Chocolate Chamomile Curiosity Brew

thank you momo for sending a bit of this to try! I was a little wary of this blend, send it sounded like an odd mess of stuff. But I thought since it was Verdant, it couldn’t be that bad, right? Well, it kind of tastes how I thought it would. To be fair, I didn’t use two teaspoons since my infuser only holds one. But there was an ick trio: chamomile, mints, and a bit of cinnamon. That just sounds terrible. I didn’t find ANY chocolate here. And an oolong and black tea blend sounds intriguing, but not here. The steep color was a deep yellow, so it really didn’t seem like there was much black tea here. I couldn’t taste the oolong either… just the ick trio. I really need to get a brew basket. I don’t think I gave this the chance it deserved. But maybe it just isn’t my cup of tea.

Man, how to describe this tea. It all sounds like the craziest mix of ingredients but somehow it really blends well together. I can taste the mint and the chocolate before anything else. Then I notice the chamomile. The main reason I generally dislike chamomile is because it causes this tingly burny feeling in the back of my throat. I don’t know if I’m allergic or if chamomile just does that. So yeah, I get a bit of that tingle from the chamomile and some sweetness from the fennel. Let me say, I generally really dislike anything licorice, but here, it’s just a rich sweetness. The balance of flavors is truly amazing. Somehow, it reminds me of seeded rye bread. Smooth balanced rounded brew. Very unique and very interesting. I can’t say I love it, but I am impressed with the care with which this blend was created. Wow!

EDIT ah! Forgot to thank Kittenna for this sample! Thank you! It’s amazing!

I was lying about not having hot tea anymore for the summer. I can’t do it!

My mom asked me on Sunday to knit an afghan for my grandma to put on her bed. When I first went to visit her, she had this fleece blanket I added an eyelash yarn border to on her bed so I was more than happy to accept this task since she would pay for the yarn. Only problem is I haven’t knit in FOREVER and it’s because I always lose steam quickly…so many unfinished projects. I’m hoping this tea will be an excellent motivator since I went from 10 rows on Monday to 2 yesterday. Of course it doesn’t help that I’m busy on other things, but right now I have the time for this tonight.

This is really nice. It’s not really chocolate bar chocolatey, but instead reminds me a lot of natural cocoa powder. There’s that definite cacao flavor but without being super sweet. And I love how much cinnamon I am getting from it. Last month, I tried a cocoa mole ale, but it was waaaay too much for me so I made cupcakes with it, topping them with a cinnamon chocolate buttercream. This tastes just like the buttercream but as a tea. I wish I had tried this before then, because a slight touch of mint like I can taste in here would have made it even more incredible.

I have some in the freezer and I am so tempted to make another cup of this and pop one in the microwave! Except I just looked at the clock so maybe tomorrow.

This is very comforting, and quite intriguing. I’ve started to enjoy chamomile, and I can tell it helps bring together the flavor in this tea.

Verdant’s blends are so cool. I was thrilled to see the combination of the Laoshan black, which is just the best ever, and Big Red Robe. And chocolate, of course!

The layers of flavour in this are amazing. There’s a lot going on, but it ties together incredibly well. I received it in the February tea of the month box, and only read the description included before trying it. I was a little apprehensive at the somewhat vague mention of “spices”, as I’m not typically good at isolating and pinning down what it is I’m tasting but hate not being able to identify flavours. My reaction to the first sip was: wow, is there mint in this? Ooh, there’s the cacao. I think I taste cinnamon, and is there fennel in there?

Spot on! That’s a first for me. I can make each out clearly, but they work together to make a tea that tastes like raw chocolate laced with spices and mild mint. Perfection! I’m not sure if I can make out the marigold and/or chamomile. I think they’re just mingling in there with the rest. I’m also getting the sweet, malty characteristics from the two base teas, but they seem to blend pretty seamlessly.

