We haven't talked about chocolate around here in a good long time, so in honor of Valentine's Day, here are quick reviews of five chocolate bars. Plus two Kusmi teas just because. Do share any of your own chocolate or tea favorites in the comments!
MarieBelle Dark Chocolate Banana (65% cacao)
This is a spendy New York brand that reportedly makes great hot chocolate, but I've never tried any of their products except this admittedly sort of strange bar. Numerous little bits of dried banana translate into an oddly bumpy exterior similar to a puffed rice chocolate bar, and lend a satisfying chewy-crunchy texture. I frequently complain that bars don't have enough "additives", but this one arguably doesn't have enough room left for the chocolate — chocolate purists would probably not like it, but then, chocolate purists probably wouldn't like any of my favorite bars.1 The first time I had one I wasn't sure if I liked it, but I always buy one on the rare occasions I see them, so I must, and everyone I've given one to has liked it (Kevin said it tasted like fudge).
I can't remember what I paid for this one, but I know it was steep verging on ridiculous. Note that MarieBelle has recently redone their packaging; I don't know if they've "reformulated" the bars as well. In the new packaging, the 80g bar is $9.
Vosges Banana Victoria (62% cacao)
I'm a fan of the Vosges brand, but haven't liked many of the flavors they've introduced over the last year or so. This is one of the few newish dark chocolate bars that isn't a variation on sweet gooey caramel, and while it sounds perfect, all of the "extra" components — walnuts, banana, nutmeg — are mighty thin on the ground, leaving it neither chewy, crunchy nor surprising. I much prefer my older friends from Vosges: the Black Pearl, Red Fire and Mo's Dark Bacon bars. Sadly, they seem to have discontinued the Calindia bar, which had cardamom and walnuts, and I'm not entirely sure they're still making this one either, although it's still in stock at my local Whole Foods.
85 g, $7.50.
Maison Bouche Cardamome et Citron de Sanguine Glacée (55% cacao)
Maison Bouche is a small indie outfit near San Francisco, and they make bars in a vast array of flavors, including any number of tempting (to a perfumista, anyway) florals, from Fleurs d'Oranger to Lavande des Hautes-Alpes et Fleur de Sel to Rose et Feuilles de Menthe Cristallisées. I've only tried a small sampling of the range so far, but admit many of them aren't as delicious as I expected, probably just because I prefer a darker chocolate with a bit more bite. But this particular bar, with chunks of candied blood orange peel (admittedly sparser than I'd like) and cardamom (plenty!) is delicious, and I've considered ordering a case and keeping them in the freezer.
$6.50 for 2.2 oz. See also: Bunch o’ chocolate bars with citrus, Rococco floral chocolates
Alter Ego Dark Twist (60% cacao)
One of the many fair trade / organic brands; this particular bar using chocolate from a co-op in Ecuador. At first glance, the bar did not seem to have enough of its primary additive, crystallized orange peel, but the addition of orange oil helps the bar live up to the "vibrant and tangy" promised on the outer box without overwhelming the flavor of the chocolate. It's not the best orange peel chocolate bar I've ever had, but it's quite good. Another plus: I can buy this at a local supermarket, and it's very reasonably priced. Other Alter Ego flavors I have not tried include Dark Quinoa and Dark Coconut Toffee.
80 g; $3.99.
Madécasse Pink Pepper & Citrus (63% cacao)
This fair trade company, founded by two former Peace Corps volunteers, sources and produces its finished bars in Madagascar. All of their bars (even the plain 70%, which is my father's favorite) are wonderful, but this bright and zippy bar with pink peppercorn and combava fruit is a star in my regular rotation — I probably eat one or two of them every month. Every so often I eat one of their Sea Salt & Nibs bars too. If you like hot, and I mean hot, try their Cinnamon & Sakay bar (I generally like spicy chocolate, but it's too over the top for me). The prices aren't bad, and many Whole Foods stores carry the brand.
75 g; $5.99.
Kusmi Violette
I drink mostly green and oolong tea (lots of it, all day long) and the occasional chai (see below), and since I don't care for Kusmi's green tea base, I'd kind of given up on the brand despite the allure of the packaging. Then Jessica turned me on to Kusmi's Violette tea. This flavored black tea became an immediate favorite, and as soon as they ran a free shipping special, one of the lovely tins was mine. The first thing you need to know is that the violet flavor is strong — really strong. I'm pretty sure it's the heaviest floral tea I've ever had. If you've ever found that floral teas give you the unpleasant sensation that you're drinking perfume, Violette is probably too strong for you, ditto if what you're really after is the taste of the tea itself. From my perspective, the problem with most floral teas is they're not heavily floral enough, so Violette suits me just fine. I make it almost double strength and then cut it with milk. Kusmi also makes a rose tea, but I haven't tried it and from what I've read, it is not as strongly flavored as the Violette.
