Raspberry Cocoa

So. I have precisely 27 more minutes to eat or drink before the surgery cutoff. I’m indulging in this tea. I was afraid after reading these reviews that I would find it too astringent or bitter to enjoy. I really try to avoid adding stuff to my tea since A.) I’m allergic to milk products and B) one of the reasons I’m drinking tea is to avoid the calories.

But no worries! I don’t find this tea bitter at all! It has a deeper flavor than some others, but that’s not a bad thing. Maybe smoky? Maybe earthy? I can’t really tell you, since I don’t really taste much. (surgery tomorrow might restore my sense of smell for a short time! Then I’ll be opening up tins and bags and sniffing like an addict!)_

Anyway, I have no complaints about this tea. I like the depth of it. In fact, I have time for another cup!

I couldn’t wait to write about another one from this company. So, Raspberry Cocoa. I was hoping this would be like Butiki’s Raspberry Truffle but better, but right off the bat, I’m going to say that I prefer that one even though that one was on the disappointing side when I first tried it. Whine whine whine.

There are several layers to this tea. First, the dry leaf smells mostly of raspberry, but it’s unfortunately on the artificial side.

Flavour-wise, this is where the layers come in. The most prominent note is the raspberry flavour (which reminds me of Red Leaf Tea’s raspberry flavouring), followed by the earthy Keemun, followed by cocoa. The maltiness is buried far underneath everything else. Actually, I wouldn’t have even guessed that there was Assam in here because I find the Keemun to be that overpowering.

I think I would have liked this more had it just contained Assam. I also would have preferred dehydrated raspberries in here instead of the flavouring. It tastes better with light cream, which smooths out the astringent, earthy base, at least.

Sample from Caocorax today, all i’m really getting from this one is cocoa with a hint of what might be raspberry if i concetrate a lot. I’m ok with that though, because raspberry seems to be a challenging flavour in teas for me as it often tastes artificial and not really raspberry like at all. Little more of this left which i’ll save for a non sick day, but this was tasty.

Sipping down the last of this sample only to have gotten another sample of it in the mail yesterday :P Pretty happy that I have a little bit more to play around with :D

Another sample from Cameron B. Thank you! :)

The dry leaf smelled amazingly like those dark chocolate raspberry sticks from Trader Joe’s. Those of you who have had them know how amazing they are! They have raspberry jelly inside. So delicious! I guess you can also get them on Amazon (How weird!): http://www.amazon.com/Trader-Joes-Chocolate-Raspberry-Sticks/dp/B004MJDKZC

The steeped tea is also very good. The black base might be a little more nearing some astringency than the base for Not So Vanilla, but still smooth at a 3 minute steep. I think it’s because the base is assam. I can taste both the raspberry and the cocoa. Very nice! The flavor is light, but still distinct, and I can’t decide whether I want more of a punch or not. Ha! This tea also reminds me of Nina’s Paris’ Grand Amour, which I love. Hmm, could be another winner, but I think I need another cup to decide!

Mmm, another very nice flavoured tea from Tippy’s. :) I don’t have much to add to what other people have already said. The raspberry flavour is strong and natural-tasting. The cocoa flavour is milder – I can’t tell if the base teas have chocolatey notes, or if it’s just a good chocolate flavouring (or both). The combination is definitely reminiscent of a raspberry-flavoured dark chocolate bar. The base teas are solid and smooth, with a boldness that contributes to the dark-chocolate character of the overall experience. Second steep was less rich, but still very nice.

Packing up a few orders to ship out and sipping on some raspberry cocoa left over. I really like this tea. Delicious, almost like eating a chocolate covered raspberry; dark chocolate that is. It has gotten a little cold, but still tastes great. Makes me think that it will work really well as an iced tea. I’m two infusions in and the flavour has not let up. This is probably one of my favourite creations thus far.

This blend of tea produced exactly the cup I was hoping for from the onset: a blend of black teas whose unique, earthy characteristics I could identify and enjoy on their own, with the comforting tastes of raspberries and cocoa as friendly accompaniments. Read my full review here: http://wp.me/p5c82m-1S

Time to get back to the teas from my $12 Tippy’s Tea sampler. I ended up choosing mostly flavored teas, partially because the flavors were so tempting and partially because most of the blended teas have a smoke element that I wasn’t sure I’d enjoy. This tea appears to be simply black tea and flavoring, which is fine with me. I grow a bit tired of add-ins that are only there to look pretty and don’t contribute to the flavor at all. Dry scent is mostly raspberry candy, but if I inhale slowly I can smell the cocoa.

The steeped tea has a somewhat earthy note, leading me to think there’s perhaps a Keemun element to this tea? The raspberry flavor is nice, it reminds me a bit of a combination of raspberry jam and fresh berries. It’s also not too strong. The base tea is a combination of malty and earthy, with a bit of astringency that leads me to think there’s Assam here. I wish there was just a touch more cocoa, as it is I can mostly only taste it at the end of the sip. It’s definitely a dark chocolate or unsweetened cocoa powder sort of flavor. I’m sure sugar would help the chocolate to come out, but I don’t sweeten my teas.

The raspberry notes I got when I had this as an eggnog latte are MIA now. Very weird but still good. The base is taking over but that’s okay because it is malty and chocolatey with a slight hint of astringency. Not bad but it definitely needs something to bring out the full spectrum of flavors.