Love this tea. I’ve been craving flavored teas recently, and this is one of my favorites. As long as Verdant offers it, I will keep this in stock in my house.

wow. um. i must really not like chamomile.
i mean, everyone likes verdant mostly, and i figured why not get this sample, cuz heck there’s chocolate in the name. but um no thank you.
there was a whole dried flower in the bag and i’m really not into it.

i now have two boxes going. they are 12 × 16 × 6 size boxes. one box is samples & swaps i have tasted and the other is samples & swaps i still need to taste. this might be adding to my tea blahs. it kinda looks like a big task when i have it all piled up like that.

jeez i wish i had brought a giant matcha latte with me today. that probably would have fixed me right up!

also, sleeping more instead of staying awake and reading sherlock slash until 2am would probably be a good idea too.

0.75 tbsp for 188 ml

Brewed tea has a very distinct hay-like note. This is balanced well with chamomile scent and a chocolatey aroma in the background.

The chamomile is the predominant flavour. Mint in the background. Not detecting any cacao flavour. There is a very strong sweetness close to the middle of the sip which may be from the fennel or the spearmint.

Very slight hints of cacao coming through as the tea cools. The hay note from the aroma seems to be coming through as well.

Second infusion at 3 minutes. The chamomile is still present as well as the mint in the background. I’m able to better place the hay note from before as a salted and roasted peanut-like flavour. It is quite strong in this brew!

Thanks to Indigobloom for sharing!

I got this as a sample from Azzrian. It’s been sitting for a while just waiting for the right time to brew it. When I saw that Verdant was going to be discontinuing this tea, I knew I had to try it. Nothing is more disheartening than try a tea sample you really like, only to discover it’s no longer available.

I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to rinse the tea or not. On the website it says you should, but here it says you don’t. Since I was lazy, I decided not to.

The tea turned out absolutely delicious. You can definitely taste the mint and chamomile. I’m not the biggest chamomile fan, but it works here. I’m having a little harder time detecting the cocoa, but I like how the black tea undertones are working for this.

The second infusion didn’t have quite as strong of a minty flavor, but it’s definitely still there. This is an interesting tea, and I’ll be sad to see it go, but interesting to see what new stuff they have in store.

“What a curious plan!”
― Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

Dry: This is one of the prettiest teas I have in the cupboard right now. 10/10 on presentation. Huge pieces of chamomile with entire intact flowers along with cacao nibs, marigold petals, spearmint, and large lovely twisty tea leaves. I’ve never tried Wuyi Big Red Robe before this, but Laoshan Black is my favorite straight black tea. The dry leaf smells mainly of spearmint, so I was slightly concerned that the mint took over in the bag initially.

Steeped: I rinsed the leaves before steeping per the instructions and the tea itself is a light gold clear liquor. The steeped fragrance is different than I expected- a rich and interesting blend of my favorite tea with playful hints of mintiness, chocolate, and spices like cinnamon.

Taste: This tea is perfectly named! The first sip tastes like a smooth spearmint blend. Along the tongue, the tea changes into something else with hints of cacao and chamomile, rich and smooth. In the aftertaste, I still taste cinnamon and a hint of something else more savory- maybe another spice or notes from the base teas. It is a very interesting and enjoyable brew. Additionally, it holds up to multiple steeps and each one yields something a little bit different- more chocolate here, more chamomile there, more spices, etc. In the summer, I imagine it would be quite tasty iced. Overall, I am very glad I tried it and have sincerely enjoyed the experience. This is my first blend from Verdant and I look forward to trying others in the future.

Hmm, I’m not really sure what to make of this tea. Glad I only bought a sample. I think there’s too much going on here and some notes are clashing with each other. The chamomile actually seems out of place here, especially when you have the fennel dancing around amongst the mint notes. I can barely taste the base, and the chocolate is nowhere to be found, also. It’s just an odd power struggle amongst the chamomile and fennel for vice presidency, while the mint is sitting on top as the president, but they’re not making a good team!

I normally really appreciate all these notes but they’re just not working here. Last cup and I added some honey. I helps bring out the chamomile more but my taste buds are still slightly perplexed. I mean, it’s not terrible but rather, unfocused and lost in places.