Chocolate Puerh

I like it… but I feel like it is missing that pu-erhness. The mouth feel is actually what is throwing me off because it is so much more watery than the pu-erhs I have been sampling. After reading the box it makes a lot of sense though that it is not as heavy because there is rooibos in this.

The flavor is good… I actually really like it. But if you are looking for a PU-ERH experience this isn’t it.
But if you want a super yummy tea with a dash of tummy settling this is awesome.

My finacee got an assortment pack of Numi and this was one of the first ones he pulled out. He let me have a couple of sips of it to try it, but he kept most of it to himself.

His review: not as strong, tasted weaker and had less of a dirt taste, not much chocolate. Liked Numi Emperor Pu-Erh better.

My review: not as strong with a good splash of chocolate. I can taste a hint of vanilla and that is bringing the chocolate out of the dark chocolate place and closer to a milk chocolate place. Not quite there though. I liked it because it was a little lighter on the earthy taste. I think if you put a little bit of sugar in it, then it would bring out the chocolate for a more dessert tea. I would be more likely to grab this in the morning than a straight pu-erh right now.

Thank you to Jillian for this sample. It’s been on my shelf for too long and I’m going through my one off samples today.

The teabag smells like cinnamon with extra spiciness, not exactly what I thought I would smell with it being chocolate flavoured.

Once steeped the tea is dark brown in colour with a very strong cinnamon and fruity orange smell. There is also a slight earthy smell from the pu erh.

If it doesn’t smell like chocolate does it at least taste like it? That’s the question I am asking myself at this moment in time while I count down the remaining steeping time.

Well I can now answer that it has a slight taste of chocolate (or cocoa anyway) but the cinnamon is overpowering it. Now don’t get me wrong I love cinnamon but I was hoping this would be a little more chocolatey than it is. As for this being a pu erh based tea I would have never guessed it by taste alone.

While it’s not what I expected it’s still not bad for a bagged tea and it has it’s own charm. It’s more of a weak fruity chocolate spice cake than just chocolate by itself but perhaps that’s not such a bad thing.

Wow, this stuff is great. I was out yesterday at the NRA show in Chicago helping out at the Adagio booth and took sometime to look around and stopped off at the Numi booth where I tasted this te black and I was blown away at the amount earthy chocolate flavor I got. I took a sample bag home and made it last night with sweetener and milk and it was like a richer slightly cinnamon and hot chocolate. Delicious, I will have to buy some for myself.

On another note. The show was a lot of fun and everyone at Adagio was so very welcoming and kind. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to help out.

Basic chocolate Pu er, nothing special, not especially chocolate tasting, more of a plain Pu er taste.

Bagged, will restock with loose
Aroma when Dry: orange and chocolate, hints of both vanilla and cinnamon, layered, balanced
After water is first poured: warm orange chocolate, creamy
At end of steep: same notes, mellowed, more vanilla
Tea liquor:
At end of steep: clay brown/red
Staple? Yes, trying loose leaf next
Time of day preferred: evening
Taste:
first notes (without milk): cinnamon, then smooth, dusty, dry, deep like orange baking chocolate
As it cools? Notes deepen, balanced tea gets more velvety, even slightly fuzzy
Additives used (milk, honey, sugar etc)? Not for this tasting
Have used with milk with great success
With Milk: mimics bold cocoa
Lingers? Yes, the velvety notes suggested open up, with a chocolate dusty, creamy, almost buttery nature vanilla note stays longest

This is very good. I must admit, I’m a bit flabbergasted that this was at my local health-food store (next to Yogi tea no less). This tea is a bit of a hybrid since it’s pu-erh, rooibos, and misc spices. I’ve separated this tasting into four parts that include the initial tasting, the apex plateau, the lingering plateau, and the final exhale tasting. I may start doing my notes like this because I think it describes the teas better (if you think otherwise just tell me I suck in my comments).

Initial: The pu-erh itself hits your tastebuds first- very nonchalant and earthy (the same earthy I’d describe mushrooms), but almost immediately the orange zest and rooibos pop up like some sort of surprise party.

Apex: The apex of the tasting reveals cocoa and the vanilla beans (I love that these compliment each other so well). I hate chocolate, but this is very smooth and not over-done.

Lingering taste: The fading of the tasting reveals the cinnamon (which again compliments the apex very well).

Final exhale: A final exhale tasting highlights the miniscule nuances of what tastes like nutmeg and of course the normal lingering chocolate aftertaste.

Overall I think this is a wonderful alternative to hot chocolate. It may not be that chocolatey, but I would consume it when I’d normally consume hot chocolate (because it’s hot and yummy).

Do you remember that chocolate drink – a Yoohoo (do those still exist)?! Anyways, that is what this tastes like… of course I haven’t had a Yoohoo in YEARS, so I may be off, but that is what first pops in my head. Or maybe like Swiss Miss hot chocolate made with only water and no milk, and watered down a bit more. I like this, it’s different though because it is watery and I expected that thicker puerh feel. The water looks like that of black tea, a nice honey color. The taste is smooth and you get more of a sweet coco powder taste than anything else. I am tempted to try this next time with a shot of cream =)~

Last sample from SimplyJenW… so much fun to trade with others! She threw this one in because she knows that I like chocolate… Well I absolutely loved the smell of this from the bag… it was a deep warm vanilla,chocolate, earthy smell. I almost wanted not to steep it because it smells so delicious.

After steeping the liquor is a really really dark amber color almost coffee color. The smell still has really earthy smell and not quite as sweet smelling now, more of a true dark real unsweetened cocoa smell with bits of cinnamon.

The first taste I was kind of disappointed… the smell is so much better than the taste to me. The earthiness comes out… I have never had a Puerh before, so not sure if this is how all of these teas taste but I feel as if this tea has to many flavors in it. You can smell the vanilla, and cinnamon, can even taste those a bit, but you also taste the unsweetened chocolate and then the earthiness… For me this mixture does not make sense.

After letting it cool a bit the flavors seem to meld a bit more and they are not so bad but I have to say that I think I won’t be buying this tea. I loved trying it though!

I’ve been looking for this tea on seeing good reviews. I found it finally at the Vitamin Shoppe instead and had a coupon for a dollar off. Instantly smelled like chocolate chai to me. I really like the robust dense body of this tea, and the left behind cocoa residue. I thought it was like coffee with chai dipped in it….which I see that I’m not alone in thinking that after now reading Cofftea’s review of this tea. I like it. It reminds me more of coffee than any tea I have had. It’s not as dark as Dr. Tea’s Imperial Pu-Erh but still quite tasty.