Chocolate Chip

Discovering Adagio teas, episode #9 (out of 12).

And satisfying my sweet tooth. Currently I don’t eat sweets per se, but I don’t mind dessert teas, so this time I’m drinking te chocolate chip one.

It has a great smell after opening the zip bag, with a lot of cocoa nibs and chocolate.
After steeping, the aroma is still dominated by chocolate (of course), but it’s not one dimensional. You can sense milk chocolate, cocoa nibs and chocolate liqueur in it, plus a hefty dose of vanilla.
The taste is more cocoa-like than chocolate-like, with solid notes of roasted cocoa, creamy, mellow texture, some vanilla and only slight sweetness. Rich, very rich, even a bit heavy, but you don’t drink such teas on an everyday basis, so that’s not a problem,
This tea would probably teste well with some milk. I’ll try it this way one day.

Here’s Hoping Teabox – Round Seven- Tea #18
The first steep on this one, the black tea didn’t taste like the usual black tea Adagio uses, like possibly it was weaker. But the second steep was more itself somehow. Only cocoa nibs and tiny chocolate chips here, so I didn’t expect a huge amount of chocolate flavor, but there was some. And the black tea really helps with the chocolate flavor too. Cocoa shells, Adagio…. cocoa shells!!

(PART 1/4 of Adagio’s Sweet tooth Sampler)
Chocolate chip.
I really like the idea of having those little cocoa nibs in a tea, especially since I love chocolate so I expected to like it. But after opening the bag, I was worried about the smell and taste of all the chocolate flavourings (which smelled very unlike real chocolate, even a little like cheap alcohol). And while the smell was more tolerable than Tiger Eye I found the taste to be rather lacking. Definitely NOT like a hot chocolate, but it’s trying to be. It’s MUCH better with milk and sugar, but the plain version is just that : plain. It is not really decadent, tastes more like a piece of chocolate that accidentally fell into hot water instead of milk : tangy, a little bitter, a mild sweetness with milk and dark chocolate-y flavors and a little chalky. The Ceylon is very subtle, but makes for a more rounded taste and as a result much more enjoyable.

The worst part is the smell. I usually don’t have a problem with having additional flavoring in tea as long as it doesn’t taste funky, but I’ve discovered that the smell of many Adagio dessert teas doesn’t sit well with me. Or maybe I got a bad batch since not many seem to have the same problem? As long as I put it in my thermos I don’t have this problem and can actually enjoy it, but otherwise it smells off… I can see how some people could like it though but my least favorite of the 4.

A mellow, slightly chocolatey tea that’s not at all sweet like many “chocolate” teas can be.

I love chocolate. I practically live on it. But for some reason, I’m not a big fan of chocolate in teas. It just doesn’t do it for me. I had the sample size of this tea because a co-worker loves it. I ended up throwing it out because I hardly ever drank it and when I did, I wasn’t happy.

It’s probably a perfectly good tea. I just don’t like choco teas. I wish I did. :(

Enjoying a little Chocolate Chip this morning, combined (I almost always take this tea with another one…I like my chocolate flavoring with something else, not so much by itself) with the last of my Coconut Macaroon. It’s really nice, and I can get away with using less sweetener, because chocolate is one of those flavors that I like just fine on the un-sweet side. Yes, I have been known to drizzle plain, unsweetened “bakers” chocolate on top of homemade energy bars, trusting the raisins in the bar to carry enough sweetness. My kids think I’m insane.

I just have to say, this is a tea I’m keeping as a pantry staple. I never drink it alone (chocolate flavored tea by itself just seems boring), but it combines SO WELL with other flavors. I like it with all manner of chais, with this coconut tea, with my Irish Breakfast, even with some herbals like Peppermint. I can’t imagine not having it on hand.

I got a sample of this tea from my friend Tina and I’m really happy that I did. I really enjoy it. There is a really strong and pleasant smell when it’s not yet brewed. I like that it’s not overly sweet and it doesn’t have any bitterness to it either. The mix of chocolate and Ceylon really works well for me.

Backlog from yesterday…I think it was yesterday… hmm..

Another from the TTB I currently have. I’m a sucker for chocolate and also like it in my tea if it’s done well. This one hit the spot. It’s a nice black tea with a milk chocolate flavor to add to it. Neither flavor competes with the other… a little sugar and it’s a nice treat.

On another note, Hubby is stuck working on a rental property of ours today. Apparently the water line is leaking somewhere between the house and the water meter… Ugh! & the water prices in town are craziness anyway! Hopefully it’s an easy fix and the city doesn’t make him re-do the whole line. .!!! They can be pretty picky sometimes. We had plans to clean out the garage today and to go look at tv antennas and such as we are seriously considering ditching cable for now. We’re not sports nuts and we find ourselves watching Netflix much of the time so why pay for what we aren’t really using? Well, we’ll get to it sometime.

I didn’t think I would like a chocolate tea, but the hubs was keen to try it so we ordered a sample. (He has a bit of a sweet tooth…and by “a bit” I mean he practically mainlines sugar for most of the day)

Anywho… I’m glad he talked me into this one. The first steep is a little rough for me…the black tea overpowers the chocolate and almost comes off a bit burnt. BUT! The second and third steeps? WHOA NELLY! AMAZING! The second and third steeps have a nice balance of vanilla and chocolate with just a mild hint of the black tea thrown in for good measure. I would give this a higher rating if we could skip that first steep!

Give this one a shot…just brace yourself for that first steep. It’s a doozy!