Okay, enough.
I haven’t really read Steepster since at some point before Christmas, having been caught up in the holidays and avid reading of something else that was deemed a little more important to chew my way through at the time. There’s just no way I’m ever going to make it back through all of the Steepster posts I’ve missed. I’ve skimmed back a couple of days and I’m leaving it at that. If I missed anything important, please link me.
For the second tea of the new year, (the first being the orange pu-erh from Nothing But Tea, which Husband has developed an affinity for. You should have heard him try explain why earlier. He sounded like me on Steepster! LOL!) we had the next out of the 52teas Christmas box.
And once again I feel wary. I’m afraid I’ve had some sort of caveat with all the teas in box this year, although in some cases I’ve managed to overcome it. There are only two of the ones that are left that I’m actually looking forward to, so I suppose it’s been a bad 52teas year for me. I recall having better luck last year. Oh well, we can’t win them all, can we?
Anyway, the reason for my hesitation with this time is simply the fact that it’s chocolate flavoured and although I’ve had teas before with some sort of chocolate element to them, I’ve never ever found one that actually tasted properly of chocolate to me. I’m completely open to the idea of a chocolate flavoured tea, and the moment someone manages to make one that works I’ll be the first to swoon. But it hasn’t happened yet. The closest I’ve ever been are those black teas that have a strong naturally occurring note of cocoa. But those aren’t flavoured, and cocoa is not the same as chocolate.
It started out quite well. When I opened the envelope, the first note I noticed was something that reminded me of honey. A strong flower honey. This note persisted after brewing, and now also had a note of chocolate to it. Dark, heavy chocolate and in combination with the strong honey, the aroma of this tea struck me most of all as something akin to a dark chocolate toblerone. Husband thought it reminded him more of stepping into a heavily scented garden, which I consider to be in the same sort of category as my strong flower honey. There was a slight note of milk and of nuts as well.
When I took the first sip, it finally dawned on me why I’ve never managed to find a chocolate flavoured tea that works. When I get something with chocolate I expect a thick and slightly sticky texture, the sort of feeling one get from real chocolate melting on the tongue. When I then get a thin, watery mouthful of tea, it’s just not the same and it breaks the illusion of chocolate quite severely.
Add to this the fact that I might have rather different ideas of what constitutes as chocolate and what doesn’t than many of you Americans. Where I live, milk chocolate must contain at least 25% dry cocoa solids and dark chocolate at least 35% dry cocoa solids. Otherwise it’s not chocolate and is not allowed to be sold under the name of chocolate. The US rules for when chocolate is chocolate are based on how much chocolate liquor it contains, so it’s not directly translatable, but when reading about both it seems, if I understand it correctly, that the US will accept what amounts to less dry cocoa solids than the EU will. This supports my experience with Hershey’s Kisses which some undoubtedly well-meaning soul sent me once. They were quite, quite foul and had little to nothing to do with chocolate. Mind you, this was about a decade or so ago, so I suppose it’s possible that the quality of the product has been increased.
And all of this is why I don’t think this tea lives up to its name. At first there was the initial disappointment that once again a chocolate flavoured tea had failed to work. After having got over that, I could start paying attention to what it actually tasted like, and I have arrived at some very dark caramel. Slightly bitter, with a strong note of burnt sugar to it, but also with just a smidge of sweetness. I discussed this with Husband and while he hadn’t thought of that by himself, he agreed with my assession. It’s nice and all, but to us nothing in this cup even remotely resembles what we understand as ‘chocolate’.
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Glad to see I’m not the only one that was not that impressed with it.
I have pretty much given up on chocolate tea. I love chocolate far too much and I miss that texture. And you are quite right about Hershey’s Kisses – blech.
Chocolate teas are always a bust for me as well :(
I feel like chocolate teas are really hard mostly because so much of eating chocolate is the texture. You can’t really get that in a liquid. I haven’t had this one to say for sure or not, though.
Sigh. The US and food regulations. It really wouldn’t surprise me that we’re missing out. Is there a brand of chocolate you would recommend? I would love to try it and see how different it is.
Della Terra has a couple of nice ones but generally chocolate teas do not thrill me.
Nicole, Exactly. I agree.
