I typically brew this herbal tea as I would chai, simmering the bits of chocolate and fruit in milk and water until the chocolate melts and turns the liquid a color similar to that of a pale hot chocolate. I enjoy the tea when made this way, but this time I wanted to do things a bit differently and brew the tea with water only.
Upon opening the bag, I see pieces of fruit and what appears to be shreds of lemon peel. The tisane is very fragrant and smells of chocolate first and foremost, followed by strawberries. I used twice as much tea as Teavana recommends, as this particular herbal tea tends to be on the weaker side. I added 2 teaspoons of raw sugar and a splash of cream before taking my first sip. The tea was a little too sweet and reminded me of the flavor one might get from an artificial sweetener. Perhaps there was already some type of sweetener in the tea itself? If so, it may have been better if I had used less sugar. Either way, this “flavor” was incredibly distracting and took away from the fruit and chocolate that I had hoped to taste. The appearance of the tea wasn’t exactly appetizing either, as there were drops of oil floating on the surface and on the sides of my mug. By the time I got to the bottom, I realized that much of the chocolate had settled there. When I drink this again, I’ll be swirling the tea every so often to be sure it hasn’t separated.
I still have an ounce or so left in my cupboard so I’ll go back to the chai preparation next time. I certainly won’t be purchasing more of this tea since Teavana has discontinued it, but I’m not sure I would have even if they continued to carry it. I have enjoyed some of their other teas far more so why bother?
Flavors: Artificial, Chocolate, Strawberry
