Vanilla Cacao

I am a huge fan of the cacao teas, but I didn’t love this one. I got spice, but not vanilla per se. It was truly a strange sipping experience to say the least. I gave it my usual cacao treatment, bit of sugar, long steep and I should get the hot chocolate I am looking for. I had worried from the scent of the husks that this was not going to be a hit, and I was right in this case. There is a smoothness I might call vanilla, maybe. But it is not the milky, vanilla chocolate taste I wanted. I did not enjoy the flavours in this at all. I can tell that this is well blended and the tea performs beautifully, but it is just not a flavour I personally like. Full marks to herbal infusions for their inventive cacao teas (I love, love, love every other variety), but I think this is one tea that will need to find a different cupboard. One where it can be properly appreciated for the unique blend it is.

I loved this tea. It has a very smooth vanilla flavour with an undertone of cacao. I shared this tea with two co-workers and they both loved it too.

I was really looking forward to this. I had ordered samplers of the the regular Cacao and the Mint Cacao herbal teas at the same time and loved both of them. Unfortunately, I was less enamoured with this tea. I can’t pinpoint exactly why but the flavor just did not do it for me. Rather than blending perfectly into a sweeter and creamier Cacao tea, it just tasted like a hot mess in my mouth. Nothing fit together, it tasted odd overall, and I ended up dumping my mug down the sink.

I guess 2 out of 3 isn’t bad, but I had high hopes for this one.

(flips a table) How did I not know about cacao tea before? SERIOUSLY? This is so tasty. It’s like eating a candy bar. One of those Hersheys Cookies’n’Creme ones, specifically. And, according to Herbal Infusions’ site… it’s… caffeine free? I can have this at NIGHT?

I am holding every one of you personally responsible for not telling me about this sooner.

Caveat Emptor! This company does not have their act together. My order was either never sent or lost in the mail, it took anywhere from a few hours to two weeks for them to answer emails, and when I finally got my order after six weeks, one of the items was missing.

It’s my birthday today, so I decided to have something a bit indulgent. I tried this tea twice. The first time I used 2 tsp./8oz. and brewed it for about 10 minutes. It tasted rather watery even with a bit of milk and sweetener. I looked at the reviews here, and tried again. It looked like 3 tsp of leaf for 30 min. was the way to go, so I added 2 tsp to my used leaves, wrapped my cup in a kitchen towel to keep it warm, and added a touch of sweetener. That is quite good! I don’t think it will replace hot chocolate for me, but this is definitely what a chocolate tea should taste like! It’s definitely something I would reach for to satisfy a milk chocolate craving without a bunch of sugar. I’m not sure whether or not it was the vanilla, but I didn’t feel the need to add milk.

Wow. This is my first venture into cacao tea. but I’m a big chocolate lover! I kind of skimmed over the fact that this was supposed to be vanilla cacao, which is fine because theres no real vanilla taste to it. Although I think a more prominent vanilla taste would improve the taste even more, I really enjoy this. I didn’t expect the cacao to come across so well. Expecting it to be weak, I used 2.5 tsp for 8 oz of boiling water and let it sit for 7 minutes.
Add a little sweetener and a dash of milk and it really does taste like a watered down hot chocolate. Perfect for if you crave hot chocolate but are watching your calories. I’m going to try steep for long next time and see if it further intensifies the chocolate. I might even try steeping in heated milk instead of water.

I let this steep in my Timolino for what, two hours? I lost track of time. As soon as I found out that this also has spices in it, I immediately got a hunch that this would be a lot like Yogi’s Choco Aztec, which I actually quite liked. I went through a good two boxes while I was living in Linköping because I was too lazy to venture out to tea shops and stuck with grocery store stuff there.

And this basically is that except enhanced, both in cocoa and spice flavours. Predominantly chocolate and cinnamon, the flavour profile truly does reflect that of a Mexican hot chocolate, minus the chili heat.

I like it, but I think I’m all burnt out of affection for this type of flavour profile. A local company which specializes in matcha and matcha mixes even offers an Aztec hot chocolate mix which tastes almost the same. So essentially, it’s been done over and over.

As for the vanilla, it’s virtually non-existent. They ought to rename this blend like Aztec Cacao or Xocolatl or something.

Whoa. This is hands down the best chocolate tea/tisane that I have ever had. Rich, thick, creamy, and a touch spicy. Just fantastic. I think the vanilla is contributing to the creaminess, but I can’t taste any vanilla flavor per se. It makes me terribly tea-sad that this blend is also giving me more tingling in my mouth and throat than should be happening. I think I’m allergic to some ingredient here, though I can’t figure out what it is. This would absolutely be in my must-have regular rotation otherwise.

This one comes to me courtesy of the ever-thoughtful MissB, who noticed that this was on my wishlist and included it with my stash sale purchase. Thanks!

I have read from other people’s notes to not expect a true vanilla cacao, but more of a spiced variety, so I was prepared for something different, but this…? Very strange, there was some sort of meat flavor in there that finally made me dump the mug, it was just not enjoyable. Really weird tea.