Griottes (Chocolate Cherry)

I was a bit hesitant to purchase this one. I love chocolate covered cherries (especially dark chocolate ones) but a few reviews compared the flavor to cherry cough syrup and that made me nervous. I like real cherries, but do not like cherry flavored things. Still, the lure of a chocolate-covered cherry tea was too much, so I gave in. The dry leaves smell perfectly of rich dark chocolate with a tangy sweet cherry note. The tea’s aroma is of medicinal cherry (but not too mediciney) with a hint of sweet chocolate. There is a pretty sweet cherry and chocolate flavor and finish, with a strong cherry aftertaste that lingers. Without milk and sweetener, that strong cherry aftertaste reminded me a little too much of cherry cough syrup. However, with milk and sweetener it becomes a cup of liquid chocolate covered cherry. Over the holidays, my mom and I always purchase a few boxes of the cheap Queen Anne’s chocolate covered cherries and the flavor of this tea reminds me of those. It’s not the most authentic cherry flavor, which is ok because it’s more of a candy-sugary flavor. I am glad this tea is better than what I was expecting, and that it’s really quite good. Maybe not a tea that I will jump to repurchase, but I will gladly finish the rest of this try me pack!

-Dry blend has medium black tea leaves and twigs with small chocolate chips and pieces of dried cherries.
-Dry leaves smell like rich dark chocolate with a tangy sweet cherry note. Tea liquor aroma is of medicinal cherry with a hint of sweet chocolate.
-Tea liquor is a clear light golden brown color.
-Sweet cherry and chocolate flavor and finish. Strong lingering cherry aftertaste.
-Best with milk and sweetener.
-Very good tea. A decadent cup of dark chocolate and candy cherry flavor. Reminiscent of Queen Anne’s chocolate covered cherries.

More chocolate :) It’s surprising how many varieties of chocolate tea there are on the market and Della Terra seem to have a decent selection. I have around 5/6 other chocolate tea’s that I have yet to try from them but so far so good. Other chocolate tea’s I have tried seem to be as far from chocolate as possible and it just tastes chemically fake and strange.

Raw this tea smells like chocolate with dark cherries, almost like black forest gateux.

Once brewed the chocolate is darker and the cherry is sweeter. A good start so far.

The flavour is nice, chocolatey and sweet but with only a hint of cherry. The smell is darker than the taste, whilst it does taste of dark chocolate rather than milk it’s still rather light and fresh. It’s similar to a hot chocolate/hot cocoa drink but without the milk/creamer and a drop of cherry liqueur/syrup in for flavour.

I was hoping that this would be a little stronger with the cherry but it’s still very nice. I would say it tastes more like chocolate cake with a cherry on top than fresh cherries dipped in chocolate.

I do have a tea to compare this with and that would be Black Forest – Simpli-special. That tea contained stronger tasting cherries and it was also a little sweeter. In comparison this Griottes blend tastes like a weakened version.

http://steepster.com/teas/simpli-special/30637-black-forest

1.5 tablespoons for 375 ml

Very slight cherry flavour. Slight chocolate sweetness. Dark chocolate astringency. There are definite overtones and an aftertaste of artificial chocolate flavour (likened to soapy detergent taste). I am reminded of the taste of Chocolate Chili Chai by DAVIDsTEA.

Thanks to Sil for sharing

I liked this one. I’m not one for chocolate teas but I thought id give it a try. Out of all the chocolate teas I have this one is my fav. I don’t get a lot of cherry but its a nice sweet but not too sweet chocoalte tea.

The scent is pretty nice, both chocolate and cherry. And the flavour is pretty much like those cordial cherries. It’s good, but would be better with a little vanilla. (Now I need to find another chocolate tea to try it with.)

Dry this one has a strange, almost soapy chemical smell, and the cherry seems more the alarmingly pink jarred maraschino type than fresh. Brewing a perfume-y element comes through all the chocolate and cherry aroma. Once finished brewing, in the cup it has a distinct liquor-like smell, as if the cherries are fermented.

Unlike with many DT offerings, a lot of those strong scents don’t translate into flavor, for better or worse. There is the taste of dark chocolate a la H&S Florence, and some cherry-ish thing with that soap comes in at the back of the sip.

All in all this isn’t terrible or gross really, but it is kind of strange, puzzling. Wouldn’t restock, I don’t think.

First tea from Della Terra Teas and I am impressed. I tried it when it was too hot, and I got mostly a sour cherry taste that I didn’t like. When it was warm, it tasted sooo good. Smooth chocolate cherry… the chocolate is pretty strong. I am so content right now, I feel like I’m wrapped snugly in a blanket of chocolate, I can smell it all around me and the aftertaste is nice. Mmmm… good cup to end the night :)

To introduce myself to Della Terra teas, I had bought a few sample packs to figure out what I liked. I liked all the rooibos I tried, but the flavored black teas kept falling short of what I was hoping for and what I kept reading others were experiencing. Yesterday I happen to take a sip of a cup I had let get cold and dumped the rest of it before I tasted what I had in my mouth. I was caught off guard at the flavor and noted to try to cold brew some of their black tea. So last night I dumped a heaping teaspoon into a glass of water and stuck it in the fridge overnight. Added some sugar this morning and wow! I guess it turns out I just don’t like their black tea warm! This stuff is really flavorful! I get a pretty even cherry and chocolate flavor on the sip and chocolate lingering after. The cherry flavor is more like maraschino cherries than fresh, but in a pleasant way that matches well with the chocolate. I am really enjoying it and my cup is almost empty now! I want more… MOOOOOORE!!!

From Ost’s Stash sale.
I’m not really a huge fan of artificial cherry flavor, but I don’t mind it so much with chocolate, and I did quite like Stash’s Black Forest tea, so I decided to check this out. I really was not impressed. I couldn’t taste chocolate or cherry here, it just tasted bland and soapy. Someone else said there’s rose in this, so maybe that’s what I’m tasting? I think I’ll be passing this on to someone else.

Slowly working my way through my untried Della Terras. I used 1.5tsp of leaf, and gave it 3 minutes in boiling water. No additions. The dry leaf contains small-ish pieces of dried cherry and a generous amount of chocolate chips, so I’m hopeful that it’ll turn out well.

To taste, this really does resemble a chocolate dipped cherry! Maybe not as intensely flavoured as the actual thing, but definitely on the right lines. I can taste the cherry first, and it’s a sweet, juicy, black cherry flavour that’s not at all artificial. The chocolate emerges mid-sip, and adds a little hit of sweetness that really helps the cherry flavouring along. Both flavours meld and linger in the aftertaste, making this a wonderfully decadent dessert tea. I could happily sit and sip a mug of this while others tucked into a slice of black forest gateau, and I wouldn’t feel left out at all. Black forest gateau is another good flavour comparison here – it really captures the chocolate/cherry element THAT well. The black tea base is unobtrusive, and I can’t really taste all that much of it. The flavouring is definitely the star here.

I like this one – it’s a very enjoyable cup, and one of the more flavour accurate, satisfying dessert teas I’ve tried. It’s one I’d perhaps look to repurchase in the future, once my stash is a little more under control. Like that’ll ever happen, though! I’ll certainly have no problem finishing this sample.