Azteca Fire

Tea/tisane of the evening…. (SRP #6)

This one comes to me from FairyFli. (Thank you so much!) She sent me such a generous bunch of samples of herbals and others from Teavana. Actually, I am excited to try them. I have not yet been to a Teavana, but I have placed a few small online orders with them for sale items or when they had free shipping. I do window shop for the teaware on occasion. We have a few stores locally, so if I find something really good and unique (and am lucky enough that it is in their current offerings), I can pick a little up for a special treat. I don’t think any of them will make my daily cuppa lists, but they are fun. And I am usually looking for a dessert replacement. This one is not bad at all.

I am going to be honest in that I went a little heavy on the leaf. I used 4 perfect teaspoons (which translates to 6 actual tsp) for my 24 oz pot. I also caved and sweetened this with Splenda. It is definitely sending me vibes of dessert. It is chocolatey, a little fruity, and there is a hint of spice. Really, it almost seems more like a hot chocolate than a tisane. Pretty tasty, and I might consider it if I need serious dessert tea without caffeine. Is this in any way a serious tea? No way! It is pure fluff and not for those who take their tea seriously all the time.

Thank you, Fairyfli! This is going to be fun!

Another tea I’m getting to try courtesy of…yep you guessed it AmazonV!

This one I’ve been curious about for quite sometime. I shop Teavana quite a bit in person while my son is making me wait for him while he shops the mall so I see this one alot and wondered if I’d like it the Teavana girl recommends it with there Black Dragon Pearls and well ya’ll know how I like my black Dragon pearls!

I need a real caffeine kick today as the weather here is just blah! It’s all overcast and just not a beautiful day. So I went for this and blended 3 dragon pearls and one and a half teaspoons of the Azteca Fire set the timer for 5 minutes and came back to what appears to be a cup of coffee. LOL this is not good considering that I hate coffee well I actually probably like coffee but the longer I keep myself from experimenting with coffee the better. I do not need another drinking habit so I refrain from coffees.

Anyway I’m rambling on to the tasting note these two mixed are dark like coffee and in the smell I get like a nutty smell mixed with chocolate. This cup is thick like much thicker than just plain tea. The two together taste like chocolate coffee with a hint of nut. I would have loved to have tasted the strawberry in this one I know it’s in there because I saw it in the dry leaf but sadly I could not taste it. This is a good cup I think I like it better than Mayan Chocolate Chai but it does not have the chili pepper kick that Mayan chocolate chai has.

This cup might actually wake me up and get me out of my sleepy stupor.

Thanks to Ze_Teamaker for the sample of this tisane!

Okey dokey, I am skeptical of chocolate flavored teas, they are almost always a disappointment, I think you should just cut the chase and go straight for the hot chocolate. :P

I steeped this for 7 minutes which is a little bit longer than the instructions suggested. It definitely SMELLS like chocolate. The flavor is sort of a watered down chocolate mixed with fruit, the spicy element is present but much milder than I thought it would be. I thought this was better after I added soymilk to it because then it became like chocolate milk. :)

I might try adding some black tea to the rest of it and see what that does. It was better then I thought it would be but I am not dying to get any of my own…

Moving right along in my deep wade through my “everything with the word chocolate in it” buying spree of yestermonth, we come to this Teavana offering. I’m most excited by the fact that this has neither rooibos nor honeybush in it. I am trying to recall whether I’ve had an herbal chocolate blend that didn’t have rooibos or honeybush. Yeah, I think there was a TeaFrog sample of a tisane with chicory in it, but that’s all I can recall.

It’s got fruit in it (apple and strawberry) but the fruit morsels are surprisingly tiny in their chunkiness compared to the usual Teavana fruit blend. The smell of the dry mix reminds me of what I’ve smelled when I’ve stuck my nose into a Halloween bag after trick or treating. A lot of different sweet smells all mixed together, with chocolate and fruit among them. Oh, and there’s spice, too. A pretty strong spicy note, which fits right in with the Halloween theme as it takes up the banner of red hots and their ilk. Spicy sweet, but not cinnamony.

The infusion is the color of apple juice, the dark, no sugar added kind, and cloudy. It has a less intense version of that generic candy aroma from the dry mixture.

Now here’s the really weird part. As I started to sip this, I realized why I made the association with Halloween. Candy corn! Yeah, strangely, that’s what I taste. More of a corn syrup flavor than anything else. Maybe a tiny bit of cocoa, and some sweetness from the strawberry, but put it all together and I get candy corn.

The first time I made this it was pretty weak. I was able to strong it up a bit, but it didn’t change the candy corn note. The spice isn’t enough to make an impression.

Candy corn is ok, but I don’t really care for it in my tea. Fortunately it takes so much of this to make an infusion that is strong enough to have flavor, I only have about a cup’s worth left.

I’ve only ever had this mixed with Matevana (all in one tin – it was a gift) and that was super yummy. So I opted to buy a little of each on it’s own and try it. It isn’t bad alone. I can really smell the chocolate and strawberry coming through. It tastes pretty mild to me. I think this is a tea that would be better served mixed with something else. I have some Moroccan Mint I think I’ll try blending it with in the near future.

