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Angrboda

807 Followers / 217 Following

Angrboda drank Chocolate by Adagio Teas

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?

2009-10-16 14:23:43 -0400

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Jillian 2009-10-16 15:56:00 -0400

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.

Angrboda 2009-10-16 16:16:36 -0400

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!

Jillian 2009-10-16 17:25:09 -0400

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.

Tabby 2009-10-16 18:40:26 -0400

Yeah, I think that might be a tad too much. I suggest using cayenne pepper instead. (AND ONLY A TINY SPRINKLE.)

Angrboda 2009-10-17 05:15:38 -0400

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.

Jillian 2009-10-17 15:38:14 -0400

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.

chrine 2009-10-17 16:26:07 -0400

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.

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Bio

Angrboda felt her bio needed to be re-written, but she failed to consider what she wanted it to say instead.

Um…

Okay. Ang prefers black teas and the darker sorts of oolongs. She has to be in the mood for green and white and she enjoys, but knows little to nothing about, pu-erh.

Her preferences with black teas are the Chinese ones, particularly from Fujian, but also Keemun and just about anything smoky. She occasionally enjoys Yunnans but they’re not favourites.

She is sceptical about Indian blacks as she generally finds them too astringent and too easy to get wrong. She doesn’t really care for Darjeelings at all.

She likes flavoured teas as well, particularly fruit flavoured ones, but also has an obsession with finding the Perfect Vanilla Flavoured Black.

However, she thinks Earl Grey is generally kind of boring. Cinnamon and ginger are also not really a hit, and she’s not very fond of chais. Evil hibiscus is evil. Even in small amounts, and yes, Ang can usually detect hibiscus, mostly by way of the metallic flavour of blood it has.

Ang is not super impressed with rooibos or honeybush. She doesn’t care for either, really, but when they are flavoured, there have been known to be surprising exceptions to this rule.

Ang has a number of teas that she regards her Standard Panel and will always try to have on hand.
-Lapsang Souchong, any brand really, but preferably AC Perchs.
-Blackberry flavoured black or similar, any brand.
-Late Summer Blend, AC Perchs
-Raspberry Oolong, AC Perchs OR Red Fruits Oolong, Le Palais des Thes
-Caramel, Kusmi OR Toffee, Le Palais des Thes
-Something orange flavoured, black or pu-erh, any brand.
-Tan Yang Te Ji, Teaspring OR Bai Lin Gongfu, Teavivre
-A good Keemun, any brand.
-The Perfect Vanilla Black if and when she ever finds it…

Angrboda is almost always open to swapping. Just ask her.

The Formalities

Contact Angrboda by email: iarnvidia@gmail.com
Contact Angrboda by YIM: angrboda@ymail.com
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