$16.95 for 125 g tin; also available in tea bags.
Kusmi Kashmir Tchai
As I said above, I mostly drink green tea, but often around mid-morning I'll have a cup of spiced black chai tea with milk. I long ago moved on from tea bags for my green tea, but after extensive tasting of chai blends, my preferred chai is one tea bag of Numi Golden Chai + one tea bag of Tazo Organic Chai — this results in a "just right" (for me) mix of typical Indian chai spices. When I get tired of that, I drink Kusmi's Kashmir Tchai, which I ordered untasted when I bought the Violette. The Nepalese blend is a bit unusual, at least for a brand sold in the West. The dry tea is lovely: you can see the whole cloves and cardamom pods and bits of cinnamon in the mix. There's also ginger and star anise, and lots and lots of pieces of broken bay leaves. When I smell the dry tea, I notice the cardamom and star anise most, but brewed, the cardamom is light and so is everything else — it's far more subtle than your "average" chai, and it just tastes different, possibly because of the heavy concentration of bay leaves. If you're after a standard sort of Indian chai, it probably won't satisfy you, but I've grown very fond of it. I brew it double strength and add a small amount of milk.
$16.95 for 125 g tin; also available in tea bags. Note that if you sign up for Kusmi's mailing list (or subscribe to their Twitter or Facebook) you'll catch one of their periodic free shipping specials.
1. And I will repeat what I said on the subject back in 2010, because it's still true:
I know absolutely zip about chocolate. Those single-origin estate chocolates that true chocophiles pay a premium for hold no interest for me. What I want is simple: a dark chocolate (around 60% cocoa) bar with something fun added. That’s not quite the chocophile’s version of the sweet generic fruity florals I turn my nose up at around here, but I’m guessing it’s close.
I have had the Kusmi Violette and it is delicious! I also cut it with milk but it needs no added sweet. My other favorite is some double jasmine I bought from The Tea Source, strongly perfumed in a good way.
I love jasmine tea! For years I bought Upton Yin Hao jasmine, but then it seemed that a couple batches were less jasmine-y so I switched to their Pi Lo Chun jasmine. I will have to check out The Tea Source.
Oh, Upton Jasmine is divine. I ran out so your post just serves as a reminder to get in gear and order some.
Interesting, thanks for all the recs. I just read NPR’s food blog, The Salt, right before coming here and they have a fascinating (to me) article about chocolate and independent farmers. They specifically mention Madécasse and there’s some olfactory info about chocolate production too; here’s a link if it’s ok to post one:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2013/02/13/171891081/bean-to-bar-chocolate-makers-dare-to-bare-how-its-done?ft=1&f=139941248
Nice article, thanks so much! A couple of my family members were Peace Corps, and that was my original attraction to Madecasse, but it really is also very good chocolate, and many of the fair trade bars I’ve bought in grocery stores really aren’t all that good.
Here’s the joke: I’ve really, seriously been cutting out sugar so I very virtuously passed on the Divine dark chocolate bar with hazelnut filling last Sat. at the grocery store, only to have my mother give me a heart box of Russell Stover candy! lol! At least the Divine was dark, organic, etc., etc. Oh well, the RS was given with love.
The chocolate bar currently living at my house is the Theo 85% dark bar. Wow! That one is definitely for chocolate purists. But even at that percentage, surprisingly not bitter.
Tea: my current favorite is Himalayan Quest from Art of Tea:
http://www.artoftea.com/catalog/himalayan-quest-nepal-black-p-44.html
(not affiliated)
I’m not a fan of floral teas (yes, it tastes like I’m drinking perfume), but I do appreciate your making your teas double strength, Robin, as I like my black tea the color of coffee!
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Ha, that’s a serious box of sugar!
I know I’m probably repeating myself, but I have a very narrow range of preference for chocolate, usually 60-65%. 70%, I will try it, but it’s almost never tasty to me. Probably why so far I have not loved any of the Theo bars. I do love the Divine w/ mint.
I eat very little sugar myself. Despite how much I go on about chocolate, my intake is pretty small — I eat about 1/2 an ounce every day after lunch, which means my bars, though expensive, last a good long time. Once in a blue moon I have some crap candy I’ve stolen from my son, like m&ms, but that’s rare.
