Spicy Chocolate from Kusmi Tea

Tea Information:

Leaf Type:  Black

Where to Buy:  Kusmi Tea

Product Description:

Black tea from China flavored with natural essences of chocolate and spices.

Taster’s Review:

I am so happy to be able to try this tea.  It is one that I’ve wanted to try for a long time, and it seems like every time that I am tea shopping, this tea is sold out!  Fortunately, my SororiTea Sister, TeaEqualsBliss, sent me a sampling of it!  Thank you Jennifer!

And the verdict?

I love it!

The chocolate level is nice.  Of course, it would be better with more chocolate, but that’s the chocoholic in me.  It has a nice amount of chocolate and it is in a pleasing balance with the spices here.  It tastes like a good quality dark chocolate.

Kusmi Tea does not specify what kind of spices they use in this blend (although I am sure that if I had the tin I could read the ingredients, provided they aren’t written in French!) but to me it tastes like ginger and perhaps a little cinnamon.  Maybe some cardamom?

The level of spice is not what I would classify as “spicy,” that is, I don’t find this to be overwhelmingly hot or spicy.  But that isn’t a bad thing, because I think that if it were spicier in this particular blend, it would overthrow the balance of flavors that I’m experiencing, and that WOULD be a bad thing.  I like it just the way it is.

The black tea base is a strong one and can be tasted with the other strong profiles.  There is a good deal of astringency to this tea, it clears the palate very well, leaving only a  faint note of pepper and of chocolate in the aftertaste.

It is not bitter, although I suspect it could be that way if it were steeped too long.  I steeped my cup for 3 1/2 minutes and it produced a delicious cup.  It doesn’t need sweetener, but, I found that a small amount of agave nectar helped bring out some of the sweeter notes of the chocolate.

This one is really good, folks!