Teeccino

It’s been a long time since I last brewed this, since I’ve been focusing more on all the other interesting Teeccino flavours. However, I wanted to revisit and see if I still love this as much as I think I could. I do. I swear, this is just the best flavour they carry. Such a wicked good hazelnut note!

So I first tried Teeccino several years back and at the time I remember thinking it was good but not outstanding – though I was happy that there seemed to be a reasonably well liked coffee substitute out there for the people who liked the taste but didn’t want the caffeine/jitters and such. However, in the time since it feels like Teeccino has seen some pretty dang substantial growth and, with that growth, they’ve gotten a lot more innovative in their wellness approach as well as their flavour approach. Plus, the “fake coffee” segment is booming right now! So I thought it was time I take a revisit!

I started with hazelnut because I was intrigued to see it as a flavour offering without being combined with chocolate, though to be fair the “solo nut” flavour thing is definitely a lot more popular with coffee (ex. Macadamia, Almond, etc) than with tea. I was completely unprepared for for entirely the taste of this brew would blow me away. As y’all know I’m not particularly a fan of coffee but I am a fan of a really good, strong roasty tea. Sometimes to people those two statements are at odds, but I am here to tell you that those things can both be true! The thickness of the liquor and the rich, intensity of the roast really impressed me immediately. Whether or not it was the most authentic coffee replacement is not something I feel equipped to weigh in on, but I can tell you that from the perspective of that drinker that’s chasing roasty, earthy and grain-like flavours I felt like I was seen in a way that few other roasted teas have made me feel.

It didn’t stop there though because I think this may have arguably been the best hazelnut flavour I have ever come across. If not the best a close second to the hazelnut used in DT’s Hazelnut Chocolate pu’erh blend. The thing is though that, as much as I LOVE the hazelnut flavour in the DT blend, I’m not a big chocolate tea person. There’s no chocolate here – only the naturally occurring sweetness of the trio of carob, date, and fig. So the result was very much something incredibly strong (as it needs to be to deal with the level of roast) with a rich, sweet hazelnut flavour that makes me feel like I’ve added a shot of the really fancy Torrani coffee/soda style syrups into some kind of artisan beverage. If my tastebuds could sing they would have been pulling off Mariah Carey level vocal runs.

Truly, I was in a happy place as I drank this tea!

I added milk and absolutely tons of sugar, and this is nice, but not as amazing as some other Teecino flavors. This had a richness that I enjoyed. It does taste rather like maple pecan, but perhaps this flavor profile is a little too delicate compared to some of the others. Thanks tea-and-cats! I will definitely be placing a Teecino order to try the rest of their flavors at some point!

I feel like this one leans a little too heavily on the chicory or something, which I’m not as huge a fan of. I wish the gingerbread and other additions were stronger. With sugar and milk, it’s still quite pleasant, but not my favorite from the batch. I taste mostly coffee with a bit of something desserty on top. Thanks tea-and-cats!

The first time I had this, I loved it. I tasted a pleasant mixture of coffee and almond. The almond definitely leans in a desserty way, basically like amaretto. The second time, the amaretto aspect was too strong, and I ended up with too much of an alcohol flavor remaining. It was still drinkable, but that sharp alcohol tang was unwelcome. The resteep still tasted good though. Thanks tea-and-cats! I wish I had more bags of this so I could deliver a more certain verdict.

This is so good. I don’t like coffee, but this blend somehow takes the best things from coffee while leaving out the worst. So it’s totally like having a coffee latte, but the perfect version for me. The hint of spices could be snickerdoodle – they’re certainly desserty and tasty. Thanks for introducing me to this company tea-and-cats! I will almost certainly have to purchase more.

Sipdown!

Although I have had quite a few sample sipdowns this year, this is my first official sipdown. Maybe, just maybe, if I don’t buy any tea myself, I will reach my goal of 65 teas in my cupboard this year. I am thrilled that all of my oldest teas that were past or near their “best by” dates are gone.

This was my first Teeccino, I think, and it was sent by gmathis. My little grandsons love it as well as several other flavors. My DIL had tried the reverse psychology thing of giving one of them a sip of coffee because they would clutch at her travel mug so and it backfired. They loved coffee and once stole a WHOLE fresh travel mug, downed it, cried for more, and spent the next few hours running in caffeine crazed circles while also crying that they were not being given more coffee. This was when my son reached out in desperation and asked me to please order the coffee flavored drink I had brought for them to sample.

I am definitely not a coffee lover but I really, really, like this. I think Mocha is my favorite with Vanilla Nut and Hazelnut tied for a close second. Thankfully I have a pouch and a half of Mocha left.