Yes, the Divine with mint as well as the one with strawberry have been calling my name. I’m a sucker for chocolate and berries. The Lindt with raspberry makes my knees weak!
Someone taped one of the Lindt raspberry bars to the top of a gift for me, otherwise I wouldn’t have ever tried it. The dark chocolate and tart liquid raspberry was surprisingly one of the greatest flavor/texture combinations I’ve ever had the pleasure of trying.
MUCH better than a bow on top of the gift!
I’ve never seen the Divine with hazelnut. My husband would love that.
LOL at Russell Stover . It’s better than that Hershey’ s Pot O Gold my mother gave me last Christmas!!
My most recent tea splurge was Mariage Frères Marco Polo which is very light and fruity, the kind of thing you’d imagine drinking to accompany macaroons or some other tiny, exquisite pastries.
If anyone is familiar with the brand then I’d love some recommendations for what else is worth trying. Perhaps something a little more robust to go with the delicious Frank Cooper’s marmalades that I’m rather fond of
I have had their rooibos version of Marco Polo — very nice! My other favorites, although none are all that robust, are the Lune Rouge & Festin d’Or, both flavored green teas, and the lovely Birmanie, which I think is a roasted green? It unfortunately only comes in an expensive calligraphy tin & they don’t seem to sell “refills”.
They do also make a nice chai, Chandernagor, but someone else will have to help you w/ the other black teas.
Oooh, Mariage Freres! I, too, am a big fan of that line. I love the black Marco Polo, as Abyss mentioned above. Also, adore the Wedding Imperiale that Austenfan mentions below. In fact, I just bought a small bag of it to give as part of a tea-themed wedding shower gift for a work pal.
I am so looking forward to trying the rooibos version of the MP as well. Others of that line that I like are their green tea Tea a l’Opera and their butterscotch tea (that one isn’t available readily in the States, but a perfume pal is in Paris now and I’m hoping she’ll “mule” me back some of the butterscotch and also that Chandernagor, which sounds great, too). For a non-flavored but hearty black tea, I enjoy their French Breakfast. Thanks for a great post!
It is very sad how little of the MF line is available here. I’ve been lucky enough to stock up on my favorites when family or friends go to Paris, and once I split an online order w/ someone, and really the shipping was not so terrible when shared.
But trying not to order any “new” flavors now, because I’ve bought so many that I’ve ended up not liking, and 200g of a tea you don’t love takes a very long time to use up!
Amen to that, Robin! I really wish more tea companies would sell small amounts, that way you’re not stuck with a boatload of tea you don’t like. I’ve often thought it would be cool to start a tea sampling service, kind of like Surrender to Chance, etc. Or maybe there’s one out there that I don’t know about?
Gosh, I’d love that! Upton does sell samples & so does Harneys, one of the reasons I am a loyal customer at both companies.
BTW, Robin, if Patty brings me back some butterscotch tea, I’ll be happy to share with you (or any of the other MF ones I have). Just let me know …
MF shipping is fairly expensive within Europe as well. I treated myself for Christmas with lots of MF teas. I haven’t opened all of them yet. A wonderful unflavoured black tea I got is Rose Porcelaine.
I avoid milk in tea myself, occasionally will add some to my Assam teas but that is it. But then I don’t usually brew a very strong cup.
Lovely post again, must be nice for you to occasionally write on another subject.
Ann, that’s really kind, thanks!
Austenfan, it is, and I used to write about chocolate & tea more often. I sort of forgot to
I adore Mariage Frères. I haven’t ordered a lot from them yet the what I have tried I have liked.
Wedding Impérial and Black Orchid are both soft round black teas flavoured with vanilla, spices and caramel. I can’t remember which is stronger on the caramel or the vanilla, but I am on my second bag of both.
I really like their Earl Grey Impérial; a Bergamot flavoured Darjeeling
Highly recommended is one of their Lapsangs: Lapsang Souchong Impérial. So far the best smoky tea I have ever tasted, very velvety and soft for a Lapsang. I happen to like the combination of Marmalade and smoked tea.
Have fun trying!
Thanks, ladies! I was trying to remember which blends the nearest stockist had and I’m pretty sure that the Opera was one of them. I know they sell the Wedding one because I remember feeling tempted to try it but I couldn’t decide if caramel sounded appealing or slightly gross.
Add me to the list of people wishing for a greater selection and tea samples!
The Wedding isn’t overly sugary if that helps. I find it very refined. I found the Marco Polo harder to get used to.
Tea samples are a great idea!
