Earl of Chocolate (Formerly The Earl's Valentine)

I’ve never been a huge fan of the classic teas (earl grey, orange pekoe, etc). However, I’m always willing to try something new, and this was my chance to do just that! As a female, I’m obligated to love chocolate (and I definitely do), so I decided to grab bit of this tea, since it only comes around once a year. This tea is pleasant, it has nice floral notes to it, and you can definitely taste the hint of chocolate in there, but this tea is a little too overpowering for me to drink every day, hence why I gave it a lower rating. The tea itself might be better suited as a latte or with some milk to balance out the stronger notes. I would recommend this to anyone who’s looking for a fun tea to have once in a while.

I know that I am in the minority here, but I am not a fan of this one. I had tried this one as a tea-to-go last year and remember not being impressed with it, but I decided to try it again this year. But no…..this one is not for me. I cannot taste the chocolate. All I can taste is an overwhelmingly strong but unfamiliar flavour (bergamot?) and the floral tones of the rose buds. I will not be having another cup of this. It is a pity that I picked up 100g of it, but I am sure someone will be willing to trade for it, as it seems to be well-liked and is limited edition as well.

(DavidsTea 152)

Review for a bag of “The Earl’s Valentine” (2016). It was a decent enough cup but not quite as rich as I was remembering, nor as potent – perhaps I underleafed more than usual? I just don’t particularly remember the bergamot or rose making themselves known in the way I recall them.

Amazing as a latte. I don’t care for it straight hot… i feel like the bergamot flavoring is way to strong.. the milk really mellows it out

I got this one as a present for the Valentine’s day. I am not a huge fan of flavored black teas, but this one is really good! It has hints of chocolate chips, cocoa and some decent flowery scents. Not bad at all!!

In my everyday tea-drinking, I am learning that you can play with how the outcome of your steeped tea will taste. The key word is to adjust the measurement and steeping time depending on how you want your tea: pale or strong, tastier or creamier, hot or cold…. I was excited to try this tea the first time I had this. But turned out I didn’t steeped it long enough and didn’t put enough leaves to get the taste I was expecting… In short, I was disappointed. But being a person who don’t give up easily (aside from the fact that I don’t want to just throw it away-waste of money), I tried it again… This time I added more leaves and steeped it longer (experimenting is free). My verdict is it tasted better than the first time and the smell is stronger ( chocolate, hmm). Just finished the bag of 25 grams but no plans of stocking because I think I can live without it…. So far, the Red Velvet Cake is still the best black tea for me…. Happy drinking, tea-lovers!

I don’t think I brew this quite right as it was pretty weak. Will try a second brew tomorrow.

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY EVERYONE!!

I hope everyone is having an amazing day with their loved ones.

As for the tea, I tried it in store and surprisingly liked it despite the blerg and so I grabbed 20g. However, I didn’t like it that much so I’m not sure why I grabbed as much I did. Luckily I have someone I can pass it on to so I am having one cup to celebrate the holiday and say goodbye.

First off, this is a dark murky brown. It’s a little like muddy water which leaves a little bit of oiliness that I am not loving. I blame the chocolate. Still, it doesn’t fully detract from the cup as a whole. This tea smells great and looks really pretty with little chocolate curls and whole rosebuds, definitely a romantic looking blend. Unfortunately, the rosebuds and earl combined make this an especially floral tasting blend. It almost borders on perfumey but is held just in check by the chocolate and roasted carob.

Huh.

This was pretty good for a sludgy, artificially flavoured tea!

I saw the newsletter where it was unveiled, and knew I’d have to at least try it. So i was at the mall recently and picked up 50g. I was going to get 25 grams as per usual, but the smell of the leaves in the can in the store, along with the knowledge that it’s a fleeting flavour…. i had to get 50.

I made some earlier, here at work, and I accidentally put too much cream in it. I use 10% cream. I had to add the cream to my cup before the tea was ready, rather than standing around uselessly waiting for it to steep (time is money, people), and i added too much, so this was very light even though I let it steep forever.

I HAVE read other reviewers comment on this brewing up quite light for an EG, therefore the cream thing may not have totally been my fault.

Anyway, though it came with the typical layer of oily sludge in my cup, the flavours in this tea are really tasty. I found it was all very well balanced, and the milk/cream made me not mind the sludge. The rose and bergamot makes the fake chocolate thing take a backseat, so it wasn’t at all bad!

I don’t regret buying 50 grams, I’m sure it will come in handy as a desserty tea treat at work :)

Sipdown (116)!

Hmm, I think this one was better with milk than without. Although I actually thought the chocolate flavour came across better without the milk and the rose was just a little bit more distinct, this definitely tasted more artificial to me, and the oily/scummy mouthfeel was a lot more aparent.

Still, it was better overall than I expected it to be in the first place, and I guess it must have been pretty popular because both the stores in town were sold out of it before Valentine’s day. I called to see if I could grab any for a friend here on Steepster, not for myself – personally I didn’t like it enough to want any more of it.

Also, just gonna share this here because I accidentally found it this morning on Youtube, and I’m very in love with the concept!

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7_LetEm-ez8YH4XGJPdSXgg1oTMZ0n5T

I didn’t know I needed Adult Wednesday Addams in my life, but I don’t think I could go back now…