Mexican Hot Chocolate

oooh. so this one? kinda like a spicy oolong. No chocolate or real sweetness here, just a deecnt tea base that’s spicey…and i can pick out the oolong notes. I can live without tiny marshmallows but where is my chocolate? I’ll have to add some cacao nibs or shells to this and see if that works better for me.

I’m trying to not be grumpy about this tea, but I am…a little bit grumpy about this tea.

To start off though, the pros: well spiced, perfect amount of heat, nice enough base tea if you’re into that kind of thing.

The cons: this doesn’t really taste like Mexican hot chocolate to me at all? I’m trying not to hate on this tea because it doesn’t taste BAD or anything, I was just really looking forward to it, and it’s nothing like I was expecting. I can live without picking up hints of marshmallows or whatever, but I’m really not getting “chocolate” here and that was kind of the main selling point for me. Maybe the chocolate is just too subtle for me, but tbh this isn’t a tea where I’d expect or appreciate subtlety.

Sipdown. I really liked this tea at one time, but the 2nd bag I had was much too spicy. Way too many red pepper flakes. So while I had milk, I powered through the last of this tea!

5 tsp to giant 20 oz mug. 190F 4 min. Milk to cut spicyness & honey. As a latte, this works ok. Still pretty spicy, cinnamon, little bit of cocoa, but the spice is overwhelming to where it’s all I can taste. 2nd steep is less spicy, but only just okay. I even sorted out a lot of the pepper flakes. Tea was drowned out under the heat.

I do like the scent and taste of this one. What I don’t like about it is its name. To me, although the inspiration of the tea with chocolate, spice, marshmallow may well be Mexican Hot Chocolate, the oolong is earthy and that alone does not work for me to summon the concept of the original drink. The star anise confuses me as well. I like the oolong and black base with the star anise—there is star anise in this, right? It’s the name that muddles me up.

I am raising my rating based on enjoying this tea and always enjoying QTT’s inspired tea efforts and creativity. That and the fact that I really do enjoy this one if I do not call it Mexican Hot Chocolate. Lauren, would you consider calling it Opium Den? Or Somnolent Earth? Or Amber Anise? Or…

Or maybe I’ll just rename it for myself and then, I’m good.

So I’m not getting chocolate and though I saw marshmallows in the leaf, that’s not coming through in the flavor either. I am getting oolong. Lots of oolong, though luckily for me, it is not overwhelming as oolong tends to be. It’s hard to describe because usually I hate oolong but even though that’s the main flavor here, I don’t mind it and I can’t place my finger on why. I am also getting a slight kick from the chili, enough to give flavor but not too much that it’s spicy. It’s a nice enough tea but I don’t know if I would call it “hot chocolate”.

Hasty sipdown. I used my last 8g of leaf in my last Nordic mug because I just wanted to finish it. At least this way you get more chili heat, but the chocolate in here is just… not for me.

Ugh, the holidays is horrible on the diet. I worked far too hard to gain back even a pound or two. I way overate today. Panettone, Christmas chocolates, a slice of lemon meringue pie, dolmas, steak… for shame. I’ll be at 15k steps soon so let’s hope I still did enough activity to burn most of it off. At least drinking this tea = no shame.

This is such an interesting tea! Honestly, I’m not picking up very much chocolate in my cup. The main flavors I’m noticing are marshmallow and malt. And those chili flakes pack a serious spicy kick! I don’t think this is something I’d reach for often, but I’m glad for the opportunity to try it. Thanks to slb2221 for the sample!

A spicy chocolate tea! I love hot food and this tea has firey bite at the end. The flavor is chocolate with cinnamon over a light malty roasty base. The spice peaks at the end for a nice chili finish. It’s a medium hot tea, a good one for heat lovers or people who want more kick to their chai. If I had more I would of made it as a latte, I think this tea would of been even better!

Full review on Oolong Owl http://oolongowl.com/spumoni-green-tea-and-mexican-hot-chocolate-from-a-quarter-to-tea-tea-review/

Being off of my medicine is an interesting experience, and really having me re-evaluate things about my life. Like how in the name of all things holy did I tolerate the terrible-ness that is the mattress? I know Fibromyalgia (coupled with Aspbergers) makes things more extreme (it is so 90s) especially pain, but wow, that mattress is so uncomfortable. Even though yeah, I am in a lot of pain and I am having to take it easier than I did previously, I am glad to be off the stuff. Since being freed from my medicinal servitude I have only had one splitting headache, instead of the many splitting headaches a day, and the best thing is I have a lot more mental clarity. I consider this a win…though I really need a new mattress.

Today’s tea is from A Quarter To Tea, specifically their Mexican Hot Chocolate blend, because I am a hardcore chocoholic, though alas, I am slowly outgrowing my ability to just gorge on huge piles of chocolate…slowly…I can still eat a whole bag in one sitting, just not two bags, tis the price of growing old. To help ease the transition I seek out chocolaty teas, this one being a blend of Organic Quinlan Oolong Tea, Ceylon Black Tea, Cinnamon, Star Anise, Freeze-dried Marshmallows, Dried Red Chile Flakes, Natural Flavorings. I admit, I have had several spicy chocolate teas, but this is the only one that uses Star Anise, and I have a serious Star Anise addiction, so yummy! The aroma of the dry tea is super sweet, definitely can smell the sugary joy of the marshmallows and chocolate. There is also a good bit of spice, a blend of cinnamon and anise and this distinct chili pepper bite that grows into a nice nose burner. My sinuses are pleased by the tingly warmth.

Into my steeping apparatus the leaves and such go for the steeping, I watch as the marshmallows dissolve away into nothingness. The aroma of the wet leaves is sweet and spicy, notes of chocolate and marshmallows, with cinnamon and peppery warmth, it is a very warm smelling tea. The liquid is sweet and creamy, with notes of malt and a decent punch of cinnamon and pepper, a lingering finish of chocolate wafts from my cup.

Tasting time! I got a couple of good sips of this tea before I gave it to Ben to have a taste…and promptly lost the rest of my cup…he really liked this tea. The first thing I noticed was it has a nice bite to it, the perfect amount of heat…just enough to warm the cold cockles of my mouth but not enough to make me run screaming for a glass of milk. There is also a nice burst of chocolate, sweet spices and marshmallows, and a finish of malt. I liked (what I tasted) of this tea, but mostly loved how Ben just wandered off with it, he is an immensely picky tea drinker, so I am happy when he finds teas he likes. I will have to get more, so he can have the majority of it…and so I can have a whole cup!

For blog and photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2015/11/a-quarter-to-tea-mexican-hot-chocolate.html

Additional notes: Sad sipdown of my sample. I liked this one… I would have loved it if the chocolate was more pronounced. Cocoa shells would work! I ended up splitting my sample into two steep sessions of three cups. So it was about two heaping teaspoons (or maybe 2 1/2 teaspoons) for each steep session which I think worked really well. The steeps never got weaker anyway. I think it was the perfect amount of spice though. This blend is just my thing though. I’d probably order it again when ordering from AQTT. Also, there was a sad sipdown of Bluebird’s Nearly Nirvana that I’ll be enjoying throughout the day.
Happy Easter to those who celebrate! It’s a great warm day here anyway.