Cococaramel Sea Salt Herbal Tea

Thanks whatshesaid for the swap!

So apparently I need to stop being a wimp, and I should just go into Teavana and try some teas out because this is pretty good. I wonder what their minimum is – 2oz?

I can’t believe this is herbal. It sorta tastes like I’m eating a salted chocolate bar. Or something like that. I love salt and sweet flavours mixing together so that’s part of why this mix works. I’m tasting a lot of chocolate, nuts, and maybe a bit of licorice as well? It’s actually not as thin and watery as other chocolate teas that I’ve tasted which is impressive. And it’s unusual enough that it’d be a nice one to stock up. I wonder how much sugar is in this? :O

Too bad this has so many mixed ratings. I’m actually quite pleased with it! I think it’d be great when I’m feeling ‘snacky’ but am trying to avoid excessive munching.

SIPDOWN! WOO!

It was tasty tonight. Made sure I didn’t oversteep it. Added a load of almond milk.

I probably won’t buy this again, but it was a pretty good dessert tea! And it went well with the pumpkin mug cake I made. :)

This one is so good.
I wrote an awesome review, but my computer ate it earlier…So this will be the short version. Dry, this smells exactly like rocky road ice cream; no kidding. It smells divine when steeped and tastes even better! I’m not really thinking “caramel” when I drink this. It reminds me a bit of chocolate flan stuffs. I really love the chocolate flavor in this one because it is just, so much more natural tasting compared to other chocolate teas that I’ve had. This one is just as good as, if not better, than the slimful chocolate decadence one I think. The liquor itself looks very scary actually; lots of floaties all over the place. If my cupboard wasn’t already so full I’d say that I should get a whole bunch of this one! It is excellent.

I got sucked in by Teavana’s emails featuring this blend. And I think I saw a few reviews on here that intrigued me enough to buy the minimum 2 ounces to try it. It smells amazing in the bag but I found it to be a little weak in the cup. Now to be fair, I did make this as a latte and it is my first latte that I’ve ever made at home with my new milk frother. I was also trying to make enough for 2 cups of tea, so that could be why it’s weak. The flavor that it does has is pleasant and I will enjoy trying it as a regular cuppa, sans the latte. :)

So I finally tried this as a regular cup of tea, and I don’t know what to think. The tea is really cloudy and greasy on top, it kind of grossed me out. Without sweetener I took one sip and hated it, it was really thick and nutty tasting without any sweetness to it. With sweetener it’s better, and I can taste a little of the caramel and chocolate. I don’t really notice any sea salt flavor, but I am obsessed with salt and like a ton of it so maybe that’s why? I tried sprinkling a little sea salt on top to see if that enhanced the flavor at all, and it does bring out more of that salty-sweet flavor. I don’t know, though, I’m just not loving this tea. Being completely honest, the look of it is really throwing me off. I’m a CNA and about to go to nursing school and the color and consistency of this reminds me a little too much of a certain unnamed bodily fluid (am I allowed to say that on Steepster!?) I’m sad because I really really wanted to like this tea so much, since I have a big love of sweet/salty things. I really can’t even finish the cup, so into the swap pile it goes. :(

-Dry blend looks like a small trail mix of chocolate and nut pieces, little red berries, large coconut flakes and small yellow, orange and red petals.
-Dry blend smells salty and nutty with a hint of sweet chocolate. Tea liquor aroma is of toasty nuts.
-Tea liquor is a cloudy dark yellow color with an oily sheen on top.
-Weak nutty flavor with a light caramel chocolate finish. Faint salty aftertaste.
-Best with sweetener.
-Poor tea. Weak flavor with a thick greasy consistency.

6 oz water, 6 oz milk, and a heaping tablespoon of this tea, simmered on the stove for about 10 minutes. Melt that chocolate! Definitely reminiscent of hot chocolate but less like drinking sugar. MUCH better this way than just made with water…it needs a heavier liquid to hold up to all the stuff in here.

I’ve brewed this tea a couple times (without blending it with other things) now, and I hadn’t reviewed it because I thought it was on me why it won’t turn out tasty at all. Today was the last go around, and while I’ve been thinking for a while that it’s the tea and not me, I’m 100% certain now.

It starts out tasting thick and caramelly-like, and then becomes muddled with out of place spices, an artifical chocolate note, and an ‘off’ type of sweetness from the licorice — it’s sweet in the back of your throat but not in the sip while it’s in your mouth. Then’s a touch of salt that blends with the sweetness as well. Because of the amount of things going on, and the fact there’s kind of a heavy, oily body to this on, I find it pairs better with milk than water. Either way, there’s a film on the cup.

I honestly just can’t find any way that I enjoy it without mixing it with other teas. For something that sounds so good, it’s a huge disappointment.

Took this to work for a sugar hit today. I do love this tea for its pure caramelly sweetness. It is not fussy, it take boiling water, a bit of sugar, and a normal steep time and turns it into something that tastes like it should have a whole lot more calories than it does. It was the decadent tasting tea I needed this morning!

Okay… this was my second attempt at this one. The first time around, the first half of the cup was just okay, but as I got closer to the bottom (and it started to cool), it got gross and muddled-tasting. Just scummy sweetness and a whole lot of licorice and spices – like an artificial mess of flavor. Tossed the last bit down the drain.

Lest anyone say I didn’t give it enough of a chance, I tried again today. But this time, after just 5 sips I had to dump it out… could seriously not finish the cup.

Something about it just makes it tolerable for the first couple sips, then it seems like the taste builds on you and turns… off, somehow. Lowering my rating.

I wish I had tea ESP. You know that feeling when you get an order in, and once you’ve tasted all the teas there are some you love you didn’t get enough of, and some you really don’t love that you now have too much of? That’s what happened with me and Teavana’s Heavenly sale. I should have gotten, like, a pound of this. It’s heaven.

Going by other peoples’ tips I decided to do this stovetop with 1 cup milk, 1 cup water and a teaspoon of sugar. Simmered for about 10 minutes the same way you would a chai, and yes, this really is like hot chocolate. Rich, decadent, with creamy caramel, toasty nuttiness and a tiny hint of salt. It’s better than any hot chocolate I’ve had, and that’s saying something because usually chocolate teas have me reaching for the hot cocoa mix with their distinct lack of richness.

This, though, is just… it’s perfect. There’s so much complexity, and it’s an herbal! It’s like someone took perfect hot chocolate, drizzled caramel into it and added a shot of hazelnut syrup (which I’m assuming comes from the nuts in the mix) and then finished it off with a sprinkle of salt. FINALLY I have found the chocolate tea for me! Too bad Teavana’s base prices are so high, but I will definitely pay retail price for this gem.

thank you moraiwe! you sent an awesome box and i let my sister immediately select an herbal tea to share :)
it’s a yummy enough tea, if not strangely ….. oily?
it’s got an oil film goin’ on. you know the kind. but what’s not to ENJOY about an herbal tea with No rooibos in it?!? hah
also plus chocolate. also plus caramel. didn’t really get a bunch of sea salt. but adding salt to caramel is the hip thing these days isn’t it. totally acceptable.

now…
let’s be honest. british television writes women WAY BETTER than any american show ever has. like. ever.
it’s so embarrassing.