I have been in the Teavana stores in the mall on several occasions to taste some teas they are sampling, and i have liked a few, but never bought anything. I drink a lot of Turkey Hill Green Tea with ice, if that even counts. I rarely drink hot tea, but on the occasion i do, it is generally a microwaved coffee mug with a bag of Bigelow something. I like flavorful teas, but whenever i brew my own from the tea bag it tastes so watered down. Would i get more flavor out of loose leaf tea?
Well, no, you wouldn’t necessarily get more flavor, but tea merchants generally only use lower quality or broken leaf teas for tea bags — not always, but usually. And they generally use blends to ensure consistency. So you can find higher quality teas if you buy loose leaf.
But there are some very high quality black teas sold in tea bags, all the same. I’m not a big fan of Teavana, but you might try some of the bags from Harneys if you want to try something new.
Teavana was bought out by Starbucks at the beginning of the year. It sounds like the right merger – They’re going in more of a Tea Bar direction than what they have now. The high pressured sales pitches should stop and relaxing and hanging out with a laptop and a good cup of tea will be encouraged. I have my fingers crossed.
Less pressure would be a good thing. I have been in Teavana a couple of times, and I felt very pressured to buy more tea than I could every possibly use, what with them telling me what a bargain I would get if I bought a full pound. I am the only tea drinker in my house, so it would take me months, perhaps a year, of daily consumption to use up a pound. I simply don’t have time to fool with brewing tea on weekday mornings before work, and no way at all to make it at work, so it is strictly a weekend indulgence.
Teavana is ridiculously high pressure – they follow you around even when you try to give them the hint that it’s annoying. I always know what I’m looking for when I go there, so them following me around isn’t going to make something that’s not there magically appear.
I think Harneys is pretty great for bag teas, so seconding Robin’s recommendation.
Rictor, I too have found that tea bags, regardless of their cost, make a weak cup of tea (I usually double up). BUT, tea bags are the same size as they’ve always been, and they are meant for the old standard 6 oz. coffee cup (the kind that came with china in the old days). The mugs most people drink out of now days are much larger – therefore weak tea!
Good point! My mugs are huge, almost like bowls.
Very good point! This applies to coffee as well. All the references to “cups” are misleading, since a “cup” of coffee or tea usually does not mean an 8 oz. measuring cup. My old “4 cup” coffee maker made about 16 oz. of coffee. It is best if the instructions are given in terms of standard measurements, such as ounces, rather than “cups”, and it is worthwhile to measure the capacities of your cups and mugs. The smallest mugs I have hold about 8 oz., the largest are 16 oz.
Generally you’ll get better tea in loose leaf, but not always. Like Robin said, it’s all about the quality of the tea, bag or not. One thing I can recommend from Teavana though is their perfect teamaker for loose leaf tea. It is big and really allows the loose tea to move within the hot water, getting as much flavor from each tablespoon of tea as possible. It drains into the cup from the bottom and I haven’t had a speck of leaf end up in my cup. It’s fairly easy to clean too. I think it’s $20, which seems like a lot, but will maximize the efficiency of the tea leaves in the long run.
I use a French press for making loose leaf tea. The leaves have plenty of room to move around, and the plunger pushes all the leaves to the bottom when the brewing time is up. I just make sure that I use a designated press for tea and a separate one for coffee.
That’s a really good idea. I haven’t used a French press before. I’ve been wanting one, but it seems excessive when I have a perfectly good coffee maker. So, uh, here’s hoping it dies soon so I can justify buying one?
My husband bought a small, cheap French press to try and liked it so much he bought a nicer, larger one and now that’s all he’ll use!
I drink GALLONS of ice tea in the summer and yes it counts
I make non-caff tea everyday in a huge pitcher. Sometimes it’s teabags and sometimes I use a large mesh ball for loose. I like flavored the best as then I don’t add sugar. Really it is so refreshing and no-calorie. I cut out soda years ago and get bored w/ plain water. Now that I think of it I should try Violette iced tea! I’ve done jasmine, wonderful.
Thanks for the reviews – I like a little less strongly flavored stuff in my chocolate (like orange or cardamon), but similarly like a 55-65% dark chocolate. My current favorites are Chocolove Dark Chocolate (55%) with Almonds & Sea Salt and the Chuao Panko bar – they redid their packaging and renamed that one (Salted Chocolate Crunch bar is the new name). Their Spicy Maya and Firecracker (with pop rocks!) bars are also quite good. And I was pleasantly surprised to pick up a Ritter Sport Dark Chocolate with mousse filling and find it was quite good chocolate 0 and very cheap at Trader Joe’s!
