I hate mushrooms. But I like the idea of chaga teas. I LOVED the Teapots n Treasures blend Chaga, Chestnuts & Chocolate. I have sent two e-mails to them about it, but they never got back to me (they do mention on their site to ask about missing teas, so I tried). I kind of expected to hate this blend (thanks chicory). BUT it isn’t bad. Everything in the blend is covered in cocoa powder, so I’m mostly tasting chocolate with a hint of that bitterness from chicory. The brew is of course cloudy and dusty. I wish this was more significantly CHAGA but it really just seems like a watery hot chocolate, so probably I might as well just stick with hot chocolate. I’m not sure how detox this is, but it doesn’t taste overly healthy. There is also an interesting raspberry note happening throughout, whether hot or after the cup is cool. The second cup was certainly worth a LONG steep. Just as strong as the first cup and the flavors really melded together more. I didn’t think the blend had much tea itself since I couldn’t see it covered in the cocoa powder, but after steeping it looks mostly like tea leaves. The long steep didn’t make it bitter at all. Roasty, cocoa, sweet, with just that touch of bitterness that makes it great (I’m a dark chocolate fan.) I like it! It does seem like it fits the missing Teapots n Treasures blend well enough. I wish I could have tried David’s Chaga Chai blend too. Goes well with meatloaf. The second steep really won me over.
Steep #1 // 1 1/2 teaspoons for a full mug // few minutes after boiling // 3 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // many minute steep
2020 Sipdowns: 5 (52Teas – Frank’s Strawberry Pie Honeybush (one pouch anyway))
Flavors: Dark Chocolate, Raspberry
Are you seeking any more of this Choco chaga detox tea? If so, I have about 2 oz available for tea swap :)