Disappointed with Chocolate Tea

[henley]

Disappointed with Chocolate Tea

by henley » Mar 31st, '08, 08:33

I'm open for suggestions... The times that I've tried chocolate tea either alone or mixed w/something, it has a bitterness to it. I don't know if I simply don't like it or if I'm doing something wrong. I use boiling water & steep for 4 min.

[Mary R]

by Mary R » Mar 31st, '08, 09:28

In my experience, chocolate is one of the more difficult flavors to reproduce in a flavored tea. Some are just downright awful. I really doubt it's anything you're doing in the brewing...it's most likely the tea itself.

That being said, I've been brewing a lot of Adagio's Valentine these days. It's a chocolate-cherry flavor, and it's a good one. I've had more success when I use 190ºF-200ºF water for about 4 minutes than when I use boiling.

[henley]

by henley » Mar 31st, '08, 11:19

Adagio's Valentine & chocolate mint are about the only chocolate teas I've liked. The flavor was very subtle. I purchased a tin of chocolate tea as I like making my own combos but haven't hit the nail on the head yet.

Thanx for the tip on lowering the water temp. Will have to try that next time.

[Cinnamon Kitty]

by Cinnamon Kitty » Mar 31st, '08, 16:14

For the chocolate tea sample that I have from Adagio, I found that it tasted better with a pinch of peppermint and a little bit of sugar. I used 1 tsp of chocolate tea with 1/2 tsp or less of peppermint with boiling water for about 4 minutes. I added a few sugar crystals too. It ended up tasting like a peppermint patty, heavily minty, but with a dark chocolate aftertaste.

For Valentines tea, I've been using boiling water for 4 minutes and adding a splash of either soy or almond milk. I've found that the milk brings out the chocolate covered strawberry flavor. It also gives the tea a lightly creamy, decadent taste that makes it feel like I am having desert in a tea mug.

[olivierco]

by olivierco » Mar 31st, '08, 16:38

I have never understood the need to drink a tea with a chocolate taste.

For me (real) chocolate has a too strong flavor that annihilates the taste of the tea.

[Eastree]

by Eastree » Mar 31st, '08, 17:00

I have never understood the need to drink a tea with a chocolate taste.

For me (real) chocolate has a too strong flavor that annihilates the taste of the tea.

It's something similar for me. Besides the strong taste, there's also a range of texture expected with anything chocolate I have. And there's also the purity of real chocolate; not that I can necessarily tell every time, but when it's not real , I usually don't enjoy it as much. Chocolate needs to be thick, hopefully creamy, and full of flavor.

[Mary R]

by Mary R » Mar 31st, '08, 22:12

I've found that the milk brings out the chocolate covered strawberry flavor. It also gives the tea a lightly creamy, decadent taste that makes it feel like I am having desert in a tea mug.

Ditto. Ditto, ditto, ditto.

I'm very much anti-milk, but one day I brewed the Valentine's a shade too long and it got very tannic, and tannic teas seem to get a little more complex when milk is added, so I tried it.

Wow.

Now Valentine's with milk is my guilty indulgence. I'm such a terrible purist.

[RussianSoul]

by RussianSoul » Mar 31st, '08, 22:20

Oh? Valentine's with milk? How interesting! I love milk in my tea, but so far it was limited to Assams. And I was not that impressed with Valentine's blend by itself - too flavored for me. Must try Valentine's with milk .

Thanks Mary and Cinnamon Kitty!

[Cinnamon Kitty]

by Cinnamon Kitty » Apr 1st, '08, 00:23

Oh? Valentine's with milk? How interesting! I love milk in my tea, but so far it was limited to Assams. And I was not that impressed with Valentine's blend by itself - too flavored for me. Must try Valentine's with milk .

Thanks Mary and Cinnamon Kitty!

Welcome! I actually learned the tip while reading the reviews people left for the tea on the Adagio site. I've learned that they sometimes have good brewing tips though it takes a while to go through all the reviews to find something useful.

I fully agree with Mary. Valentines is one of the two teas that I will ever put milk in. The other tea is Vanilla Rooibos, which doesn't need the milk to taste good, but I learned it tastes like sugar cookies when a bit of vanilla soy milk is added.

[skywarrior]

by skywarrior » Apr 1st, '08, 01:21

I drink a lot of chocolate tea. I rinse with hot water first, which gets rid of the bitterness.

Second, I use 2 tsp for 20 oz of water for 4 minutes. I use boiling, but that is about 197 or so where I live.

[keelyn]

by keelyn » Apr 24th, '08, 20:56

I dunno, I love Adagio's Chocolate and Valentine's teas both steeped at 212 degrees for 3-4 min, without milk or sugar. My ratio is 1 tsp tea to 16 oz of water.

I like Adagio's chocolate flavoring better than some other chocolate tea flavoring, which to me taste like Raisinettes rather than real chocolate.

I might have to try the tea with some milk sometime as per the suggestions, but I usually only use milk in spicy chais.

[Wosret]

by Wosret » Sep 16th, '08, 23:38

I was sceptical about chocolate tea, but I tried a chocolate mint tea and it was delicious! Perhaps they used chocolate mint leaf, rather than chocolate and mint? I was very pleasantly surprised.

[henley]

by henley » Sep 20th, '08, 06:07

I was sceptical about chocolate tea, but I tried a chocolate mint tea and it was delicious! Perhaps they used chocolate mint leaf, rather than chocolate and mint? I was very pleasantly surprised.

Chocolate mint tea is one of the few flavored teas I like. It reminds me of Andes candy or a York Peppermint Patty w/o the guilt.

[Wosret]

by Wosret » Sep 20th, '08, 14:26

Peppermint patties are low fat, anyway!

[cajunwowi]

Weight Watchers

by cajunwowi » Sep 26th, '08, 15:29

I'm on Weight Watchers and sometimes can't get past the urge for chocolate. I agree Valentine Tea definately fills that need for something sweet. But I have to have a touch of milk or soy in it. Yummy!!!

Barely any WW Points!!!