JoonSusanna, I wish I could give you specific recommendations, but I don’t know what’s actually available where you live. I seem to recall having heard that you can get Lindt, though, so that’s a good place to start. In general, try to look for something which is produced by a European company, because they’re more likely to sell European chocolate. I can’t guarantee, though, that exported products aren’t modified to local tastebuds. It’s probably more expensive, but give it a go anyway if you find some.
Tor Ince, I don’t think I’ve tried very many almond teas that I can remember. I know there has been some nut ones, but not just off the top of my head. I had a walnut green once, though, which was super sweet, almost to the point of being undrinkable.
I’d like to try that, but I must warn you that I’m currently likely to be a little slow with return parcels. I’ll follow you, so shoot me a message whenever.
I gave my mother some cinnamon flavoured coffee one year for Christmas. My father thought it was dreadful, but she and I quite liked it. (Probably especially me)
Strangely enough, I don’t really care for cinnamon in tea, but I like it in cooking and baking. I think for me it just doesn’t mix well with tea. I’m searching high and low for the Perfect Vanilla Tea, though. No luck yet.
Quince is not super popular here, I don’t think. Husband is English too and if I remember correctly he only had very superficial knowledge of it until I gave him some quince rooibos that I had. I didn’t like it at all, but he loved it. Once upon a time I had a rather enjoyable black tea with quince, but I can’t remember where I got it from and haven’t seen it since. I must admit that I had kind of forgotten about it until you reminded me just now, so I think I’ll keep an eye out now.
‘When I then get a thin, watery mouthful of tea, it’s just not the same and it breaks the illusion of chocolate quite severely"
- YES. THIS!!! I’ve given up on chocolate in teas.
As an American, I think Hershey sucks as well. It has a kinda icky taste. Personally I think it is if you combined real chocolate and bakers chocolate; also it seems to taste better if it is used for baking.
So far, my favorite vanilla black is colonille from serendipitea. We drink a fairly large amount of said tea. Plus, they’re super nice people.
The differences between US and European chocolate are even deeper than percentage of cocoa solids. Speculation was when they started to make chocolate in the USA they did not know exactly how to process the milk and the process they used was different, leading to production of butyric acid. The wikipedia explains it better
""Hershey process" milk chocolate is popular in North America. It was invented by Milton S. Hershey, founder of The Hershey Company, and can be produced more cheaply than other processes since it is less sensitive to the freshness of the milk. The process is a trade secret, but experts speculate that the milk is partially lipolyzed, producing butyric acid, which stabilizes the milk from further fermentation. This compound gives the product a particular sour, “tangy” taste, to which the American public has become accustomed, to the point that other manufacturers now simply add butyric acid to their milk chocolates."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Types_of_chocolate
I really do not like american chocolate and was glad when I was able to understand the whys of it.
About quinces, never had any tea. Beware of one thing though, the ornamental quinces are not nearly as glorious as real ones! They grow very easily in my country and are very popular to make a sort of jam (true marmelada, which gave origin to marmalade). But they need a lot of sun to ripen properly, not sure if the ones growing in England are not the japanese ornamental ones whose fruit is not great. Even the fruit ones have the most beautiful blooms!
I agree…real chocolate, dark and lush…or forget it…it rarely balances well with tea and those few lucky and skillful enough to do it proper, realize that its a balancing act….
Hershey’s might be the most widely available chocolate in the United States, but it is certainly not the only kind made here. Skip the Hershey’s and go for the Scharffen Berger or Green & Black’s.
Green and Black´s is nice, though IMO a bit pricey for what it is and the fairtrade thing apparently slightly dodgy, but it´s a british company isn´t it?
Apparently it was originally … it’s now owned by Kraft Foods, and my current bar was manufactured in Poland. It’s global chocolate now. :)
Everything is sort of global now, Twinings is made in Poland I hear. American candy bars sold in Europe are usually made in Europe and would not be surprised if some brands are owned by Unilever. But I tend to associate the nationality with the original one, so G&B is to my mind british chocolate (as is Cadbury´s which is I think also now owned by the same company or some other boring conglomerate).
Glad to see I’m not the only one that was not that impressed with it.
I have pretty much given up on chocolate tea. I love chocolate far too much and I miss that texture. And you are quite right about Hershey’s Kisses – blech.
Chocolate teas are always a bust for me as well :(
I feel like chocolate teas are really hard mostly because so much of eating chocolate is the texture. You can’t really get that in a liquid. I haven’t had this one to say for sure or not, though.