My husband is literally addicted to the Chocolove Sea Salt Almond. It’s the only chocolate he eats, and I buy them for him by the case.
I adore Chuao, but pissed me off that they renamed the bars! Salted Chocolate Crunch is a dumb name, IMHO. And Caracas is now Nut Delight or something stupid. At least they didn’t rename Spicy Maya (that was my after lunch chocolate today, as it happens).
The Ritter w/ strawberry is my son’s favorite
The Ritter bar with marzipan is one of my favorites. Ritter is also one of the few upscale-ish brands of chocolate readily available in my area, as we do not have a Whole Foods, a Trader Joe’s, or any other such stores around here.
Oh, that Chocolove Sea Salt Almond is wonderful! Somehow the combination has almost a toffee effect. I don’t buy them any more, though, because I’m always tempted to eat the whole bar at once. Highly recommend for those with more willpower!
So glad you included Alter Eco on the list! Dark Quinoa and Dark Almond are also fun.
Ah, glad to hear the Quinoa is good, I’m going to see if I can find one.
I am a sucker for floral teas — precisely because it seems like I’m drinking perfume! When my husband and I were in Nashville visiting his family over Thanksgiving, we happened across a kitchen store that also had a truly epic selection of tea (most of it in bulk plastic bags; you’d describe to the owner what you were looking for, and he’d consult some index cards and then rummage around for the appropriate ginormous sack of loose tea. It was all wonderfully low-tech.)
I bought some terrific Lapsang Souchong and something called English Garden, which is the most unapologetically floral black tea I’ve ever had. My suitcase smelled like dried rose petals when I unpacked after the trip. Aside from several fields’ worth of roses, the tea also contains violet and some white blossoms (possibly jasmine?) — but it’s really all about the rose. What’s really funny is that I’m not a huge fan of rose perfumes, so go figure.
Oh, how cool! Someone sent me some rose black tea from Palais des Thes, but it is too subtle. I’m the same — I want to be whacked over the head with flowers. Have also tried a rose green tea from Harneys, & several from Upton, but none of them were strong enough either.
Darn, Emily! I wish I had read this *before* sending your package -you’d have some nice jasmine tea. Next time…
I’ve gotten mildly addicted to a local brand of chocolate bars, Alcove. They do fun flavors — mimosa, kung pao peanut, red velvet cupcake — and although I’m not a very discriminating palate, they’re yummy.
They also do a banana one! Is that the new “thing”? Banana chocolate bars just sound bizarre to me.
I don’t know if it’s a new thing. I always dipped bananas in Hershey syrup, so it seems old hat to me
Aha, and they sell online! I am adding to my wish list, thanks — have you had the tart cherry bar?
I haven’t! But it sounds wonderful, doesn’t it?
Thanks. I’ve tried several cherry bars but never found one I liked.
I am almost as addicted to Kusmi teas as I am to perfumes.
I even keep a whole collection of their mini-tins at work.
If anyone is planning a trip to Montréal, I strongly encourage you to drop by their store on St-Denis St. It is incredible.
Last summer, (or maybe the year before) they had chefs from the neighbourhood create ice cream using the various tea blends.
I now have to try the Kusmi Violette.
P.S. Tonight I will be having some olive oil filled dark chocolate from a local chocolatier. They are amazing! (I cheated and tried one this morning)
Ah, and have you tried the Kusmi rose?
Those chocolates sound wonderful.
Ah the Montreal store! I was preparing to mention it in a reply! The tins are worth buying just for themselves…… I even wrote to Kusmi in Paris to ask about the lovely packaging – here is the reply I received:
“You might be surprised but the current packaging design dates from 1867 when the brand just launched. It was designed by Pavel Kouschmichoff, the founder of the brand. The logo represents St Sophia Cathedral and its reflection in the Neva river. The horse on the logo represents Tsar Nicolaï II. The Tea House was still called Kousmichoff by then and the tin labels were printed on paper instead of printed directly on the tins as it is now. Kusmi Tea House won a lot of design prizes at Universal exhibitions.”
OK, so back to tea itself; it is usually the one thing I like to buy as travel souvenir.
Of the Kusmi teas, my favorites are Prince Vladimir (bergamot, lemon, grapefruit, vanilla, cinnamon, cloves – which I swear is the recipe for Coca-Cola flavoring) and their Christmas Tea.