I got this in a swap, thanks * kallieboo*
So this is one I wanted to try, probably the most from Teavana. Once I smelt the dry notes it wasn’t what I expected. I figured it picked up the chocolate smell from another yea, my memory doesn’t serve me well, I didn’t remember this was suppose to be a chocolate tea.
I’m only getting a chcolate smell from the dry notes.
I used 3 perfect teaspoons for my 16 oz mug, as I usually do. Good thing too, because this is super light on flavour, something I’ve come to know from Teavana.
It tastes like hot chocolate made with water, which I don’t drink, my hot chocolate has to he made with milk. I’ll finish what I have I’d this tea, but I’m pretty sure I won’t buy it.
With the leaves I have left I think I will brew it up the chai way. On the stove with milk.

So I love dessert teas. Like, LOVE them. So, after drinking this in the teavana store and loving it, I bought some and took it home. Unfortunately, this doesn’t taste like what they gave me at all. Perhaps they used more sugar than I? Anyways instead of the amber delicious chocolate tea they gave me, no matter what I do I get a cloudy tea that is still chocolate but with a weird aftertaste that makes me smack my lips and my face go >__m going to throw it out, but this one is not a re-buy. Maybe with some soy milk would be better? Maybe if I use more rock sugar, or try another sweetener? Those who have had success with this one, any tips to make it more drinkable?

I received this tea in a trade with Ze_Teamaker Thank you!

I admit I’m a hot food fanatic. I can drink Tabasco sauce, when I eat a burrito I always splash hot sauce on it before each bite. Spicy tea I haven’t found the right one yet, but I’m not sure what I’m looking for.

DRY: Surprisingly with the name (and not looking at ingredients), I thought it be a chicory robust chili tea. However, smells like strawberries, sweet and chocolate. Very chunky with pieces of apple and strawberries – oh yeah the strawberries look good! Looks like delicious fruity trail mix without the nuts! I used 2t for a cup of tea.

STEEPED: Cloudy light brown. Smells like like dark chocolate and fruity.

TASTE: Slightly smokey chocolate and fruityness, strawberries coming out. Some sweetness from the apple and mystery mellowness. A little watery. No tartness.

COMMENTS: Wheres the fire? I’ve had a few teas that are much hotter than this! /checks ingredients “Chili” that’s it? Should have some peppercorns or more chili threads. Those 4 dried chilies in the Teavana picture online taunt me. Maybe I didn’t get enough “chili” in my steeping or my hot threshold is crazy so mild spice I don’t pick up anymore.
I’d say Azteca Fire doesn’t live up to its name, I expected more than a tiny bit of smokeyness. This tea is closer to a watery hot chocolate with a hit of fruit. When thought of that way, it’s not bad of a replacement to actual hot chocolate. Steep it strong with some rock sugar and milk and it be interesting.

WHO’D LIKE THIS TEA? well… I think without the heat, you disappoint spicy peeps. With the name Azteca Fire, you scare off the “omg spicy food wahhh!” people.

This isn’t too bad when you want something warm with no caffeine. The raw herbal is bright with reds and yellows flecked with the light brown cocoa nibs. It smells strongly of chocolate and berries with a touch of chili.

When you prepare this, the chocolate fragrance in almost overpowering. The appearance is the one great downfall of this tisane; it looks like dirty dish water. The taste is a nice combination of chocolate and berry and the heat of the chili sneaks up on the aftertaste. As the cup cools, the berry flavor starts to take over and gets just a little tart.

One thing I don’t like about this blend is that I find it to be a bit wasteful. You have to use a lot of the mix to get a decent flavor profile. It takes three times the amount recommended by the merchant and you’re left discarding a hefty pile of mushy fruit bits.

Steep Information:
Amount: 4.5 teaspoons
Additives: none
Water: full teapot, filtered, boiling
Steep Time: a little over 6 minutes
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: Chocolate covered strawberries
Tea Smell: chocolate covered strawberries
Flavor: chocolaty tea, hints of fruit with the end being a chili flavor
Body: Medium
Aftertaste: chili burn
Liquor: dark opaque brown, like coffee

The steeped tea has little chocolate bits that float around the top giving it a dirty look. There is also an oily sheen on the steeped tea. You don’t smell the chili but it is certainly there when you drink it! Although the strawberry was a strong smell I missed it in the tea itself.

Post-Steep Additives: none

Resteep: TBD

Wait, there’s supposed to be strawberries in this? I didn’t get that at ALL. I ended up buying a bit of this on boxing day for a friend, who then told me the next day she’d bought 500g of it on her own. So I figured I might as well give it a try . . . meh. This tastes like a wannabe hot chocolate. Nothing to write home about, but nothing to complain about either. Kind of like the music charts right now, to be honest.

