Chocolate and hazelnut has always been a favorite flavor combination of mine. I mean, who doesn’t love Nutella? This is basically that: a Nutella tea.
Okay – it doesn’t quite have the flavor of Nutella – but it’s close. While Nutella is distinctly hazelnut-y, Florence from Harney & Sons has more of a generic nuttiness. I wouldn’t necessarily call it hazelnut flavored and definitely not almond flavored. If you served it to someone who didn’t know what it was, they would detect the chocolate/vanilla flavor of it for sure and probabaly also the nuttiness of it, but I doubt they would call it out as “hazelnut”. If you then told them that it’s hazelnut, they would probably be like: “Ah, that makes sense now that you say it”.
The dry leaves smell chocolatey, nutty and vanilla-y, and all the flavors translate into the brewed tea both on the nose and in the mouth, but they are more subtle now exactly as you would expect. The nuttiness of it makes me think of their SoHo blend which is flavored with coconut instead of hazelnut, but I think I prefer Florence. In fact, this might be my favorite of all the H&S chocolate teas.
The tea base of Florence is a mild Chinese black tea like the majority of Harney’s flavored blacks. It doesn’t interfere with the added flavors – in fact, it’s pretty difficult to taste the flavor of it behind all the chocolate, vanilla and hazelnut flavors. But then again, if I wanted to have the flavor of tea, I wouldn’t choose to drink a flavored one…
All in all, Florence is a lovely and decadent dessert-style cup of tea and a great one to try out if you want a chocolate flavored tea with a little something else – in the form of hazelnut. It’s probably also a good one to try if you love Nutella since Florence has a similar flavor profile to that famous Italian chocolate-hazelnut spread.
Flavors: Chocolate, Hazelnut, Nuts, Nutty, Tea, Vanilla
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I don’t like Nutella. Actually, I rather hate it. It is too sweet and sticky for my taste. Sorry!
I’m with you Martin! But I have found an alternative that’s much less sweet and I quite enjoy it (though not all the time). :)
Martin Bednář: To each their own! But I think the majority of people like Nutella. At least here in Denmark.
Martin Bednář: Yes, it’s very sticky and sweet. As long as you like the flavor of chocolate and hazelnut by themselves you probably will enjoy this tea. The tea doesn’t have any of the sweetness and stickiness of Nutella obviously. Only the flavor.
Courtney: Sounds nice. I have tried a few cheaper alternatives to Nutella, but most of them aren’t as tasty as Nutella. I also tried a hazelnut spread recently that was like Nutella but it contained no cocoa. Like a white chocolate version of Nutella. It was outstanding, but I can’t remember what it was called. I think it was a German product.
The white chocolate sounds interesting! Since we’re vegan, we had to find a variation and I’m quite thrilled we did since it is a nice treat to have.
I don’t like Nutella. Actually, I rather hate it. It is too sweet and sticky for my taste. Sorry!
I’m with you Martin! But I have found an alternative that’s much less sweet and I quite enjoy it (though not all the time). :)
Martin Bednář: To each their own! But I think the majority of people like Nutella. At least here in Denmark.
Martin Bednář: Yes, it’s very sticky and sweet. As long as you like the flavor of chocolate and hazelnut by themselves you probably will enjoy this tea. The tea doesn’t have any of the sweetness and stickiness of Nutella obviously. Only the flavor.
Courtney: Sounds nice. I have tried a few cheaper alternatives to Nutella, but most of them aren’t as tasty as Nutella. I also tried a hazelnut spread recently that was like Nutella but it contained no cocoa. Like a white chocolate version of Nutella. It was outstanding, but I can’t remember what it was called. I think it was a German product.
The white chocolate sounds interesting! Since we’re vegan, we had to find a variation and I’m quite thrilled we did since it is a nice treat to have.