Florence

Thank you so much to Amy Oh for sending me a sample of this and H&S Paris blend!

I was bound to find a tea that I truly disliked eventually, though I would never have thought that this would be it. The actual taste of the tea, in truth, is not that bad for me. Not that good, but also not that bad. The problem is that I have to smell the dry leaves, then the brewing leaves, then the cup when it’s poured, every time I take a sip, and all the way through the cleaning of the pot, and the swell is just way way way too sweet in a way that doesn’t do it for me. This is the first chocolatey tea I’ve tried, and I think I can say that chocolate teas aren’t going to be my friends, but I can’t confirm that until I’ve tried more.

Breakfast with the family back in Texas today. I don’t normally drink this as a breakfast tea but it’d what I wanted this morning. I took it black and drank it along side my banana smoothie. They went very well together. I think the subtle chocolate and hazelnut taste of this tea would go well with anything creamy.

I had such high expectations for this tea. Chocolate and hazelnut, yummy! I was thinking Nutella tea! yay. And it has pretty good reviews.

The first few sips just taste like an unflavored black tea. Then it started tasting like an artificial black tea. As it cools down, the nutty flavor comes out, but not in a good way. There is something in the background that could possibly pass as chocolate if I concentrate well enough on it.

Not as exiting as I had hoped it would be. But thank you for letting me try it out cheetah_pita!

I am so glad to finally drink a Harney & Sons tea that doesn’t make me want to immediately place another order.

It’s not that this one was bad, though. It was a lovely blend, I did enjoy my cup, but I found that the delicious chocolate / hazelnut flavor that I was looking for didn’t really show up until after the sip. Then, it felt like I’d just eaten a spoonful of Nutella.

Very good, but I wish I could taste that while I’m actually drinking it.

Got a cup of this to go from HarneySoho today. I have never had it before but I am pleasantly surprised! I didn’t think I would like a tea that has a chocolate base, but it is oddly refreshing. I am not sure I will buy it to have in my cabinet, however, it was a very nice pick-me up this afternoon.

I apparently was totally offline this weekend. I drank tea, but no logging. And I didn’t do much else on any other social sites, either.

But, wow, Florence should have prompted me to stop by. I got this one from the Traveling Tea Box, and now it’s on my shopping list.

I couldn’t remember what to expect out of it. I just knew it was one I wanted to try. So, as it steeped, I was surprised by the lovely chocolatey/hazelnuty scent coming from the cup. And wow! It was flavorful! This definitely strikes me as a dessert tea, and reminded me a tiny bit of dragon balls. But, really, a more grown-up version of dragon balls.

Yum! I can’t wait to get some more!

While it was extremely tempting to have another cup of Marco Polo today, I decided to go for this one today. This is another tea that JacquelineM sent me. :)

The scent of the dry leaves kind of reminds me of Teavana’s Cacao Mint Black – without the mint, of course. It must be because they both have chocolate and hazelnut. So that would make sense, right? :P

Brewed, you get more of a black tea scent than with the dry leaves, but the chocolate and hazelnut scents are still very much there.

Mmmm, this is another delicious tea! It’s so smooth! You get the nutty and the chocolatey, though neither flavor is too heavy or overpowering, and then a lingering sweetness on the tongue. Yum!

I don’t feel quite the urge to own this, as I did with Marco Polo yesterday, but this is a very yummy tea, and I’m really glad I tried it! I will definitely have to try this with milk and sugar before my sample is gone, because I bet that would be amazing too!!

Thanks yet again, JacquelineM! :)

Steep Information:
Amount: 1 tsp
Additives: none
Water: 6 ounces
Tool: Mesh basket strainer in cup
Steep Time: a little over 5 minutes
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: chocolate, it reminded me of a tobacco store
Steeped Tea Smell: chocolate
Flavor: very smooth, lightly chocolate, black tea
Body: Medium
Aftertaste: astringent, slightly bitter very breifly
Liquor: dark brown

Steepster Traveling Teabox tea

MilitiaJim did not like it at all.

Neither of us got the hazelnut, maybe that was what I was mistaking for tobacco?

Either way a delicious chocolate tea.

Either way after everyone rating this so highly on Steepster I was expecting too much. This is a great tea and I will probably purchase it occasionally but to fall in love perhaps I need to tweak my preparation methods?

Post-Steep Additives: none

Resteep: 6 minutes, lighter color and taste but still good

images: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/03/harney-and-sons-loose-leaf-black-tea.html

When I opened the package, it smelled like chocolate and dust and antiques and good and my friend smelled it and she said it smelled like Rome. Well good since Rome and Florence are in the same country!
But I’m drinking this tea right now, and I’ve never really loved the concept of chocolate in teas, but so far over the past day or so, I’ve had more chocolate-y teas and they’re all pretty good!

Thanks cheeta_pita for the sample! Pretty much exactly what I expected. Nutella tea! Chocolatey and smooth.