December Sipdown Challenge – Dec. 21: Winter Solstice – drink your darkest tea

I tried to keep a theme for this the shortest day of the year today. I did my darkest tea by color, which is this one, and a tea that has rich, dark flavor for breakfast (Pleine Lune), and a tea that brightens my heart…well, it wasn’t the tea itself that does, but rather having a tea party with two little students.

So beginning with this one – next time it will be a sipdown. This was probably the first Teeccino I had and I am pretty sure it was the first one I bought. It steeps up as dark as coffee. We have been having it at night with milk and sugar added, and sometimes with whipped cream and sprinkles on top. I serve it in big glass mugs with a handle. I suppose they are intended for Irish Whiskey? Not sure.

This is dark in color and also has those bass notes going on for flavor. I think Mocha is my very favorite of the Teeccino blends I have tried, but this one is probably running a close second.

June Sipdown Prompt – your favorite bagged tea

This isn’t a true tea, it is a tisane, I suppose. After this serving, I have only two teabags left, but I do have a whole bag of loose. Hurrah!

I had chicken soup for lunch, and I used to have chocolate milk with chicken soup, and barring that, plain black tea. Today I was longing for the chocolate milk but I have had a lot of reflux lately and milk seems to make it worse. I remembered this and did a happy dance, because it will give me the type of texture and flavor I want while not upsetting my tummy.

My little grandsons even fell in love with this at age 2 and I have sent multiple flavors to them. Today I had it with milk, but sometimes in winter we have it with whipped cream on top as a sort of hot chocolate substitute.

The chicory and chocolate-y plus vanilla flavors lead. I definitely want to have some sort of Teeccino on hand always, though there are so many good flavors and I am not overly picky as to which one we have here.

I got tea mail! Thank you, gmathis!

I steeped this last night before bed as a caffeine free treat. When I tore open the pouch, the aroma was much like O’Connor’s Cream from Teageschwendner, available at Tin Roof Teas.
It was chocolate-y and boozy. I had not expected chocolate with the name Vanilla Nut, but the first ingredient is carob.

This steeps up DARK. I mean COFFEE DARK. I am not a coffee drinker, but this reminded me of coffee from the few times I tried it, but with no bitterness, no acid. The fig and dates so sweeten it nicely, and if you add a splash of milk and a dash of sugar, you have a hot cocoa replacement.

This is something I think two of my daughters would like, and one of my neighbors, so I looked into where I could get it and found that my trusty Vitacost has it for less than five dollars.

Next time I order vitamins I will throw in a box to share!

This was probably my favorite from the sampler box. I held on to this one for quite a while not wanting to finish it off. It was minty and mocha-like and delicious. The soymilk I added turned it into a creamy lazy latte. I would repurchase this one for sure!

Sipdown! (20 | 20)

The last of the Teeccino dandelion tisanes. (Truthfully, I have two more, but I’m putting them in my rehoming box because they’re coconut and turmeric, neither of which sounds particularly appealing to me…)

This one really does taste like coffee. If you gave me a mug of this and told me it was coffee, I think I would believe you. It’s somewhat bitter, somewhat acidic, but well-balanced with a deep roasty-toasty flavor.

Added some oat milk to the second half of the mug, and it wasn’t my favorite combination. Something about it tasted plastic-y or something? So I definitely preferred it plain.

Not something I would order, as I’m not a big coffee drinker. But I could totally see this as a nice evening-friendly replacement for coffee if I were so inclined.

Sipdown! (23 | 512)

Still working through my Teeccino dandelion root sampler. Haven’t been loving them so far, but this is the flavor I was most excited about.

It’s quite good actually. The mocha flavoring really helps to justify the slight bitterness from the dandelion/chicory, and overall it tastes a lot like coffee. But there’s a deep chocolaty note as well, obviously. And the mint is light and refreshing, and reminds me of mint chocolate chip ice cream. It’s still quite acidic of course, but so is coffee. Overall it does remind me of a peppermint mocha.

I might actually consider buying a box of this one… I bet it would be delicious with milk as well. :)

Sipdown! (18 | 507)

Using two teabags for a 16-ounce mug, and steeping a bit less than last time to try to avoid excessive bitterness. Although this blend has rooibos as well, so it’s quite different from the herbal tisane I tried before.

It’s still fairly strong on the chicory and dandelion root though, and the associated bitterness. It’s fairly pleasant otherwise, with a balanced blend of spices – cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, clove, a bit of pepper maybe. I actually don’t taste a lot of rooibos, which surprises me. There’s a nice caramelized sweetness from the dates. I can’t say that I love the blackberry leaf though, it always has a more artificial-like cloying sweet flavor to me.

So not something I would buy, but a drinkable cuppa. I can see it being nice with milk as well.

