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Another review I’m moving now that I’ve found the wholesale source; I tried this tea as “Spicy Chocolate Rooibos” by Angry Tea Room (they no longer carry it). It is still available as “Mexican Hot Chocolate” by Par Avion Tea.

This sampler came from the Here’s Hoping Teabox, so thank you to tea-sipper for organizing and all teabox contributers! I prepared this as a small pot of tea in the evening, to hit that evening sweet-tooth craving while not having to worry about caffeine.

The dry leaf had a very sweet chocolately scent, a bit like cinnamon and nutmeg mixed with powdered cocoa, and it also came off as just slightly floral to me. The steeped cup has a very nice cinnamon spice aroma with a hint of cocoa in the background, but I’m a bit of a spice-wuss, so I’m a bit scared of the amount of chili in the blend… But it honestly did not have the kick I was worried about. Really, the tea just has a warmth to it that ends up feeling quite cozy. The rooibos/honeybush base has more of a sweet chocolately note than tasting much like either of the base teas, though I wouldn’t say the chocolate is extremely strong, either; present and noticable, sweet, but not rich or overpowering. The cinnamon is the dominant flavor, and it starts off quite sweet on the tongue, but then the warmth of the spicy chiles settles on the back of the tongue, leaving the finish of the sip slightly spicy, and with a warm, satisfying feeling down the throat and in the stomach. The spiciness doesn’t unpleasantly linger, but I’m sure the tea would also take a bit of milk well to taste, for those even more spice sensitive than myself (and I consider myself pretty sensitive!)

I had my reservations, but this turned out really nice. I’m glad I decided to try this despite the scary “spicy” word and two types of chiles in the ingredients. It reminds me of Mexican cocoa, if the chocolate notes were toned down a bit.

Flavors: Chocolate, Cinnamon, Spicy, Sweet

Preparation
Boiling 5 min, 0 sec 4 g 15 OZ / 443 ML
tea-sipper

Aw, Angry Tea Room doesn’t sell this anymore? I just had this the other day. At least you found some sources.

Shae

How are you tracking down the wholesale sources? I have a few I’d love to find.

Mastress Alita

@tea-sipper: It seems with the exception of “Sue’s Blend” which is Tea Guy’s “Chocolate Ginger Bourbon,” I’m not really seeing Angry Tea Room stocking any other Tea Guy blends anymore. Par Avion Tea seems to be exclusively repackang Tea Guy blends, even ones that have now been pulled from Tea Guys’ retail site (they must have made some of their blends available as wholesale-only now).

@Shae: Careful searching of ingredient lists, mixed with my library science research training, pretty much. There are still some that stump my best efforts, but I have gotten pretty good at it. I’m still in the process of moving a few of my reviews around, because if one mom-and-pop-shop stops carrying something I find it much more meaningful for me to look for a tea using wholesale info and prefer to archive off of that. (And I use my Steepster hive-mind not for inventory, but archival purposes; I have an external spreadsheet I use for up-to-date inventory needs).

tea-sipper

Yeah, you’re good at this kind of thing. I didn’t even notice Angry Tea Room was sourcing from Tea Guys and I’m familiar with their teas.

Shae

Thanks for sharing! I’m so impressed you’re able to find all these.

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tea-sipper

Aw, Angry Tea Room doesn’t sell this anymore? I just had this the other day. At least you found some sources.

Shae

How are you tracking down the wholesale sources? I have a few I’d love to find.

Mastress Alita

@tea-sipper: It seems with the exception of “Sue’s Blend” which is Tea Guy’s “Chocolate Ginger Bourbon,” I’m not really seeing Angry Tea Room stocking any other Tea Guy blends anymore. Par Avion Tea seems to be exclusively repackang Tea Guy blends, even ones that have now been pulled from Tea Guys’ retail site (they must have made some of their blends available as wholesale-only now).

