Choco Nut Blend

This was the final tea served at tea party today. I didn’t want food interfering with tasting this one so I held it in reserve.

This is a free sample provided by Russel Allyn and Harney and Sons. Many thanks!

The aroma is definitely predominantly chocolate, but the taste is much more. I didn’t remember exactly what I read about this blend other than chocolate, caramel, and peanut. I tasted all those things but there was something more. That something was keeping the dark chocolate from being a cloying taste and lending a bright flavor that made this rich dessert tea really dance for the palate. I wondered if it could be an extra lemon-y Ceylon base but that wasn’t it. The tea base was so smooth and wasn’t quite the same as that sort of Ceylon, which can be a little astringent. Besides, this was sunny-bright, not citrus-bright.

I looked at the official description. Apricots! That was the bright, sunny flavor! There are also marigold petals, but I don’t know how much flavor they add or exactly what the flavor they add would taste like. They may have imparted some brightness to the dark chocolate as well.

Another winner for the new Ambessa line of teas by H&S!

1000? How’d that happen? Somebody’s spending too much time flitting online, huh?

This was my treat to myself after nearly breaking my back loading up building plans and blueprints for Fed Ex. It was like wrestling a flat, contentious moose.

And a treat it is, thank you, ashmanra. The chocolate-peanutty against apricotty-marigoldy is unusual, but mighty tasty!

Tea of the morning….

Thank you to Russel of Harney & Sons Millerton shop for the chance to sample this one! Oh my, it is like a candy bar in a cup. Notes of chocolate, peanut, caramel for sure. I do catch a little something fruity sweet in there, too. Must be the apricot. One thing that really stands out is the tea base is a little more hefty than most dessert tea blends. A little malt, a slight briskness. The mouthfeel is quite notable….it is heavy for sure, and this adds to the rich desserty feel of the tea. Yum. Very well done, Mr. Samulesson and Mr. Harney!

Usual mug method.

I need another Harney Logo mug when I order a few of these tins. The mugs stand up so well to the temperature extremes of brewing tea. Unfortunately, most of my regular mugs have become a safety hazard from making tea in them all the time….the bottoms were cracking out of them and I had to get rid of 5 of them as a consequence of my tea habit (and of course they are discontinued, too). So, this is a PSA! Check the bottoms of your mugs for cracking if you make tea in a mug very often! The cracks weaken the structure of the mug and it will eventually break. Plus, it probably harbors bacteria, which is not good, either.

Totally forgot i had this one today until i was taking the last sip out of my travel mug. This one tastes a lot like H&S’s valentine’s blend to me. It’s likely slightly different, though not so much that I can recall what about the other blend is different lol.

Which means that suits me just fine. I’m not getting the nut flavour out of this one but that might be how i steeped it. I got distracted at work and steeped it forever. I also put in twice the normal water, assuming it was like H&S sachets even though the directions are crappy and say nothing about water volume lol

I was disappointed with this one, as it sounded like it would be such a hit. It tasted slightly smokey, with a hint of peanut…and then a SUPER weak chocolate note. The base tea was oily, which helped the peanut note, but it was just “meh” overall.

Tried sweetening with sugar – ehn. Didn’t improve it.
Tried with milk – brought out the nut note a bit more.

I have a couple Harney teas in my cupboard that involve chocolate that I like, so was a bit mystified at this blend. Maybe my sample was old? Who knows.

Marigold petals, dark black tea, and dried apricot create a beautiful blend to look at. Aromas of chocolate and nut are prominent both in dry tea and brewed liquor. The flavor is rich and velvety, the apricot bolstering the nuttiness, and the smooth black tea adding to the chocolate. A sweet treat with honey!
-RA

Thanks to ashmanra for the sample! I now have a 20-sachet tin of this stuff on order, along with two of the other varieties offered by Harney’s Ambessa Tea. (The Lingonberry Green is out of stock, boo-hoo.) If you go to the Harney’s website, search for the keyword Ambessa to see all 4.

I guess I am a sucker for chocolate teas. This reminds me very much of Florence, which I love. Maybe after I get my tin of this I’ll have a chocolate tasting day between ChocoNut, Florence, and Love Tea #7.

I drank this without any additives like sweetener or milk or cream, and it’s so smooth and rich that it doesn’t need any. It is best before cooling, but I’ll bet it would make an excellent iced tea latte with a bit of agave and some half-and-half.

I left the sachet in the cup and it never got bitter on me. Of course, I drank it pretty quickly…

And the dry tea smells lovely, too.

I’ve been trying not to buy a lot of tea lately to focus on finishing off my stash but I did get a small order of mostly black teas and this was in it – the tagalong small tin with 5 teabags.

My first impression upon smelling this was it reminded me a bit of “Florence”, their chocolate hazelnut tea.

The tea brews up to be a light reddish brown cup and I suspect it is a ceylon of some sort. I’m finding the flavor to be a bit thin and only vaguely reminiscent of chocolate. I do detect a brazil nut type of flavor especially in the finish of this blend. I was not blown away by it but will certainly finish off what I have at some point. It benefited from the addition of some soymilk and sugar.

If anyone wants to try this I would certainly consider swapping…

Wonderful aroma and rich dark chocolate and brazil nut flavor, with a fruity apricot undertone. The brazil nut flavor reminds me of Green Mountain’s Rain Forest Coffee. I added half and half and orange blossom honey, and it was a delicious lunchtime dessert! I wouldn’t drink this all the time, but on special occasions when I want to indulge my desire for good chocolaty tea.