Orange Chocolat

I keep seeing most reviews for chocolate orange teas saying “well, it ain’t Butiki’s” so I was very happy to just try a sample of this rather than stock up. So thank you for the sample, Cameron B! The black tea is rather small, though doesn’t quite look like CTC and I see two pieces of what should be orange going into the infuser. The brew is rather dark, as expected. Sadly, I’m not tasting much in the way of chocolate or orange. The second steep mainly tastes starchy and bready and I don’t think I overdid either steep. So I’m glad I’m not in love with this one, if Lupicia is closing. I’m surprised Lupicia can’t nail this one, as they are usually great at flavoring. I won’t miss it like I miss Three Friends… I do have some of that I’m hoarding.
Steep #1 // 1 teaspoon for a full mug // 16 minutes after boiling // 2 minute steep
Steep #2 // 10 minutes after boiling // 3 minute steep

Having now tasted this back to back with the S&V chocolate orange, I have to bump the rating on this one a tad.

It’s a better tea than the S&V in two respects. First, the orange is actually taste-able, and second, the base is not as heavy.

I do note that the S&V was chocolate orange, and this is orange chocolate. So it could be the teas are trying to do two different things. Either way, though, if I am going to drink something that has the word orange in the title, I want the orange flavor to pop more than it does in the S&V.

I’ve been craving a nice chocolate tea lately, so I find myself revisiting all of my Lupicia chocolate fruit teas. Somehow I ended up with all of them, don’t ask how…

Anyway, this one is disappointing. I don’t really get chocolate (which has been an issue in all of these teas), and the orange is very zesty and sharp and not at all dessert-y, which alienates the chocolate side even more. Also, this cup somehow came out quite bitter with my usual parameters, an issue I don’t remember having the last time.

Boo, Lupicia, boo!

This is another I tried in the store. It smells like orange chocolates in the tin, and in the brew. Though when I had the sample, the flavour got way more orange. There was some chocolate, but it was really mild. Alright, but not what I was hoping for.