Spicy Chocolate

Tea of the afternoon here. I am not having a stellar day. I went to occupational therapy this morning for my hands/wrist which was good, but then my arm and shoulder have been really bothering me today. I’m so sick of dealing with this chronic pain and my Dr. is taking me off work restrictions next month so I’m going to have to try and find a job when I’m feeling poopy. It seems kind of impossible.

This tea is an old favorite and definitely my favorite tea from Kusmi. The chocolate and spicy notes seem very soothing and delicious right now. I don’t have any chais that I really love at the moment, but this is almost as good. It’s nice to have an old tea “friend” to cheer me up.

This one is going in the TTB (take 2) box that will be sent to Jason tomorrow THANKS TO AMAZONV!!!! She told me I could sample it before sending off! Woot! Thanks girl!

It smells like a Chocolate covered coffee bean with a bit of spice!

It’s a nice medium brown with a slight orange-ish hue.

I’m getting more spices than chocolate but it’s an interesting taste. The spices are certainly tolerable enough. I would love to taste more chocolate but I must say this is pretty good as is.

I’m so glad I was able to try it! Thanks AmazonV!

Yes. I approve!

Also, this is really especially good if you take a sip of it right after taking a bite out of a chocolate bar. I suspect this is a secret that applies to ALMOST every tea.

But barring (ha) the chocolate bar, this is still very good. Is that an assam back there? I’m not sure, but the base is nice, and the spices are good. And should be identifiable. Nutmeg, and cinnamon maybe? And a little bit of chocolate. To be fair, there’s never enough chocolate so I always say “a little bit”.

I’ve never ordered from Kusmi or checked them out so I went and checked the website. It’s in French. I clicked on language, and selected Canada, expecting to be given a choice but nope. Apparently we speak French here.

Nous parlons francais ici!

Non, c’est non pas vrais. Or something like that. It’s been 10 years you guys.

Merci beaucoup VariaTEA!

Finishing and decupboarding this one today. It remains my favorite among the Kusmi chocolates, but the Kusmi chocolates remain not my favorite Kusmis as subtlety and chocolate do not go together in my book. Still, the spice blend is nice on a chilly day and it’s not that the chocolate isn’t there, it’s just a second-seat to the spices and too much of a second seat to be what I’m looking for in a chocolate tea.

TTB 1.2

This tea smells absolutely divine – rich, creamy chocolate. The resulting tea is smooth and not at all bitter with a fairly strong chocolate taste. I added a bit of milk and sugar which just intensifies the dessert quality of this tea.

Overall, this tea is a nice surprise. I wasn’t sure it was going to be strong enough on the chocolate for me. Although it could stand to be stronger, the chocolate level is adequate and absolutely delicious. I’m not sure if it lives up to the name “Spicy Chocolate” but it is a decent chocolate tea nonetheless.

SIPDOWN. Haha. Thanks, VariaTEA, for sharing. I added milk and sugar, and took it out to play in the SNOW. Yes! Snow! This doesn’t really happen much here, so I am EXCITE!

Well. Now I have to get ready for work because my boss hasn’t responded to my email inquiry yet. Better to go in and leave right away than to not go in and get in trouble. Also, I need to check some Science. :)

Steep Information:
Amount: 4tsp
Water: 212 ° filtered water 750ml
Tool: Breville One-Touch Tea Maker BTM800XL (Black, strong)
Steep Time: 3 minutes
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: chocolate and some unidentifiable spices (pepper? cardamom?)
Steeped Tea Smell: chocolate, black tea, a hint of pepper / cardamom?
Flavor: spiced black tea, astringent, a touch bitter
Body: Full
Aftertaste: astringent
Liquor: dark orange-brown

I found this at Kitchen Kapers when hunting for a monther’s day gift for my mother. I got this instead for me (and two others).

It’s very much a chai-tea to me, and I think next time I will make it with honey and milk.

images: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/05/kusmi-tea-loose-leaf-black-tea-spicy.html

was this one just me? to me this was HORRIBLE! but i will concede that i haven’t been at my best lately =0( i’ve been on a drug for my illness for 13 years and i’m coming off it finally…. my neurotransmitters feel like they’re being dragged across a grater.

this blend and i work not.

Mmm..yum!! (thank you Lori for forwarding this sample!)

This is delicious! Almost like a mocha chai cafe latte! :) The taste is rich and almost coffee-like, to me. Nicely spicy and cocoa-y.

The scent is very much like mocha (very cocoa-coffeish). And the spices…I detect plenty of cinnamon, maybe a bit of cardamom and black pepper? It’s very chai-like.

This is a flavored tea done right! I’m so happy to try out a Kusmi tea. I’ve been so curious about this brand. This is definitely full-tin worthy!

(lol! I crack myself up— I’m remembering a Seinfeld moment— “Sponge-worthy!!”)

This is more chocolate than spice, at least to my tastes. In my world that’s a good thing. Not my favorite chocolate tea, but it’s pretty good.
Thanks VariaTEA for sending me this sample.