I’d been wondering about this tea for a while now and finally got some this fall. Wow. It took a couple times to get to know how to steep this tea well—about 10 minutes in boiling water does the trick. It’s chocolatey and a bit fruity, has a hint of spice (if you brew it long enough), and is supremely cozy and comforting. I would love to try it with a little splash of soymilk—I tried it with a lot of soymilk and completely lost the flavor of the tea. This is definitely one of my favorite cozy/warm teas. The first 2 ounces I got were gone in a matter of weeks. I’m steeping it right now with some Honeybush Vanilla and it’s very difficult to wait to try it—the aroma is intoxicating. If you like spicy hot chocolate you will love this.

After having two Teavana teas that I did not like I was about to write Teavana off, but I was sent a sample of this tea in a Swap and was surprised by how much I like it. With a name like Azteca Fire I expected it to be spicy, like a chai, there’s supposed to be pepper in this tea but I didn’t taste it in the first steeping.

Like all chocolate teas it has a ‘thin’ chocolate taste, but the chocolate flavor grows thicker as it cools, and the strawberry taste is a good mix. I add a little sugar and milk, a nice dessert tea.

The second steeping the chocolate and strawberry flavor is weaker of course, but I could taste the pepper.

I got a cup of this while I was at Teavana buying some Capital of Heaven Keemun (swoon). This isn’t bad, the smell of the dry mix was very fruity-chocolately-intense, with the smell of the brewed tea being only slightly less intense.

The chocolate and chili are very apparent on drinking, especially the chili, it has a nice little bite to it. I don’t really taste the fruit in the sip. The unfortunate thing? It has a really heavy mouthfeel and aftertaste. I’m not so much a fan of this aftertaste that the tea has going on. I’m glad I tried it, but I don’t think it is for me.

So I totally intended to write this last night when I made this tea.

I bought it because I wanted to see what it tasted like after reading some reviews for it here. since it’s been on my list due to the fabulous smell, I just went ahead and got some last time I was at Teavana.

Well…I got three sips in and promptly dropped the entirety of it on my floor and had to panic clean up my computer, ipod, and purse.

You guys. That was pretty fail.
So while I really liked the three sips I took, I don’t think it was enough to give a good review. So for now, this tea has an 80 score with me because I barely got to TASTE any of it.

But it smelled so good and I do remember the chocolaty notes.

I was skeptical about the chocolate chunks from the beginning, but being the chilehead that I am, my thoughts of “OMGOMGOMG PEPPERS IN TEA!!!” overwhelmed my judgment. On the first try, I found it to be fairly lackluster in flavor with or without additives like sugar and/or milk. It also left me with a headache and deep feelings of buyer’s remorse after drinking it. I believe it would be more enjoyable to eat this tea as trailmix rather than to steep it into the bland, cloudy liquid it is intended to be. Maybe then, you would actually be able to taste the peppers.

I do plan on trying it again for the sake of second chances and the fact that I spent $6 on the stuff, but it won’t be any time soon…

3 tsp of Azteca Fire
3 tsp of Strawberry Paraiso
Mixed them both together in my Bodum.
Let steep for 16 total minutes.
(Note: I always make a 16 oz batch because thats about how much fits in my bodum.
Taste just like a Chocolate Covered Strawberry.
Love the smell and taste of this tea. Really strong chocolate smells and tastes. Love the popcorn pieces in the Strawberry Paraiso makes it sweet. Aftertaste of a bite of a chocolate covered strawberry from Godiva. No joke. Very good on ice. However, delicious served hot.

I was all prepared to be disappointed by this tea (after being very disappointed by Zoccolatte Spice, or however it is spelled) but I actually like it – I made it very strong, a heaping tablespoonful to 10oz boiling water, and both my first cup & the resteep have made both my nose and my tastebuds happy. The quibble I have with it is the whole “Azteca Fire” thing, that name makes me expect something along the lines of 52 teas’ stellar Mayan Chocolate Chai, full of spice and fire. Instead this tastes rather like a chocolate dipped strawberry. Yummy, but there are no Aztecs and no fire, just milk chocolate and berries. Neither flavor is particularly strong, but they aren’t regrettably weak either.

Azteca Fire + Peppermint = AMAZING! Thanks Brittany.

This isn’t bad…

I know chocolate teas are mostly (by nature) a disappointment to me, but I figured I might try it before I couldn’t anymore.

It’s not the most delicious tea I’ve ever tried, but I like having it on hand as a desert tea. It’s not terribly spicy, and the flavor that comes out most in this tea is a sort of tang from the fruit (maybe even from the chilies). There’s a bit of spice that lingers as an aftertaste, and so reminds me of drinking water and pepper flakes at the same time. It’s there but not as strong as it could be.

There is a bit of chocolate, but it’s a rather watery flavor. Naturally, that’s the case because the tea is being steeped in water. I’m sure adding a bit of milk (or even preparing it like a Chai in milk itself) might make the chocolate a bit more believable.

It’s a tasty tea and my family likes it so I suppose it wasn’t a terrible investment. In fact, I’m glad that I snatched up a half pound before Teavana pulled this from their shelves. I’m sure I’ll find other ways to prepare this.