used in eastern medicine.
I think the Cayenne chili (pepper) powder (or any hot chili pepper powder) will work. I’ve used it in hot cocoa to make spiced cocoa. I’ve also used ginger powder (and mint extract and vanilla extract). Use very little and work your way up. Since I do not think steeping will make any difference, you should be able to stir it in before drinking and add more as needed. I do not think black pepper would taste good.
Also, dried herbs and seasonings are about three times stronger than fresh. Chili powder, in America at least, tends to always be the stuff you’d season chili with (as your was) and not hot pepper (chili) powder.
I look forward to hearing about your future experiments and I love your avatar.