We don't know when or if this item will be available.
“We have decided that we don’t like to go out to movies anymore. First, there are no cuddly dogs and cats at the theater. Second, too many people talk in the theater! And third, they do not serve...” Read full tasting note
“Meh. Had this again, thinking I had yet to drink it. Shared a lot with various folks for the holidays as well as in swaps, and kinda wish I hadn’t. I really thought I’d checked this one first, and...” Read full tasting note
“I know. Today was supposed to be Oolong Day. I was supposed to sit and experiment with steep times and temperatures of the various oolong teas. It was supposed to be a sophisticated, elegant day....” Read full tasting note
“I kind of want to reserve judgment on this, because I’m drinking it not long after a workout and I’m feeling a bit dehydrated, but.. for as slowly as I’m drinking it, it’s very tasty. I was...” Read full tasting note
Description: Fine India tea is blended with cocoa, cardamom, and a hint of cinnamon to produce a balanced and warming cup. A delicate treat for any chocolate or tea lover.
Ingredients: black tea, cocoa, cardamom pods, cinnamon, natural flavoring
Origin: Germany
Steeping Suggestions:
Leaf Quantity: 2¼ g/cup
Water Temp: 212° (boiling)
Steep Time: 3-5 min.
Company description not available.
We have decided that we don’t like to go out to movies anymore. First, there are no cuddly dogs and cats at the theater. Second, too many people talk in the theater! And third, they do not serve stovetop chai at the concession stand!
Even though this is not my favorite chai by itself, it’s very good mixed half and half with Golden Moon’s Kashmiri chai. The resulting chai has a bit more oomph, and that little bit of chocolate is delightful. This tea can have flavor and astringency issues on its own, but the mixture helps tone them down. I don’t think I’ll repurchase this when it’s gone, but mixing it is a tasty way to use it up :)
Meh. Had this again, thinking I had yet to drink it. Shared a lot with various folks for the holidays as well as in swaps, and kinda wish I hadn’t. I really thought I’d checked this one first, and made sure it had a high rating from fellow Steepsterites… nope. Why did I order a huge bag of it, then?
Anyway. I’m just getting dark, bitter cocoa here. I’m sure it’s okay if sweetened, however I just had time to brew it before diving into gift wrapping.
Do you drink tea sweetened?
Hmm. Gift wrapping. There’s a concept! :)
I do drink tea sweetened, I was just too impatient to go and grab some Truvia. I had the same issue last time though with this tea, just too bitter. Normally I like bitter cocoa/cacao nibs, this was… bitter in a different way. Like tea that’s been steeped too long bitter.
this one did not work for me…. not sure why. =0(
I’ll try again, and again… I have so much of it. It’s low on the priority list.
I know. Today was supposed to be Oolong Day. I was supposed to sit and experiment with steep times and temperatures of the various oolong teas. It was supposed to be a sophisticated, elegant day. I’d even though of planning our trip to the Art Institute of Chicago as I sipped.
What happened? We decided that today would be a good day for a hike and geocaching adventure through a swamp. That’s what happened. My beloved said, “Don’t worry. It’s been cold enough to kill off the mosquitos. Besides, it’s mid-October there won’t be any mosquitos.”
No mosquitos, hah! I am covered from head to toe in little itchy bites. I don’t want to appreciate my tea while reviewing artistic possibilities. I want my tea to appreciate and love me. If it could kiss my mosquito bites and make them better, that would be ideal.
Since it is really just tea and can’t do any mosquito-bite aftercare, I’m doing my best to make it comforting. I’ve simmered it in soy milk with a small amount of sugar. It is a real chai instead of my normal steep and add creamer style.It is worth it. It smells warm, creamy, spicy, and sweet. It smells like it wants my mosquito bites kissed. Made this way the cardamon comes into its own with a sweet fruity smell. The cinnamon makes it taste like a cookie, the perfect emotional salve. And the taste? Divine! Each layer of cocoa, cardamon, tea, and cinnamon takes over my palate briefly revealing depths within and then retreats for the next flavor star.
Hope you itch less soon. Try a tea bath?
Your description of this is so tasty it almost makes me want to get bitten by mosquitos. I actually could, as the mosquitos here don’t die until hell freezes over and Elvis does a jig on my coffee table. But I’m always the person who gets bit by them when no one else is, so I feel like I don’t need to spend any more time donating blood. Might try this tea out, though.
Thanks chrine! My itching has subsided. (Little known fact: bathing the worst areas in Purell over and over is helpful.)
takgoti: If anyone should be able to get a magic Elvis to dance on her coffee table and eradicate the mosquitoes it should me. I live in Memphis. I’ve actually used Elvis brand Love Me Tender Shampoo. That should count for something.
I asked some of the rough tough geocachers here when the mosquitoes go away and they just laughed evilly at me. I retain hope despite that.
Oh man. Yeah, TN’s probably got a leg up on VA in terms of mosquitoes. My condolences. [I’ll have to try that Purell trick.]
That shampoo sounds amazing. Or horrifying.
I kind of want to reserve judgment on this, because I’m drinking it not long after a workout and I’m feeling a bit dehydrated, but.. for as slowly as I’m drinking it, it’s very tasty. I was expecting more of a cocoa taste, but this cup seems to be more spicy and sweet. That’s fine by me; I love anything with cardamom.
Thanks to JacquelineM for this sample! More to come.
Mmm, cardamom..
I had to share this with you: http://raspberryeggplant.blogspot.com/2007/10/mango-kulfi-cupcakes.html
These cupcakes are amazing! I haven’t tried the mango frosting, but the cardamom cupcakes themselves are fantastic.
I’m a big fan of cardamom too. :)
Sipdown no. 2 of August 2019 (no. 88 of 2019 total, no. 576 grand total).