Also in Montreal, at one of the groceries in the Atwater Market, are two local brands – one called Thés C.G. that makes a great whole-spice Bombay Chai (pink peppercorns, cloves, coriander, cinnamon bark, star anise, cardamom, ginger); and one from Northern Delights (“Fine Inuit Herbal Tea”) – an unusual but lovely Arctic Blend tisane of echinacea, marshmallow root, peppermint, elderflower, chamomile, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and coltsfoot leaves.
Mariage Frères: Casablanca is a very mild mint rounded out with bergamot: completely addictive in either black or green versions. Thank you to others here for your MF recommendations! I am going to Paris next month and now have a list of new ones to try!!
ps they have a little book The French Art of Tea that is wonderful; among other things it categorizes and describes all their flavors
Also love Fortnum & Mason teas, especially their Fortmason blend.
I’m with Poodle below, having far more than I will ever manage to drink through, but it won’t deter me from purchasing more on my trips…..
My taste in chocolate is fairly pedestrian. (I prefer milk chocolate, THERE, I SAID IT). But I do love Vosges’ Red Fire bar. Also their chili-laden Aztec hot chocolate, which is the best winter treat ever! I love going to their shop in Soho to fill up on samples.
You are totally allowed to prefer milk chocolate! Actually, most of the cool flavors Vosges have done lately seem to be in milk chocolate, so you must have many more on your side
A girl after my own heart… I love chocolate bars with chili in them.
Another delicious bar with chilis is made by Dagoba. Their chili and also their lavendar organice chocolate are my favorites from Dagoba. I think they are a lot cheaper than Vosges, and also high quality chocolate, but maybe not quite as.
You could have saved a lot of time by just having a cup of Kusmi Euphoria – Mate with Orange and Chocolate.
It’s an excellent little treat with steamed milk.
Wow, really? That does sound delicious. I wish Kusmi would sell samples.
It IS delicious. Good for breakfast and dessert.
I like my chocolate around 70% cacao. I mean, I love chocolate in nearly all its tasty forms, so I’m good with lighter chocolates too, but 70-75% is the sweet spot for me. I really like Vosges, but they’re sometimes a little pricey for me. I really love Chocolove’s 75% extra dark bar.
As for floral teas… I haven’t tried Kusmi at all. I’m probably making a Valentine’s self-indulgence run to Central Market after work so I’ll have to look and see if they have the brand. The name sounds vaguely familiar. I really like Zhena’s Gypsy Rose. It’s not subtle about the rose flavor. And this one isn’t really floral per se, but another favorite of mine is The du Hammam by Palais des Thes. Best. Green tea. Ever.
I have never seen Kusmi teas in a store. Somebody probably carries them, but don’t think anybody near me.
I like Hammam, it’s a nice afternoon tea. PdT also makes a wonderful spiced green tea. Forget what it’s called, comes in a pretty pink cardboard canister w/ Ganesh on it.
Came to me: The des Fakirs.
Not sure where you are Robin, but they have Kusmi teas at Cardullo’s in Harvard square.
Thanks! I’m in the middle of nowhere, although we do have Whole Foods & Wegman’s & Trader Joes, all fairly recent.
Also wanted to add that the free shipping threshold for Kusmi (when they run a special) is very reasonable, although now I can’t remember what it is. Same with Harneys — they frequently do free shipping with a $25 purchase.
The price mark-up at Cardullos or other specialty stores would probably equal or exceed the shipping cost so probably better to order online anyway. Just a thought.
I love Zhena’s gypsy rose too. Another beautiful rose tea is Tulsi rose tea.
Ah, I drink lots of tulsi tea, mostly loose leaf, but do have some licorice tulsi bags. Will have to look for rose.
Robin, it seems our preferences in black tea are quite similar – I like it strong and with some milk. Spicy, floral or citrussy additions are generally very welcome. And accidentally, my favourites this winter have been Kusmi Kashmir Tchai (mostly for evenings), Prince Vladimir and Anastasia (mostly for afternoon). And I have been hunting the Violette, but it’s not available here – I am sure it would be perfect for me. I also mix black tea, cardamom pods, orange peel and rosewater in a French press and brew my own flavoured tea.
When it comes to chocolate, I currently crave pretty light milk chocolate with sea salt. Not very sophistcated, but what can you do.
Ah, neat way to make your own tea! I buy that cold brew coffee from Chameleon and soak cardamom pods in it for a couple days, then drink it cold with milk. Now I’m wondering if I could add orange peel as well.
Prince Vladimir is great!
I am much more pedestrian in my tastes for tea and chocolate, but they’re things that make me happy, too. I fell in love with Theo’s Fig, Fennel & Almond bar when I got one on a whim in a coffee shop recently. Great combination of flavors. And I’ve also discovered the Ritter chocolate at Trader Joe’s recently – the one with hazelnuts for me. Mmm.
