Cinnamon Chocolate Brownie

Bleh. I agree with Sil and Kittenna, something in here is just not right. Sadly, I can’t put my finger on what!
A little too much cinnamon perhaps? Either way, I am definitely not getting brownie. OR chocolate. Alot of cinnamon and what reminds me of chicory, but doesn’t quite have the same depth. I really dislike chicory and carob (which I often mix up). Oh and the extreme astringency is quite annoying.
Milk and sugar helped some. Oh well. I got through my cup ok. I mean, it isn’t that this is a “bad” cup, but other reviews here are so complimentary that I have to wonder if Sil is right… did we get a messed up batch??
Thanks for the hookup Kittenna!

thank you again momo! I will be saying that some more… quite a few teas I haven’t made tasting notes for. I had this one yesterday morning. This one lives up to its name! If I had to guess the flavor, I’d probably say brownie. Though I could just think it is a very unique black tea. It almost tastes like a mild coffee to me. The cinnamon isn’t too present..until the second steep when I used just boiled water. But I like the brownie/black tea flavor anyway. I wonder if the tea just naturally tasted like a brownie? It’s an excellent deep, dark flavor. Hopefully it will wake me up, too!

Tea of the afternoon….. (SRP #3……..Sample Reduction Plan)

This one was included in my foodzie box from LiberTEAS. This sample box that she sells on teatra.de.com was a great way to try several kinds of tea from a multitude of vendors for one low price (yes, I am sounding like a commercial, but actually, I am just very happy with the contents!) I have been contemplating an order at Simpson & Vail for some time, but it is always nice to try a few things just to have an idea of the quality offered by a new-to-you vendor.

This is a good one. Light cinnamon, then the notes of chocolate hint, and then a cakey note. I do think the chocolate and cakey notes are somewhat from the flavorings as well as the tea base. The cinnamon still seems very much a part of the tea. It is strong and thick enough that it kind of reminds me of coffee. I do know that if I am ever in the market for flavored tea, I will place an order at Simpson & Vail. Right now, I think I am maxed out for cupboard space until I finish a few things, or several ;).

Usual mug method.

Hmmm I think that either we got a bad batch of this one or it’s just not up my lane. I’m getting the cinnamon in this one but not so much with the chocolate or the “baked goods” kind of taste. I’ll have to give this one another shot when i’m at home and can focus on it (and i’ll check the resteep out tonight as well) but it’s nothing i need to drink again so far. I much prefer the other teas we picked up from S&V so far. This one is just kinda…meh in terms of the flavouring.

This tea came in a swap package from Tea Sipper that I got just before I moved, and promptly forgot about until just now. Sorry about that! But I found the package and now I have a lot more teas to try. :)

I have had at least one tea from Simpson & Vail that I liked and I have wanted to try more, but I haven’t ever gotten around to ordering from them so I usually take the opportunity to request samples in swaps. This one sounded delicious. The aroma of the steeped tea is interesting, and it reminds me of an unflavored nice black. After all, chocolate and cinnamon are common flavors in those types of teas.

Flavor is quite nice, with strong chocolate notes that are both unsweetened cocoa powder type and that bakey brownie type as well. The cinnamon isn’t strong, but it a pleasantly spiced background note. There is the tiniest hint of bitterness so I will try to steep it at a slightly cooler temp last time. This is a tasty tea, but then again it is also not all that different from a really nice unflavored black, and I would probably just drink one of those instead if I wanted. I suppose this could be a cheaper alternative if necessary!

Yay, my S&V order finally arrived today!!! Naturally, I had to immediately get started on trying the new teas! I picked this one to start, as we were heading out shopping, so I had to travel mug it and thought it would hold up.

The dry tea smells a bit cinnamony and chocolatey, and a bit… cakey, which I suppose could be brownie. Brewed up, I recall it being ok although somewhat astringent while hot, but once it had cooled to lukewarm and sat for about 3 hours, I liked it a lot more! I will have to properly review a first infusion in the future. My mom tasted a sip and did not like it at all (thankfully we had made up Butiki’s Strawberry Oolong (which she adores!) in her mug). She doesn’t like chocolate in teas, apparently.

I’ve just brewed up the second infusion in half the water (3 min, boiling) and it smells much like a cinnamony baked good. Not really any discernible chocolate, but it’s pretty tasty! A bit astringent (so maybe 2:30 would have been preferable), but it tastes very much to me like the inside of a cinnamon bun, where there’s cinnamon in/on the bun part but not really any stickiness or icing.

I think this will work nicely as a morning thermos tea for me! That seems to be the best use of flavoured blacks for me, while the more delicate teas are best drank in the evening from a mug :)

Got this in a swap from TastyBrew and am sipping it at my desk since I have a good chunk of time right now that doesn’t involve seeing clients. It’s so beautiful in Vermont today, high of 76 but we don’t have the super dryness or super humidity, it’s a peaceful comfortable 76 with the occasional warm breeze and draft off of the lake.

Brewed hot, I can smell primarily cinnamon. There’s also a rich malty scent that is clearly the chocolate but it doesn’t smell overpoweringly like chocolate. The first sip is fabulous, this seriously tastes like a brownie. It’s more of the cakey dry type brownie than the gooey underbaked kind that I prefer. The cinnamon is a nice note throughout the sip but it isn’t the dominant flavor. I think the flavors in this tea are so well balanced and I didn’t expect that at all. I’m thinking this would be fabulous with a little milk even though I drink my teas straight. It just makes me think of having a glass of milk with a brownie…

I was hoping for something tasty but all I could really taste was cinnamon. I am also really tired of writing after writing two made up informal reports (my trucking company had an unfortunate tire blowout where $200 in Cabbage Patch dolls were lost) so I have nothing else to say, other than needs more chocolate.

Yummy! The aroma is amazing – it smells just like you might expect it to. That is, it smells like cinnamon, chocolate and fudge-y brownies. My mouth is watering from the aroma alone.

The black tea comes through in the taste, it is a strong black tea but it doesn’t overwhelm the cup. In fact, this is one of the best balanced teas I’ve tasted – it is a harmony between black tea, cinnamon, and rich, chocolate-y brownie. The cinnamon is warm without being too spicy or hot. It is very autumnal, and it makes me long for those cooler autumn days (they are coming soon, aren’t they?)

YUMMMMMMMM!

LOVE THIS.

OMG! LOVE THIS!
The name is Cinnamon Chocolate Brownie and that’s exactly what it tastes like in that order…first Cinnamon, then Chocolate, then Brownie! Smooth! A treat without being too sugary, too spicy, or too chocolatey! Lovely mix of ingredients and flavors! Highly recommended!

Another tasty sample from Kittenna! Thanks!

I definitely oversteeped this one so I will try it at work tomorrow before judging it. I wanted to do 3 min but got distracted and it was definitely more than 5 minutes…. It was a cinnamon tea with a hint of chocolate. And it was not very full bodied at all, pretty weak aside from the cinnamon.

I am reserving my rating until after my second try, but so far I’m disappointed because it doesn’t taste nearly as delicious as it smells.

Stay tuned!