To the original note on this, I’ll add that it was quite nice cold. So much so that No. 1 pretty much drank up every pitcher I made before I could have more than a glass or two.
And with that, the cupboard is down to 18 pages. Yahoo!
I’m not sure what’s up with me recently, I’ve been craving a lot of chai. Since it’s a bit of a PitA to make, when I don’t feel up to making it I have my standby instant tea (so I haven’t been logging much).
So I’ve been looking for a chawan to properly drink matcha and finally found one that I liked at Upton Tea Importers. Since I was placing an order, I HAD to buy some tea… right?
Opening the bag and smelling this one, I knew I was in for a treat. I usually don’t write about dry leaves (oh, yeah, tea leaves; they smell) but this blend made me want to jump in the bag with them. SO GOOD – mostly like chocolate. Yum.
This simmered on the stovetop (with milk and sugar) longer than I normally make chai for – I was puttering about in the kitchen making a pitcher of iced tea for the husband and doing other random things.
The taste…. it’s a tossup if I prefer this or Adagio’s Masala Chai. Adagio’s has a strong spice “bite” to it, while this is smooth and rich. I’ll probably end up keeping both in my cabinet for the foreseeable future and pulling out whichever my mood calls for.
The chocolate is still there, though it’s no longer dominant. It’s allowing the other flavors to play (though I’m not tasting cinnamon). So good!
Did you get the full matcha set or just the chawan?
I just wrote about my first matcha using the chawan; I’ll post links in that entry.
Yum, chocolate and cardamom sounds so good!
Shanti – it is! This is a great chai!
Sounds much like 52teas Mayan Chocolate Chai w/ out the “Mayan” lol. Green cardamom makes chai so pretty!
Cofftea – 52teas has a lot more ingredients in theirs (like ginger root, which is why haven’t tried it; that doesn’t sound good to me; also cayenne pepper? er, no thanks).
Oh… yeah see I love ginger- I have ginger root that I use for blending. And I LOVE cayenne! I can out spice my dad which is kinda funny.
So…this one is supposed to be the Shiz-nat, eh!? :)
It smells a little like snickerdoodle and black tea. I’m just finishing up the infusion now.
It’s a reddish-brown in color, medium.
It doesn’t taste like snickerdoodle. It is a like a paler chai…cinnamon but not over the top, thankfully…it’s the perfect amount! This is pretty good…will be trying again!
Thanks J for sending this to me! :P
The appeal for me with this tea was the mention of chocolate and cinnamon. It took me until the 3rd order from Upton to add a sample to the cart though, because cardamom appears to be the star. I like cardamom, but don’t love it like I do cinnamon or clove.
The brewed aroma is of cocoa and spices. First sip though, the cardamom is indeed the dominant flavor. Having added a T. of honey, it’s sweet and on the mild side…maybe mild to medium on the spice level scale. The cinnamon does get notice here too, not pushed out (good thing). What I’m not getting is the cocoa/chocolate in a noticeable way. I think it’s hanging out in the background, playing as the mellower (is that word?) of the spices because I still smell it when sipping.
I think what would bring out the chocolate is a little bit of cream, but need to get back to being calorie conscious, so skipping that for now. This will go into my “finish sample, but probably not order more” pile, but only because of personal taste (cardamom).
Made a cup of this at least half an hour ago and then couldn’t taste it because dinner was strongly spiced. Oops!
It’s cooled down now but it’s really nice: lots of cardamom with a dry, solid cinnamon/cocoa taste in the background. The aftertaste is sweet and aromatic. This is not much of a chocolate tea—the cocoa taste is definitely more like powder than a chocolate bar, but it works. I’m so happy I picked this up in MissB’s sale! I’ve found over the last few days that cardamom even beats out cinnamon as my favorite spice in tea. I’ll have to keep one around constantly to get my fix.
I will go occasionally to a “hoity toity artsy fartsy” movie theater (generally there are respectful audiences). It’s extremely rare for me to go to the movies nowadays for many of the reasons that you’ve given. I morph into a grumpy old lady and mutter “I won’t pay $10 to listen to other people talk or use their cell phones to either talk, text, or take video clips/pictures during the film.” I loves me some Netflix.
We had probably our worst “talker” ever at an art house when we saw Bela Tarr’s Werckmeister Harmonies. He pontificated about Tarr and the Hungarian cinema for a good third of the film – glares didn’t work, excuse me didn’t work, finally my husband had to say something to him! He was such a jerk that after the movie he came up to us and almost started a fist fight! Astonishing! We think we are “talker” magnets – they always sit near us!!!
We love Netflix too!
Doesn’t everyone have Netflix? My wife says that the more people I meet, the more I love my dogs.
Dan, you wife is a very wise woman!! (and dogs are a lot for us humans to live up to with their sweetness, cuddly lil cuteness, unconditional love, funny antics, and complete excitement when you get home!!!)!
I love watching movies with my dog he doesn’t talk and he’s too old to get up and down too much. Sometimes he does snore a little too loudly though!
we usually go to the firs showing, weeks after release, to a huge theater, and get the place mostly to ourselves
i don’t think we go too often though, once a month or less?
SoccerMom – my dog is an old snorer too!!!
AmazonV – we try and go to the first showing too – so much less $$!! We are talker magnets tho – even in an almost empty theater we get talkers!!!! We are also uncanny about getting in the slowest line at the market – ALWAYS the slowest line even if we get into it when there is only one person before us and the other lines have a bunch of people. Aaaaaahhh!!!
remind me not o go out to the grocery store with you! :) that is bad luck, perhaps the universe is telling you your home grown food is much yummier and it’s silly to go out to the market? :)