I haven’t been drinking as much tea as I usually do this winter, but I must try that Violette! (Wearing a long-time favorite frag today, Jolie Madame.) A special favorite tea for winter is the Chamonix blend from Upton – black tea with cocoa, cardamom, and cinnamon. Very warming on a snowy afternoon.
Ever since a trip to Victoria several years ago and high tea at the Empress Hotel, I’ve been ordering tea from them. It’s just a blend of black teas, but I love it with milk in the afternoon. If you ever go, do give it a try.
I must admit that my all-time favorite comes in a bag. There, I’ve admitted it.
I want to like that Theo bar, but have given it several shots and I just don’t. I wish it had less cacao, then I think I would love it. Ditto w/ their bread bar, which sounds so wonderful but is just too bitter for me.
The Chamonix sounds wonderful! Have never ordered any black tea from Upton, but I sure spend enough $ there on green & oolong.
I’ve never seen their bread bar – I’ll have to keep an eye out for it.
This has been a great post, Robin, I’m learning so much!
Hi! I’m delighted that you’ve begun conversation about two of my favorite three things in life: fragrance, chocolate, and tea. [ed note: deleted]
I’m sorry but marketing for your own brand is outside of the rules here, see the comment policy:
https://nstperfume.com/about-now-smell-this/comments-user-accounts/
Sorry, Robin. Really.
No worries!
I love tea and I love chocolate. I have far more tea than I will ever drink and reading about all these others that I haven’t tried isn’t helping me.
Sorry!
It’s quite alright. I can justify the tea purchases as healthy treats. Can’t really do that with perfume.
Oh yes you can, Poodle! Perfume is necessary for your mental health.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
I’ve never been a great tea drinker, my choice has always been for dark roast coffee, or plain mineral water, or even filtered tap water.
Lately I’ve been thinking I could use a little more flavor in water, so will try some teas. Descriptions above are literally ‘mouth watering.’
I have a question, though — how long do fine teas keep in the cupboard? I’ve had some Lipton teas forever, and don’t notice much change in their flaver over time — is this because they keep, or because I am just not tuned to changes in tea flavor/aroma? Do the spiced, flavored, and flowered teas keep well, or do they go off?
Thank you.
Well, if properly stored, they’re a safer bet than perfume. I prefer the silver vacuum bags that Upton sends product in, and find it does better long term than tins. Still, I’ve got teas in tins that are well over a year old, sometimes two, and they taste just fine.
Some companies (like Mariage Frères that I mentioned above) do separate ice tea blends which sound really nice and might work well for that. Worth checking them out, perhaps.
Robin, I could not figure out what was going on with that Banana Victoria bar. Mine wasn’t light at all in the banana dept. but instead the banana was chewy and formed a white film around where it was embedded in the chocolate. SO weird looking.
I like the Vosges with the salt, and miss the old Creole one with the chicory and nibs that got “reformulated” and now apparently is gone (!).
Oh, weird! Then I wonder if it had storage issues and that’s why it is no longer on their website.
I remember that chicory bar, that was nice! I am really disappointed in how many bars are now based on caramel. They are all too sweet for me.
It was like that the two times I got it.
Those caramel bars are annoyingly messy to eat. And too sweet. Although I wouldn’t complain if one somehow came into my possession ;D
They’re especially messy if like me, you don’t want to eat the whole bar at once. I never manage to break them cleanly, and then they drip all over the place. But even if that wasn’t true, they’re really sweeter than I like, even the Stout one.
What a great topic for V day. Yum! I love chocolate and tea, reading the posts, getting lots of ideas on new ones to try. I once worked at an upscale dayspa where they had plates of Lindt intense orange chocolate lying around everywhere for customers to eat while they were waiting to get their eyebrows and things waxed. So I became a consummate chocolate sneaker while I worked there and have been addicted to it since. My new favorite is Taza 70% stone ground chocolate in the bar (not the round thingies). The chocolate tastes almost fruity and it has a gritty texture that I really like. As far as tea, nothing beats Merchies Russian Caravan with whole milk and lots of sugar. The other one I love is Pu-erh Maiden from Ancient Tree.
Another one I love and haven’t had in a long time is Dagoba organic chocolate, the one with lavender in it. That one is really lovely.
You know, I really didn’t like the stone-ground texture of the Taza bars at first, but it’s grown on me. They make one with ground coffee that I’ve become sort of addicted to.
