I finally got around to ordering from TeaSpring! Yay! It’s only taken ages. Since I ordered mostly black teas (just a few oolongs), my goal is to start my day with a new TeaSpring tea each morning. This morning, I pulled this one out of the tub o’ goodies, and I must tell you – I think I’m in love.
The dry leaves smell like a hot chocolate mix. Not just cocoa, but hot chocolate. There’s a sweeter smell to the steeped tea with a woody toasted note, too. All of which is really lovely, but it is the fast that really gets me. Sweet and syrupy and creamy with a super silky mouthfeel. The main flavor is of syrup – not quite maple syrup but a little more flavorful than the generic pancake syrup, probably because of the strong malt notes. Malt syrup? And there’s a lovely cocoa aftertaste. Not overly strong but like I’ve eaten a very nice dark chocolate just a few minutes earlier. And there’s a tiny prickle left on my tongue gives me the faint suggestion of pepper.
I have to admit, this is delightful. TeaSpring says that you can blend this with sweetened milk to make it taste like chocolate milk but honestly? Why would you want to cover up the lovely malt syrup and cocoa notes it has? I must go have another cup!
Updated: The second steep? WONDERFUL! The sweetness has shifted a little to the back of the taste, giving a stronger “normal” malt flavor up front and a delightful caramel chew-ish taste at the end with a faint aftertaste of toasted bread and a hint of that pepper-ish prickle.