Sipdown! (7 | 496)

So I bought a Teeccino dandelion sampler pack on Amazon after being intrigued by the dandelion root in some tea that I don’t recall now. This just happened to be the flavor that sounded most intriguing this evening, so I steeped up both teabags in a 16-ounce mug.

Hmm, so not sure if I steeped this too long or if two bags was too many (it recommended 8 oz for each bag) but it’s quite bitter and acidic. Having no experience with dandelion root, I don’t know if this is normal. It’s not undrinkably bitter, but it’s certainly not the most pleasant flavor. I do taste a lot of caramel, and it reminds me of a buttery caramel sauce. Otherwise it tastes very similar to burnt popcorn, with a deep roasted flavor. I guess it’s a bit like mugicha really. I’m not sure I would pick out nuts specifically.

Anyway, I’m not sure what to think of this. I find the overall flavor pleasant enough, but the bitterness is pretty distracting. Maybe I’ll shorten the steep a bit for some of the other flavors and see if that helps?

Had a cup of this one made in an espresso machine. I like this preparation better than using the drip coffee pot. I steamed some almond milk which turns it into a lovely herbal latte. The dates and fruit in this blend add the perfect amount of sweetness. I’m also a big fan of carob and can taste that in this blend which comes across as chocolate. This flavor is one of the more natural-tasting ones that Teeccino offers.

Simply because my Teeccino purchases have been at-the-store impulse buys, and the selection here is pretty small, I haven’t sampled all their varieties in order to make a well-informed pronouncement, but if I was going to, I think I’d say this is my favorite. Reminds me strongly of cocoa with hazelnut, and had I thought of it before now (only two sips left), I would’ve tossed in some marshmallows or marshmallow creme as an antidote to this raw and rainy evening.

Battling a mild case of the Janu-weary blues—you know, the kind that makes you want to gnarf a whole box of Russell Stover cream centers…so in the interest of health and waistline, I limited myself to a cookie and a cup of this really nifty, chocolate-y, nearly completely guilt-free goodness. A little half and half elevates it to the satisfaction level of a cup of cocoa with figgy aftertaste. Recommended if you’re grumpy. Recommended if you’re not.

I’ve become quite the Teeccino fan, due in part to the very favorable reviews here and due in part to some serendipitous local sales and Natural Grocers coupons. Burned one of those coupons today for a box of Vanilla Nut, which, says the label, also features dates and figs.

Chicory and carob are always the leader in a Teeccino, but with the vanilla and fruit, it’s almost the twin of a Cadbury’s Fruit and Nut Bar and the scent has kicked off a whale of a chocolate craving this afternoon! Pleasantly sweet on its own, but it’s going to be even better when I try the next cup with milk.

This was one of the advent teas that I didn’t drink in order. And I see I have tried this before and not exactly liked it. But this morning, it was fairly sweet and slightly butterscotch so I’ll bump this up because I enjoyed this morning’s cup. Not sure I’d go out of my way to buy this

Not a sip down, but a tea for mulligan day.
I found a few flavors of teeccino carob chicory teas on sale, and picked up three different boxes as I’m looking to drink more chicory to help my digestion. This one has added chaga mushrooms, which I have tried before in a DT blend, and ashwagandha, which I’ve never known to have a calming effect. I did enjoy the other two flavors I picked up, but this one, hmmm, not so much. It does have a nice chocolatey flavor, brews up thick when only 6 oz of water is used, but does have a chalky aftertaste. Not one I’d buy again, even for chicory in a nice travel friendly packet.

Well, hello again, Steepster! It’s been a while. Have not been drinking any new teas lately; mostly been sticking with my good ol’ PG Tips and milk.

However, I have really been digging this mushroom herbal blend by Teeccino. Notes of earth, umami, chocolate, toast, nuttiness, and a hint of sweet creamy butterscotch. It takes milk really well, just like PG Tips, or even coffee. Creamy mouthfeel.

It’s a nice, warm, healthful, non-pumpkin spice, autumn-esque drink, and it satisfies the 2:00 “need another cuppa” craving without the extra dosage of caffeine.

I made a special stop at Natural Grocers to snag a new box of French Roast—they carry a limited number of flavors (not, unfortunately, Dark Chocolate). But it was perfect for a damp, chilly evening—this time, accompanied by milk and an itty bit of maple flavored syrup. (Ooh…next cup…Hershey’s!)

First 24-hour stretch of weather that could accurately be labeled “cold.” Lightweight, twinkly herbal blends just wouldn’t chase the chill last night, so I rummaged around and found a leftover bag of French Roast. I love it when the weather is raw. It would not fool a real coffee drinker, but as I am a fake coffee drinker, in it just for the scent, this was perfect. With milk.