I know, right? I wasn’t so sure about it either and then one day I was gritting my way through a bar and I was like Damn this is good.
It’s how all the best addictions start!
My favorite chocolates are the assortments from Burdick’s. Their chocolates are tiny but just one or two of them are completely satisfying because the flavors are so intense and complex. They’re usually in the 65 to 70% range and contain all sorts of fascinating things. Some of my favorites are the dark chocolate with fig and port; the white chocolate ganache with lemongrass and pink peppercorns; and a dark chocolate ganache with Macallan whisky and pistachio marzipan. They change things up fairly frequently, so there’s always something new to taste.
Wow, they have a lunar new year assortment right now that’s really tempting. And the adorable chocolate mice!
Hubby gave me a small box of Burdicks a couple of V’days ago and I had to photograph it before eating any. It was so sweet with the little mouse looking up at me. Then I devoured it.
Burdick’s mice are the cutest of the cute!
I am especially fond of those round stone ground chocolate bars. They have kind of a wonderful mealy texture and often incorporate salt, pepper, cinnamon and almonds. I have a Vosges Naga bar that has curry and coconut. Can’t wait to try it. The Chocolove dark chocolate with almonds and sea salt is hard to beat. I see lots of love for it here. I love Morracan Mint tea, Japnese green tea in all it’s wonderful permutations and Jasmine tea. I love Pu-Erh, which is like the single malt scotch of teas–very earthy and smokey.
Those are the Taza bars (see above). I do wish Vosges would do a dark Naga bar!
I need to learn more about Pu-Erh. The one or two times I’ve tried it I thought it was gross, but that’s also what I thought the first time I had a good green tea.
The best Pu-erh I’ve had is made by Rishi teas. I usually go for Pu-erh Maiden (it’s a little smokier than the others, similar to my beloved russian caravan) but haven’t been able to find it lately. I bought a three pack of Pu-erh Classic from Rishi and it’s ok but not as good as Maiden.
I always have Lindt Supreme Dark 90% cocoa around. It’s so wonderfully rich and intense that a couple of squares satisfy the chocolate tooth.
I wish it were easy to get tea samples, as some have suggested. I’d love to try different teas but would never use up a whole box or canister.
I just did a little research online and it looks like you can get tea samples from a bunch of different companies. One that looked really great is called teafrog.
OMG I’m researching tea samples at midnight on V day…so sad
Do try Upton & Harneys. They both sell samples at a pretty reasonable price.
Green & Black’s dark chocolate is my jam. Also love Tcho chocolate from San Francisco and French chocolatier Patrick Roger.
As for tea, it’s all about the silver tip jasmine from Rare Tea Co.
Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone!
I’ve only had one Tcho bar — the Dark Citrus. It was excellent. As is Green & Black’s Maya Gold.
Have not tried anything by Patrick Roger — where do you get them, or are you having them shipped?
I had to order directly from the Patrick Roger website. Not cheap, but the delivery is super quick – the package shipped from Paris to LA in two days – and they were for my husband’s birthday and so worth it (it’s ALL about the chocolate-dusted almonds! Seriously amazing). Plus, they’re kind of our thing. We discovered Patrick Roger when we were in Paris a year ago, on the same trip where my dear husband proposed. The chocolate is so good that it has converted my once-chocolate-ambivalent husband into a chocolate believer. How’s that for chocolate power?
Nice! And thanks.
Robin, you made me hungry for chocolate!!! It doesn’t take much to do that, lol. I haven’t tried any of these but would like some with some jasmine tea! Another love. For chocolate, I like the Ritter Sport Bar, Dark Chocolate with Hazelnuts, so yummy. Germans know their chocolate I think!
You’ve reminded me of Rococo’s delicious jasmine bar — wish those were easier to find in the US. But Ritter is awfully good too.
Wow, that sounds so good! I tried looking it up to perhaps buy one..don’t see anything out there! Bummer!
Other than having it shipped from the UK, don’t know how to get them. I bought them at a store in Pittsburgh, so I know they’re in the US, but not online. Wish Chocosphere or somebody would carry them.
I love dark chocolate and my favorite chocolate bars are are Hachez 88%, Pralus single source and Venchi Extra Bittersweet 85%. For truffles, I like all of the wonderful creations by Moonstruck. Sounds like I eat a lot of chocolate, but I actually ration my intake. Have to use a little self control!
i drink mostly iced tea and like the rooibos that a local coffee/tea place offers. The rose teas mentioned above sounds interesting.
Wow, you like really dark chocolate — good for you, it’s healthier.