@Shae: Careful searching of ingredient lists, mixed with my library science research training, pretty much. There are still some that stump my best efforts, but I have gotten pretty good at it. I’m still in the process of moving a few of my reviews around, because if one mom-and-pop-shop stops carrying something I find it much more meaningful for me to look for a tea using wholesale info and prefer to archive off of that. (And I use my Steepster hive-mind not for inventory, but archival purposes; I have an external spreadsheet I use for up-to-date inventory needs).

tea-sipper

Yeah, you’re good at this kind of thing. I didn’t even notice Angry Tea Room was sourcing from Tea Guys and I’m familiar with their teas.

Shae

Thanks for sharing! I’m so impressed you’re able to find all these.

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Bio

Hi! I’m Sara, a middle-aged librarian living in southern Idaho, USA. I’m a big ol’ sci-fi/fantasy/anime geek that loves fandom conventions, coloring books, simulation computer games, Japanese culture, and cats. Proud genderqueer asexual (she/they) and supporter of the LGBTQ+ community. I’m also a chronic migraineur. As a surprise to no one, I’m a helpless tea addict with a tea collecting and hoarding problem! (It still baffles me how much tea I can cram into my little condo!) I enjoy trying all sorts of teas… for me tea is a neverending journey!

Favorite Flavors:

I love sampling a wide variety of teas! For me the variety is what makes the hobby of tea sampling so fun! While I enjoy trying all different types of teas (pure teas, blends, tisanes), these are some flavors/ingredients I enjoy:
-Dessert/chocolate/vanilla/caramel/cream/toffee/maple
-Sweet/licorice root/stevia
-Vegetal/grassy
-Floral/lavender/rose
-Spices/chais
-Fruity
-Tropical/pineapple/coconut
-Bergamot (in moderation)
-Roasted/nutty
-Tart/tangy/hibiscus/rosehip

Disliked Flavors:

There are not many flavors or ingredients that I don’t like. These include:
-Bananas/banana flavoring
-Hemp/CBD teas
-Smoke-scented teas/heavy smoke flavors (migraine trigger)
-Perfumey teas/extremely heavy floral aromas (migraine trigger)
-Gingko biloba (migraine trigger)
-Chamomile (used in blends as a background note/paired with stronger flavors is okay)
-Extremely spicy/heated teas
-Medicinal flavors/Ginseng
-Metallic flavors
-Overly strong artificial flavorings

With the exception of bananas and migraine triggers, I’ll pretty much try any tea at least once!

Steeping Parameters:

I drink tea in a variety of ways! For hot brews, I mostly drink my teas brewed in the western style without additions, and for iced tea, I drink teas mostly brewed in the cold brew style without additions. Occassionally I’ll change that up. I use the https://octea.ndim.space/#/ app for water-to-tea ratios and use steep times to my preferences.

My Rating Scale:

90-100 – Top tier tea! These teas are among my personal favorites, and typically I like to keep them stocked in my cupboards at all times, if possible!

70-89 – These are teas that I personally found very enjoyable, but I may or may not feel inclined to keep them in stock.

50-69 – Teas that fall in this range I enjoyed, but found either average, lacking in some way, or I’ve had a similar tea that “did it better.”

21-49 – Teas in this range I didn’t enjoy, for one reason or another. I may or may not finish them off, depending on their ranking, and feel no inclination to restock them.

20-1 – Blech! My Tea Hall of Shame. These are the teas that most likely saw the bottom of my garbage can, because I’d feel guilty to pass them onto someone else.

Note that I only journal a tea once, not every time I drink a cup of it. If my opinion of a tea drastically changes since my original review, I will journal the tea again with an updated opinion and change my rating. Occassionally I revisit a tea I’ve reviewed before after a year or more has passed.

Inventory:

My Cupboard on Steepster reflects teas that I have sampled and logged for review, and is not used as an inventory for teas I currently own at the present moment. An accurate and up-to-date listing of my current tea inventory can be viewed here: https://tinyurl.com/xjt9ptx3 . I am open to tea trades (within the United States only!) at this time. Note that I will not trade teas that I currently have in a quantity less than 50g (samplers, 1oz packages, etc.) or any teas that are currently still sealed/unopened in my cupboard.

Contact Info:

Feel free to send me a Steepster PM, or alternatively, check the website URL section below; it goes to a contact form that will reach my personal e-mail.

Location

Idaho, United States

Website

https://teatimetuesdayreviews...

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