Hearts & Roses

Sipdown(s)! (798 – I missed noting down my Black Cherry Matcha sipdown yesterday)

I didn’t have quite enough of either this tea or Pineapple Upside Down Cake for a full travel mug’s worth… so I decided to combine the two! There was a bit more tea than I really needed for a full mug’s worth, but I used it all anyways as Della Terra Teas don’t have strong enough bases that it would cause problems (I was right). The result was pretty decent – caramelly sweet like PUDC, but with the chocolate of Hearts & Roses. I never did taste pineapple or cherry, respectively, when I previously tried each of the teas, so unsurprisingly can’t pick either out here as well.

Either way, pretty enjoyable! I wouldn’t pick up Hearts & Roses again (Love in a Cup was better), but I’d probably pick up Pineapple Upside Down Cake, possibly for blending. I like having “sweet” teas to tote along with me :)

A sample in my order that just got in today! I have to read through a bunch of Greek tragedies to prepare for my test, so I wanted something to keep me awake, and to be comforting while I read plays where everyone dies.

Hmm, so I felt like I mostly only got chocolate with this. There may have been a bit of rose in there, but definitely no cherry. I did enjoy the chocolate, especially with some milk and a bit of sugar, but it didn’t taste like I expected.

Uhhh YUM!! So this is an awesome bridge between dessert tea and a floral black tea. I’ll write more later.

I want to apologize to those of you waiting on a swap from me, i’ve been preoccupied with my sick kitten who had to go to the ER today. He was vomiting blood and he has an intestinal infection. I will ship out on Monday, again, I am so sorry, thank you for your patience and understanding.

This tea has a very pretty shimmer to it that is easily noticeable if you’re using a glass cup like I did this morning. Unfortunately my ability to appreciate the tea stops there. I bought this back before I discovered that I didn’t really care for Della Terra’s chocolate flavoring and unfortunately I have a 2oz package of a tea I don’t really care for (which is what I get for blindly buying teas when they were 60% off.) It’s going to end up in the next travelling tea box I take part in just so it doesn’t go to waste, it definitely isn’t my cup of tea, hopefully someone else enjoys it more than me.

Like many of Della Terra’s chocolate teas, the flavor tastes heavily of a chocolate flavoring that falls pretty short of genuine chocolate flavor. It leaves an oily residue on everything it touches which means after drinking it I have to scrub everything at least twice before switching teas. I find it a bit annoying which is why I’ve given up on finding a chocolate tea from them that I’ll enjoy. The heavy chocolate flavor also obscures some of the additional flavors in the tea. I can pick out the rose, but the cherry flavor doesn’t come out at all.

I’m surprised that there are only six tasting notes for this tea. I love rose teas, so I knew I wanted to try this when I placed my first Della Terra order. The dry leaves smell like rich chocolate with a hint of rose, but the tea liquor smells a little less strong. The biggest surprise for me was that this cup has a shimmer/sparkly appearance! I suppose it’s from the candy hearts, but its really pretty, kind of like David’s Glitter and Gold! The flavor is very lightly malty and chocolatey with a somewhat sudden, sugary finish. There is a soft floral and hot chocolate aftertaste. This tastes like a very soft, thin hot chocolate with just a little floral note. The rose isn’t completely there, but you can detect a little wisp of it here and there. I’m not really getting any cherry at all, and it’s probably just contributing to the general sweetness, which is fine. I think this would be the perfect afternoon tea for after lunch when you just want a little taste of something sweet, but not too much.

-Dry blend has medium black tea leaves and twigs with pink and yellow rose petals, pieces of dried cherries, pink candy hearts, red and white sprinkles and small sugar crystals.
-Dry leaves smell like rich chocolate with a hint of rose. Tea liquor is floral and a little chocolatey.
-Tea liquor is a cloudy medium yellow brown color with an oily sheen on top. Shimmery and sparkly appearance.
-Light malty and chocolate flavor with a sugary finish. Soft floral and hot chocolate aftertaste.
-Best with milk and sweetener.
-Very good tea. A light and softly flavored cup of chocolate and rose.

I love the smell and taste of this one! It has a dark chocolate, almost caramel-y, aroma. The taste is rich but not overwhelming.

Another tea from the swap box JackieT sent me. I wasn’t sure what to expect from this. I’m not usually into floral teas, so was quite relieved that this one was not overly rosy. I also didn’t really get much cherry, maybe a little fruity in the back, but wouldn’t be able to pinpoint cherry.
All in all a fun little chocolate tea.

This tea smells really nice. Nicely floral, and chocolatey. The flavour is sweet, sorta like this rose jelly I had once. The chocolate seems to have gotten hidden. Otherwise, it’s sweet with a vague cherry taste.

First try with Hearts and Roses. I opened the packet, and it smelled strongly of chocolate, and the sweetness from the roses and candy hearts was noticeable. Once the water was poured on, the almost sickly sweet smell of roses emanated up from the cup as the sweet candies started to dissolve.
The first taste was of cheap chocolate with perfumey rose. Sugar makes both flavors stronger. This is not a keeper for me.