Chili Chocolate Truffle

This tea was really not at all what I expected. It tastes good, but kind of… an unidentifiable dessert taste. I’ve found many dessert-type teas have kind of the same taste profile: sweet, maybe-chocolate, a bit creamy, kind of a weak pastry vibe. That’s exactly what I got from this tea. No strong chocolate sadly, and only a hint of spice even though there were 5 peppercorns in my steeper. It was just not that great, tasted like tons of teas I’ve had before but without any stand-out notes to make me go “wow, this was great!” I’m wondering if my tastebuds are off on this one or something, since other people seem to be getting the chili chocolate vibe that I find lacking.

Dear Della Terra Teas, why you make teas so yummy? I think you may be my new favourite tea company, even above DAVIDsTEA & I LOVE DT. But you Della Terra, you are awesome.

I can’t believe this tea received anything below a 90 rating. It’s too yummy.

The dry notes smell like I opened a bag of truffles, it’s malty, milky, chocolatey goodness. Oh boy! No artificial chocolate in here.

The steeped tea brews up to a nice medium brown colour. The taste…. oh the taste, malty, creamy, chocolatey. Slightly sweet, with a hint of bitterness, everything that makes up the perfect chocolate truffle. And then you get the whole subtly spicy chilis. This is so freakin good.

Della Terra Teas is a small company, and they’re very good about communication with customers and paying attention to their suggestions. Huge points for them in my book. Also, they have lots and lots of giveaways on their facebook page. That’s actually how I got this tea. I won a giveaway on their facebook page and received what looks to be about 2 ounces of this, and generous sample packs of a pumpkin pie tea, and a holiday themed tea. And they were all packaged up with pretty paper.

This tea smells like some delicious coffee concoction in the bag. My mom had to make me go make the tea and stop standing around sniffing the bag. The chocolate in here has a really nice taste. It’s creamier like a milk chocolate, but not overly sweet. I added milk to see what would happen, and it really enhances the chocolate. It started reaching into hot chocolate range. As for the chili part, I got just a hint of it on the back of the sip, especially as it cooled. It was a slight tingle on the back of my tongue. I’m thinking a longer steep time will bring out the chili heat more. At three and a half minutes, I had no bitterness, so hopefully it can handle longer steeps!

Thanks for this, Della Terra Teas!

an interesting blend sent to me by Tabby, thank you!

strangely, the strongest flavour i get is a fruit akin to raspberries. the chocolate i detect in scent, less so in taste. not much spice, but that could be hidden by the heat of the tea itself.

not bad, i would say the smell trumps the taste though. i did a four minute steep- i have enough left that i could try for five… may change numbers then =0)

thanks for the opportunity to try, Tabby!

I meant to review this last night as I drank it with Kaliska via Skype, but I ended up getting too distracted.

First of all, this tea smells fantastic dry. Its aroma is decadent dark chocolate with just a hint of peppers. Mostly, it smells like cocoa. The leaves are dark brown and pretty uniform, in small pieces. They’re loaded with pink and orange peppercorns and chunks of cocoa. There are also a few pieces of something I can’t identify mixed in… looks kind of like dried fruit? It might just be pieces of a pepper.

Once steeped, there’s a bit of oil collected on top of the dark brew. I’ve seen this before in coconut teas, but never chocolate ones. Not sure where it’s coming from. The flavor is very chocolatey, but not entirely what I expected. There’s not really any burn from the chili. In fact, it’s hardly present. I think I’d have to double-up the leaf to really get it. Also, there’s a taste that reminds me of popcorn. Yes, popcorn. This tea tastes like chocolate-covered popcorn. But in a good way? I’m going to have to try this again with milk and see what I think.

I finally gave this one another go. About time eh. It was bad enough that I didn’t feel right giving it away. But I eventually gave it to my boyfriend’s ex, she keeps it at his place so it ended up back in my hands again. Sighs. Just kidding, she’s awesome (seriously).
Anyhow, last time I tried this it made me a bit queasy. Too much flavouring in the teaspoon I took maybe. Who knows. But today, it was ok. Not great, but certainly not weak like the first time, or nauseating like the second one!
I do wish the flavours were stronger but what can I expect after keeping it in my cupboard for so lo ng.
My tastes must have changed, as the base is bearable now too. Bumping the rating a few points.

Impressed there’s actually some kick to this; after my disappointing venture into chili chocolate tea years ago with David’s I tend to just assume anything with that combo won’t come close to being as good as the real thing. This is surprisingly astringent (which I generally don’t mind, but doesn’t seem to jive with the flavors involved). Not bad, I could drink this again, but I have so many teas I love way more I doubt I’ll ever reorder.

This smells like spicy chocolate. The flavour is like a mild Mexican hot chocolate. Good, but I’d prefer cinnamon chocolate.

I haven’t logged lately because I’m not trying new things lately because all my money has gone to Christmas presents!! But I am sipping a delicious cup of this at my desk awaiting the 2 Christmas parties of the day to begin…also going crazy with excitement about my Nook Color that my lovely boyfriend gave my for Christmas and waiting impatiently to go pick out a cover!!

Rich smooth chocolate, spicy warm chili, an incredibly indulgent and uniquely flavored tea.

What a warm and tingly tea! I have to say this tea turned out much sweeter than I expected. Being a good ol’ southern girl I always add sugar to my tea (rock sugar) and this is one of the few teas I have tried that is sweet enough that I think could stand without any additions.

Brewed at 2 minutes like usual, though I am thinking a longer steep time might warrant a bit more of the spicy notes really being brought to the surface.

Taste-wise this tea comes across as a decadent chocolate black tea. The chili aspect doesn’t come into play for me until the after taste kicks in. Then the heat is noticeable. Each sip warms the mouth and throat and the flavor does build. Not too spicy like some of the chili teas that I have had.

Another great tea, though personally the other two dessert teas I have tried (Chocolate Covered Strawberry and Chocolate Almond Coconut) were much better when compared to this one.