Love Potion

Apparently I was in a very “love” oriented mood this afternoon as I ended up making this at the same time I steeped another tea called “Sweet Love”. I only noticed after asking my roommate if she wanted to try some tea and having to awkwardly tell her such cheesy names. However, I suppose it is the right month to be in the loving spirit.

This tea is definitely in the loving spirit, starting with the dry leaf that has flower petals and cute little heart sprinkles. There is definitely a strong chocolate flavor to this, though it is more reminiscent of a cheap chocolate bar than smooth and creamy chocolate deliciousness. Furthermore, mixed with the floral, I am just finding this a little off-putting for my tastes. Plus, I cannot find the strawberry anywhere :(.

Thank you Scheherazade for the opportunity to try this tea. Alas, it seems I am just not loving the love-inspired flavors.

my bluebird samples are finally here! long story short since i t appears that work has gotten away from me tonight. this is sort of meh for me. chocolate flavour is nice but there’s something here that is off putting. Maybe it’s the floral notes. I’m not sure but i’d have to try another taste before really figuring it out. As it cools it tastes significantly better except then it’s cold. lol

Thanks yet again to Bluebird Tea Co. for another free sample :)

So one thing that I’m very thrilled about with this tea company is that none of the three teas I’ve tried so far taste anything like a tea I’ve previously had. They taste unique, which is great (but also terrible) because that means that I’m eager to try out more of their flavours, particularly ones I dismissed as likely being “too similar to other teas I’ve had before”.

So this tea? No exception. I was expecting generic chocolate/florally rose black. Nope, not here. Yes, there’s certainly some chocolate. Dark chocolate. But it’s unlike any chocolate flavour I’ve previously had in tea… darker and more satisfying. And there’s rose, a bit of fruit (strawberry?) and a sort of creaminess…. this kind of is tasting to me like a gourmet truffle of some sort. Like… a truffle I would like more of. There’s almost an alcoholic taste here as well, like a liqueur-filled chocolate… but not too intense that it puts me off.

Uh… so this one’s really good… debating just drinking up the other sample of two I have of it that were technically supposed to be for other people… (I kid… kind of… :P)

ETA: Like Tealizzy, I didn’t see any candy hearts in my sample – but I would really prefer it that way, as I dislike their presence in tea. The rose petals make this one pretty enough!

Another sample from Bluebird! So, this tea smells heavenly! Very much a fruity cocoa smell. I didn’t see any hearts in my sample…bummer :( This is another Bluebird tea that I think is better without milk. Strange, since I usually take my black teas with milk. The cocoa note is really nice!!! It is also fruity, but I couldn’t really discern which fruit. There’s a little floral note too. Overall, it was good, but not my favorite combination. I think people who like fruity chocolate teas will really like it though.

I’ve been drinking this tea all week and haven’t written a note yet! Shame on me.

This is no generic fruity chocolate tea. This is a decadent spoil-me chocolate tea that I’m really glad I chanced on. The chocolate flavor is cocoa-y and natural, like a really smooth dark chocolate. It’s got that little bit of a chocolate liqueur note (which some good dark chocolate itself seems to have, so it’s completely welcome here), that I’d imagine with milk would probably remind me of something like Godiva Chocolate Liqueur.

Then there’s a layer of floral flavor from the rose that really satisfies the sweet element I found myself wanting here, followed by a fruit lift that hits me as strawberry.

Like the the other two reviews, I also did not have any hearts in my package. I really don’t think it needs them, for taste or appearance as this tea already excels in both.

From yesterday evening! It wouldn’t have been Valentine’s Day if I hadn’t indulged in at least one overly thematic tea throughout the day…

This was actually very nice; the dry leaf smells really strongly of chocolate liqueur but a lot of that booziness goes away in the infusion. In terms of taste, I most directly want to compare it to DT’s Love Tea #7 or newer Chocolate Covered Strawberry because they both share the same overall profile. I think it’s actually somewhere in the middle of those two teas though. Love Tea #7 is a much lighter, soft and delicate chocolate strawberry whereas Chocolate Covered Strawberry is strong, sweet and dense. This is middle bodied, with richness but without a cloying or lingering sweetness.

It was actually very, very good.

Another from the Bluebird order – I just wanted a 10gram sample of this one since I was unsure on the ingredients list. Lime with chocolate? But there is plenty here to balance out the flavors – strawberry, jasmine, papaya, vanilla, roses and cute heart sugar sprinkles. I’m definitely not picking out all of these flavors, but that’s possibly a blessing. Chocolate is at the forefront, both in the fragrance and in the flavor – I love cocoa shells! Otherwise there are hints of strawberry on this light black tea base.. maybe an odd flavor that could be papaya when it cools. It’s probably just not a “for-me” flavor combination — I’m glad I’m mainly tasting chocolate with strawberry but there are better Bluebird blends.
Steep #1 // 1 tsp // couple minutes after boiling // 3 min
Steep #2 // just boiled // 4-5 min

This was one of the smaller samples I got in the Bluebird Tea Co. group order. It’s not something I would have chosen on my own, though I do like strawberry and chocolate. The rose, on the other hand, is not one of my favorites, so hopefully it’s not overly strong in this blend. There are cute heart-shaped sprinkles mixed in with the tea, dried strawberry, rose petals, and pieces of crushed cacao shell. Dry scent is sweet and creamy chocolate with strawberry.

I actually quite like this, even though I can taste the rose involved. It blends quite nicely with the strawberry, and together they are almost like one cohesive flavor. The chocolate is definitely present, though it’s darker and more bitter than I expected. It’s a nice counterpoint to the sweeter, fruitier strawberry/rose. This one would definitely be delicious with milk and sugar added.

I am a fiend for comparisons when they’re presented to me, and having samples of both this blend and DAVIDsTEA’s Love Tea #7 in the house was too good to pass up an evening of fierce competition. I’ve been waiting for ages for the right moment; tonight seemed perfect, a reward after a killer home-cooked steak and scotch main course.

Sometimes I don’t like awarding the victory to the big guy but in this case I can’t help it, Love Tea #7’s got me. Despite very similar ingredients, I don’t find enough OOMPH in Bluebird’s lovely take. It’s very clear to me when tasting them side by side that this tea shines in the floral compared to David’s chocolate and berry notes… and in these stakes, chocolate and berry win my love.

Still, this is a lovely tea. I think it’s best served black with a touch of sugar to bring out those sweet, sweet florals. Thanks to Scheherazade for the sample!

I can’t remember whether I’ve ever logged this one properly. Something tells me not. Brewing, it smells wonderfully of warm, melted chocolate. The dry mix is really pretty, and well suited to a tea called love potion — rose petals, heart candies, a touch of sparkle…

The first sip of this one reminds me of Adagio’s Ripe for Romance. The chocolate is better here, though – less artificial tasting, and more silky and natural. It actually gives this tea a slightly thick, luxurious mouthfeel, although without being oily. The strawberry is subtle, but adds a fruity, fresh, summery sweetness to the middle of the sip. The strawberry is another very natural flavour.

I tried this one with milk first off, but I imagine it would be equally palatable without. That’s probably something I’ll move towards as spring develops. I’m impressed with this one, and I can see myself drinking it happily this spring/summer.