Belle's Library

Finally getting around to trying this one!

Chocolate teas aren’t usually my vibe, but I was really intrigued by some of the other flavours described in the blend and overall I thought it was a very refreshing take on a Beauty & The Beast inspired tea (which are often rose flavoured) so I wanted to give it a try. I would say I was sort of “whelmed” by it? It’s a very smooth brew with a more medium to full bodied base. The bourbon does come through and the chocolate is also rather rich. Something about the combination, however, just makes me think a little bit of those more low-quality chocolate filled with alcohol. It’s not that it tasted bad, but as soon as that imagery popped in my head I couldn’t quite get it out.

I’ll definitely give this blend more shots, but for me it wasn’t a smashing success.

Strange VariaTEA TTB #4

I first heard about Trader Nick’s on fellow Steepsterite Roswell Strange’s podcast Geek Steep. (Side note: if you aren’t listening, GO LISTEN! I always hit play on the newest episode the moment in lands in my feed and I’m never disappointed by that choice.)

I immediately went and checked out their site and this particular blend went straight on my wish list. Beauty and the Beast is my favorite Disney movie and I love smoky black tea, so this sounded like it was practically made for me!

Needless to say, my expectations were probably unrealistically high. It’s a fine tea, just not the spectacularly magical experience I was secretly hoping for. Not a lot of smoky notes coming through for me; mostly milk chocolate and a bit of bourbon. A perfectly pleasant sip, but probably not something I’ll go out of my way to drink again.

(That being said, I’m so grateful for the chance to try a cup via the TTB rather than spending the money on a whole bag of a tea I end up not being crazy about. Thanks to Roswell and VariaTEA for putting this one together!)

Sampled from the Strange VariaTea Traveling Tea Box

Smells like slightly smoky caramel; tastes like… a mild slightly smoky black tea with hints of chocolate and whiskey. It’s a bit muddled, but nothing is too overpowering, which is good. And the cocoa is nicely done, not artificial or chemical-y. I can dig that.

Sipdown! (56 | 272)

Last Trader Nicks sample from Gabby! Thanks Gabby, for helping me try a company I was curious about without having to buy full sizes! :)

This is fairly similar to the Ghoulish Delight I had earlier – both have puerh and black tea with chocolate. But this has a stronger black tea flavor because instead of rooibos, it has lapsang. There’s not a ton of it, the smoky taste is very subtle and more of an accent flavor. This doesn’t have chocolate flavoring, but it does have bourbon flavor, and the booziness is reminding me of the chocolate flavoring anyway ha ha.

Overall it tastes earthy, woody, slightly tannic with a boozy chocolaty note and a touch of smoke. I like everything but the bourbon flavor I think, it’s giving it a somewhat artificial taste IMO. So I probably wouldn’t order it because of that, but I like the idea and it was fun to try!