Sigh. The US and food regulations. It really wouldn’t surprise me that we’re missing out. Is there a brand of chocolate you would recommend? I would love to try it and see how different it is.
Della Terra has a couple of nice ones but generally chocolate teas do not thrill me.
Nicole, Exactly. I agree.
JoonSusanna, I wish I could give you specific recommendations, but I don’t know what’s actually available where you live. I seem to recall having heard that you can get Lindt, though, so that’s a good place to start. In general, try to look for something which is produced by a European company, because they’re more likely to sell European chocolate. I can’t guarantee, though, that exported products aren’t modified to local tastebuds. It’s probably more expensive, but give it a go anyway if you find some.
Tor Ince, I don’t think I’ve tried very many almond teas that I can remember. I know there has been some nut ones, but not just off the top of my head. I had a walnut green once, though, which was super sweet, almost to the point of being undrinkable.
I’d like to try that, but I must warn you that I’m currently likely to be a little slow with return parcels. I’ll follow you, so shoot me a message whenever.
I gave my mother some cinnamon flavoured coffee one year for Christmas. My father thought it was dreadful, but she and I quite liked it. (Probably especially me)
Strangely enough, I don’t really care for cinnamon in tea, but I like it in cooking and baking. I think for me it just doesn’t mix well with tea. I’m searching high and low for the Perfect Vanilla Tea, though. No luck yet.
Quince is not super popular here, I don’t think. Husband is English too and if I remember correctly he only had very superficial knowledge of it until I gave him some quince rooibos that I had. I didn’t like it at all, but he loved it. Once upon a time I had a rather enjoyable black tea with quince, but I can’t remember where I got it from and haven’t seen it since. I must admit that I had kind of forgotten about it until you reminded me just now, so I think I’ll keep an eye out now.
‘When I then get a thin, watery mouthful of tea, it’s just not the same and it breaks the illusion of chocolate quite severely"
- YES. THIS!!! I’ve given up on chocolate in teas.
As an American, I think Hershey sucks as well. It has a kinda icky taste. Personally I think it is if you combined real chocolate and bakers chocolate; also it seems to taste better if it is used for baking.
So far, my favorite vanilla black is colonille from serendipitea. We drink a fairly large amount of said tea. Plus, they’re super nice people.
The differences between US and European chocolate are even deeper than percentage of cocoa solids. Speculation was when they started to make chocolate in the USA they did not know exactly how to process the milk and the process they used was different, leading to production of butyric acid. The wikipedia explains it better
""Hershey process" milk chocolate is popular in North America. It was invented by Milton S. Hershey, founder of The Hershey Company, and can be produced more cheaply than other processes since it is less sensitive to the freshness of the milk. The process is a trade secret, but experts speculate that the milk is partially lipolyzed, producing butyric acid, which stabilizes the milk from further fermentation. This compound gives the product a particular sour, “tangy” taste, to which the American public has become accustomed, to the point that other manufacturers now simply add butyric acid to their milk chocolates."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Types_of_chocolate
I really do not like american chocolate and was glad when I was able to understand the whys of it.
About quinces, never had any tea. Beware of one thing though, the ornamental quinces are not nearly as glorious as real ones! They grow very easily in my country and are very popular to make a sort of jam (true marmelada, which gave origin to marmalade). But they need a lot of sun to ripen properly, not sure if the ones growing in England are not the japanese ornamental ones whose fruit is not great. Even the fruit ones have the most beautiful blooms!
I agree…real chocolate, dark and lush…or forget it…it rarely balances well with tea and those few lucky and skillful enough to do it proper, realize that its a balancing act….
Hershey’s might be the most widely available chocolate in the United States, but it is certainly not the only kind made here. Skip the Hershey’s and go for the Scharffen Berger or Green & Black’s.
Green and Black´s is nice, though IMO a bit pricey for what it is and the fairtrade thing apparently slightly dodgy, but it´s a british company isn´t it?
Apparently it was originally … it’s now owned by Kraft Foods, and my current bar was manufactured in Poland. It’s global chocolate now. :)
Everything is sort of global now, Twinings is made in Poland I hear. American candy bars sold in Europe are usually made in Europe and would not be surprised if some brands are owned by Unilever. But I tend to associate the nationality with the original one, so G&B is to my mind british chocolate (as is Cadbury´s which is I think also now owned by the same company or some other boring conglomerate).