Brownie Batter with Nut Butter Swirl

From 2017, still sealed. I picked this one this morning since of my 2017 52Teas blends, it has sunflower seeds, which I know can be a finicky ingredient about going stale. Since my packet had never been cut open, though, I’m hoping it’s still fine but figured I should probably give it sipdown priority before the seeds get any older!

I’m up at the crack of dawn making tea because my cat has no understanding of “Daylight Savings Time” and as far as she was concerned, this is the time we always have breakfast, NOT an hour before breakfast time. I (begrudgingly) decided to oblige her than face more dawn hour dermal abrasians to any bits of skin exposed from my covers. I don’t think any tea could do much wrong to me at the moment, least of all a 52Teas blend…

Smells deeply fudgy, with some wiffs of caramel and nuts in the aroma as well. Has a nice, strong, chocolately taste; a very smooth, creamy/fudgy sort of chocolate taste. I do taste the nutty component, a bit softer than the chocolate, but present; I’m not sure if I could place any particular nut, though my brain is leaning toward hazelnut… that may just be because I strongly associate their taste with chocolate, because I’m one of those people that will eat Nutella by the spoonful.

Sweet, rich, just the tiniest hint of saltiness, and entirely satisfying. Even if I wasn’t only half-conscious, I’d be entirely digging this cup.

I was very curious about how this would compare to Chocolate Eclair, which I’m mildly obsessed with. Also, I recall sunflower seeds in another blend, and I actually liked it, but I can’t for the life of me remember which one it was. Opening the packet, this smelled a little… rancid? Or just bitter or something. Either it’s its age showing or it’s because I was expecting a sweeter pecan-y nutty scent, as I completely forgot that this had sunflower seeds.

With milk, the sunflower seeds are quite strong. Definitely the strongest note, even stronger than the chocolate. I like sunflower seeds, and I recall them working with whichever previous blend I’ve had, but for some reason it’s not really working here.

I’m very glad to have gotten this in my mystery bag though. Those are always fun.

Eh, not my favourite chocolate blend from 52Teas. There is some nice cocoa, but it wasn’t as rich as I would have liked. It also could have used more vanilla and some creamy or cake flavour. The sunflower seeds do give a bit of nutty flavour, but unfortunately don’t convey the same taste as peanut or almond butter (but are allergen free, which is the point).

Sipdown (640)!

A share from VariaTEA, and one that I was curious about when it originally came out but not enough to really pounce on it. I’m grateful to get to try it out now.

It’s actually kind of freaky how perfectly this tastes like what it’s named after; very fudgey, decadent chocolate notes in the top of the sip followed by undertones and a finish that’s really creamy and nutty. I think it tastes more like cashew butter than anything else, but with a little bit of almond to it as well. I think it’s technically sunflower, though? Regardless – it’s a REALLY scary good recreation. Now, that said, do I love it? Well, no. I mean, I’m totally living for the nutty elements but chocolate teas have never been my forte and while I think this is a really solid one it’s not the type of thing that I go nuts over – pun semi intended.

Thanks for the share! It was great scratching that itch of curiosity!

Straight up sunflower seed tea! That’s what this is for me. The chocolate isn’t too apparent, but there’s a depth to the black tea that I really like. I’m not the biggest black tea fan, but of the bunch this is a really nice one. Call me crazy, but the seed flavor is making me taste salt. It’s such a unique flavor for a tea!

Ashmanra’s sipdown challenge – March 2023 Tea #8 – March 25 – The end of American Chocolate week

I had to take out the sunflower seeds before finishing this.  The sunflower seeds were a super innovative idea in theory, but probably only if you drink the tea within a year.  So luckily I know Anne has changed the sunflower seed idea for us hoarders.  Otherwise, I would never say no to a chocolate black tea (WITH COCOA SHELLS.)
2023 sipdowns: 37

Workshop continues. Exhausting. Went to bed extremely early last night and woke up at the crack of dawn to indulge myself in one of my favourite vices before heading out again.

Second cup of this. Brownie, as in chocolate, missing altogether. However, I am getting the sunflower seed taste. Not quite what the name indicates. In the second steep, the sunflower seed flavour turns into generic nuttiness, vaguely walnut or pecan.

I had higher expectations of this one, but I will keep trying. We’ll see.

had my las of this today in an effort to clean up some samples before i get around to organising my cupboard for 2018. A decent cup, but i still want this to be much more indulgent than it is. Happy to try it though :)

I’m trying this blend a day late because I just couldn’t manage to give it a go yesterday.

We have officially begun our descent into EOY fundraising chaos, and, since we’ve got the entire week off for Christmas, it’s been a frantic and frustrating week (and it’s only Wednesday!). In the past week, I’ve spent nearly $400 out-of-pocket for poorly planned and mismanaged work-related projects, and I pray to sweet baby Jesus I’m reimbursed at the end of the month.

That said, when I finally sat down long enough to even think about a cup of tea yesterday, I was craving something comforting. The steeping instructions had given me hope that I’d be enjoying a lovely black tea in a matter of minutes. Unfortunately, after scratching off the label, I realized that I’d have to turn to some of the Harney samples in my desk drawer instead.

Again with the sunflower seeds…ugggggggggggh…

Needless to say, I powered through the cuppa today (day 7). My motivation was the tea intended for today, Crisp Cranberry Soda (one of my favorites from last year), waiting in the wings.

Hot and straight up, I smell, almost exclusively, black tea and sunflower seeds. That’s just about all I can taste as well. There’s a chocolate note there, but, unfortunately, it’s quite light. Since the chocolate flavor is easily overpowered by the sunflower seeds, this tastes less like an indulgent brownie batter and more like chocolate covered sunflower seeds.

Another miss for me.

I met with Sil today which means I have my teabento and What-Cha teas and as I logged each into my steepster cupboard, I got more and more excited about trying them. However, one really called to me and that was Jiri Horse. I had to see just how milk chocolate-y it really was and though it maybe wasn’t as chocolate-y as I expected, it was still very good.

Now I am moving on to the 6th tea of Christmas which is also quite good. It is a lot more nut than anything else, at least in the first few sips, though the nut flavor is also creamy which helps sell the “nut butter” element even if it is a touch too sunflower-y at times.

Once you get past the nut, there is a fudgyness to this that really does make me think or brownies. So both elements come across though, at least for my tastes, a little unbalanced. Still a very nice tea, though one I probably wouldn’t drink as much as some other 52Teas blends such as Rocky Road. Again, that is just my personal preference. Although, maybe as a latte…