I chose this as my first Butiki tea to try (Thank you, Stacy!) because unlike the others, it came in little tin and hence balances precariously atop the rest of the pile of bagged-teas-to-try (No untried teas go in the cupboard! Rules are rules! Stand down, Cantaloupe & Cream!) but also because it’s one I got against my principles – generally, I’m reluctant to drink teas containing actual chocolate chips rather than chocolate flavouring, but this seemed like such a well-done chocolate-orange that I couldn’t quite resist.
In the (very cute) tin, it’s all Terry’s Dark Chocolate Orange, but in the cup, the tea base becomes more prominent nose wise. In terms of flavour, the steeped tea balances the orange and the chocolate very well, but it’s very subtle. What I assume is the marshmallow is a hint of very lightly vanilla-esque sweetness topping off the chocolate notes. I enjoy how the tea base is present throughout the sip, without overpowering the flavouring, in spite of its lightness.
I’d like the flavours to pack just a little bit more punch, mostly because I’m used to my arsenal of rich, French blacks, and I find myself missing some added element of complexity. This is a very honest tea, which I admire, but I’ve always been one to pay far more attention to the trickster anti-hero than the golden hero, so what I’d like is for Three Friends to trick me just a very little.
An additional element of excitement is how well the rich, natural orange is executed – it’s a very difficult flavour to get right, and as the (hopefully winning!) Lemon Macaron entry in the Butiki Custom Blend Competition states, it would be a treat if Stacy were to make a lemon blend, something I agree with fully.
[From my Butiki order to Santa Clara, October 2013.]
I like this one too, but I agre e- I wish it punched more of a punch.
Maybe if she had a stronger version it could be named Three Fiends! :P