Three Friends (Orange, Marshmallow, Chocolate)

I got some samples from my lovely A.C when I met her for a weekend in Venice to discover this year Venice Biennale which was very exciting. So arriving to Aarhus, Denmark deathly early yesterday morning and got some beauty sleep after a 18 h trip back, I’m back on my internship. So what can be better than to try a new tea from the large box from A.C before dealing with some paperwork and meetings?
Today I chose Three Friends from Butiki. The dry tea has a strong flavor of chocolate and orange which I associate with the Christmas Eves from my childhood. When I was sitting in grandmas knee while she were eating orange chocolate which in Sweden is called Roman Bows. I still remember the smell from those nights so well. The chocolate with orange flavor and my grandma’s sweet perfumed from Dior. Just an anecdote… Anyway, I steeped it for three minutes as A.C said with boiled water. As usual I closed my eye to recognize the scent of the boiled tea and it smelled almost the same boiled as dry. But the Orange was much stronger this time. More intense. On my first sip the Orange was rolling on my tongue. I couldn’t taste the chocolate so much, but after I swallowed the chocolate came as an aftertaste as a soft emulsion in my mouth. I liked it a lot. It’s a perfect “after-autumn” or beginning of winter tea. Next time I try this one I will have a Christmas muffin beside me on the table. I’m looking forward to it.

This reminds me of Euphoria from Kusmi—same orange and chocolate flavoring—though this tea is milder and a bit creamier—must be the marshmallow showing through. Overall I like it more than I did Euphoria. I think as an orange/chocolate tea combination it’s more balanced. It goes great with a little bit of sugar and milk/creamer. Definitely a dessert tea, and very comforting indeed.

Sample. I’m sorry I didn’t write this note earlier or I would have been able to add more detail. The three flavors were perfectly balanced…present yet not overpowering. Yummo indeed.

that sounds sooo good! Do they ship internationally??

Got a teeny tin of this from Marzipan ‘s sale. I don’t know why I do these things to myself. It’s like I can’t get past the denial stage of Butiki’s passing. Unsurprisingly, this is a tasty little tea. Woe is me. The addition of chocolate chips is slightly strange, given that the tea base itself seems to have cocoa overtones. The chips themselves are particularly apparent in the aftertaste, followed by citrus and a light trace of something resembling marshmallow cream fluff. I almost want to declare the chocolate in this blend redundant, but I do kind of like the way it pops up, says hello, and then skips off elsewhere to let you enjoy the cup as a whole. I’m going to coil around what little remains of my tin and weep softly into my mug, so please look away now.

Mmm, I really liked this. It is balanced and dessert-y but not cloying. I feel fortunate to taste samples of things I will never have bigger amounts of, as sad as it is, because I’d rather experience a small amount of something great I can’t have again than not experience it at all. Very good.

Finally got around to trying this again. Might have accidentally brewed in a basket that formerly had strong black tea. This one does smell nicely like orange and chocolate at first. The flavour reminds me of citrus dark chocolates. Good tea, but for some reason the first brew turned out better. Thanks to Cheri for this sample.

Ah, this tea is lovely. I find it very soothing, such a smooth and tasty blend. The predominant note I get from the smell and first sips are the orange. It is a great orange too, not fake or funny tasting. I wish there was a bit more marshmallow – I get the creamy mouthfeel, but don’t taste it much, at least in the 2 cups I’ve had so far. The chocolate is creamy milk chocolate, a great complement with the bright orange. It seems like a Christmas tea drink to me, which I like, even tho it is still a ways till Christmas. Seems like a treat, and really tastes like those chocolate oranges.

Drinking this on yet another dark rainy Vancouver night. Under yet another rainfall warning. This is a bit of gentle bright comfort that makes a wet and gloomy evening quite a bit more cozy.

Pass the Stash TTB #2

I’m really not sure how I feel about this. The flavors are not mixing well and my mouth is so very confused. Also, I’m slightly nauseated by this tea.

I see others really like this but it’s just not for me. I ended up dumping the rest of the mug and brewing something else.

I’d saved this one for last out of my most recent order, because it comes in a very small tin that reminds me of just how little there is (at least with a bag you can pretend)! Upon opening, the blend smells just like a chocolate orange, which always reminds me of the holiday season. The blend is made of fuzzy golden curls of black tea, orange rind pieces, and chocolate chips (which as I verified with the Red Queen blend, are quite delicious!). It brews up to a nice gold color, and tastes predominantly of Yunnan black tea — malty, potato-ish and complex, a little fuzzy around the edges. The orange and chocolate are more gentle than the aroma would indicate, and pleasingly sweet without being sugary. I didn’t get much marshmallow with this brew, but I’ll play around with the preparation a bit more. Overall it’s less dessert-like than I imagined, but the base tea is very solid and enjoyable.