Turtle Dove Black Tea

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This is a queued tasting note.

Drank this one as a commute tea earlier in the week; I’ve been working so much at both jobs this week that I’ve gotten so behind on my tasting notes so I’m trying to sneak in a handful tonight. Gotta keep things short and to the point though…

On that note; I liked this one well enough but it’s definitely not something I’d order again. In fact, it’s not even something I picked out for myself in the first place: it was my free sample from my order that was selected for me. But it wasn’t bad; it was just really chocolate without a lot of other flavour to give it any sort of depth or nuance. Yeah, smooth, rich and creamy chocolate – but just chocolate. I’m not too big into chocolate teas, so it didn’t thrill me. I appreciate it for what it was though.

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The whole sample of this went towards making an incredibly smooth and silky iced latte. It reminds me of Tea Desire’s Walnut Truffle due to the fudgy/nutty notes but there is also a ribbon of caramel wrapped throughout that is acting like an awesome bow to tie it all together. I actually really enjoyed this and ended up finishing the cup quicker than I expected. Guess I enjoyed it :P

Mmm. This blend seems just right for a snow storm. I like it with a healthy dash of rice milk. It adds a slight sweetness and creaminess that complements the caramel and milk chocolate notes beautifully. I’m not really getting any nuttiness but that’s fine by me.

Today started off poorly and usually that doesn’t augur well. I needed an afternoon pick-me-up and this tea was it. I needed an understanding hug, in fact, and this tea was the closest thing that was available.

It is even better with milk or cream and a wee bit of honey, but currently, given my nutrition plan, I am drinking everything black and unsweetened.

This is one of my favorite, ‘take with me to the snow teas’, for drinking on early cold snowy mornings in bed with a book before waking up the husband and getting his butt out of bed for a day of snowboarding on the mountain. I don’t get pecan specifically from this tea but rather a generic general nuttiness which works well with the Caramel and chocolate notes. The addition of milk amps up the creaminess factor and I couldn’t honestly imagine drinking it without a generous splash. I may have to reconsider more of this tea if my stash runs out before the snow melts this season.

Sample from dexter this one was far more “generic nut” and slight caramel to me than really being much like a turtle. The brew was lovely to smell and it was for sure a decent tea, but it wasn’t nearly as rich as i wanted it to be. Glad for the chance to try this one though, as this was on my list of tea to pick up :) thanks dex!

On the third day of Winter, I decided to have this tea. From the Phi tea box. Has a fantastic scent- caramel and nuts, with chocolate. Very much like those ‘turtle’ candies actually. The flavour is like caramel covered pecans. Really tastes like those candies.

This one is more subtle than the other teas I’ve tried. I didn’t get much chocolate, just a hint of caramel with a little nutty in the back. The caramel came though stronger as it cooled.
Nothing wrong or offensive, just not quite as bold as I normally prefer flavored teas.

Such a cute name for this tea, but I didn’t get as much caramel or nuttiness as I would have liked. No chocolate. I brewed it in two different ways too. The first time was a bit of an accident. I used half of my sample but subconsciously filled up my Nordic mug with water since I’m so used to doing that, consequently underleafing. Of course, that cup didn’t have as much flavour but it was still pleasant to drink, as the base is nice and smooth.

Second cup got the other half of the sample + half a Nordic mug full of water, and I followed the instructions regarding temperature and time for both. This cup yielded a stronger base flavour but I’m still missing a lot of the notes that are supposed to make this similar to a Turtle chocolate. There a touch of caramel but nothing too obvious.

Last of the sample. This was a nicely done tea, but I don’t think it’s going to go down as a favorite, just because it seems I like the idea of chocolate teas more than actual chocolate teas. Having tried several, the only tea with chocolate notes I really love is Paris, and I think that has more to do with all the fruit flavors it boasts than its chocolate side.