Tag: Tisano

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Tisano’s Vanilla Cacao Tea

Vanilla Cacao Tea by Tisano
Rooibos Infusion / Flavoured
$13.99USD for 4oz

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Tisano has provided me with Vanilla Cacao Tea for the purposes of providing an honest review.

First Impressions

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Tisano’s Vanilla Cacao Tea smelled absolutely heavenly as soon as I opened up the packaging. The smell of this tisane is primarily chocolate with a hint of vanilla. I don’t smell the rooibos at all, which isn’t a bad thing for me because I typically don’t enjoy rooibos infusions. The chocolate aroma reminds me of hot chocolate. I enjoy that Tisano’s packaging is resealable.

Vanilla Cacao Tea consists of cacao shells, organic rooibos, and organic vanilla.

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Preparation

Tisano recommends steeping Vanilla Cacao Tea in 212°F (100°C) water for 5 minutes. I steeped Vanilla Cacao Tea for an initial steep of 5 minutes.

First Taste

Vanilla Cacao Tea steeps to a bright golden yellow after the initial steep time of 5 minutes. The aroma that wafts up from the steeped infusion is malt chocolate and a hint of vanilla – I don’t smell the rooibos at all (another bonus!). I found that the taste of Vanilla Cacao Tea was primarily malt chocolate (if you’ve ever had Milo – a malt chocolate drink powder – you’ll know what I’m referring to), with a touch of bitterness that is found in dark chocolate, and there’s the vanilla flavours at the end of each sip. I did wind up adding a touch of milk to the infusion, and found that it helped to temper the bitterness from the chocolate and make it more like a hot chocolate drink.

I don’t think I tasted the rooibos at all – since I couldn’t smell it or taste it, I’m not sure if it really added anything to the blend by being in it.

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A Second Cup?

I resteeped Vanilla Cacao Tea once, and found that the flavour was quite watery compared to the first steep. I would say that Vanilla Cacao Tea is only good for one steep.

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My Overall Impression

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I liked Tisano’s Vanilla Cacao Tea. I really enjoyed the malt chocolate flavour with the vanilla notes. It tastes very much like a watery hot chocolate until I added some milk to help temper the bitterness from the cacao shells. I’m not sure if there was a purpose of the rooibos as I couldn’t smell or taste it. I really enjoyed the vanilla notes in this blend, and it makes the cacao infusion that much richer.

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Tisano’s Mint Cacao Tea

Mint Cacao Tea by Tisano
Herbal Infusion / Flavoured
$13.99USD for 4oz

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Tisano has provided me with Mint Cacao Tea for the purposes of providing an honest review.

First Impressions

The pairing of mint and chocolate has been a steady part of my life for a very long time – one of my dad’s favourite flavour combinations is mint chocolate (especially in the form of ice cream), so it’s one that I’m very familiar with. When I saw that Tisano had sent me a sample packet of Mint Cacao Tea, I was very excited. Ripping open the packaging, I was first welcomed by the smell of chocolate and mint. If After Eight chocolate was ever made into a tea blend, I think this would accurately represent the aroma of that candy.

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Mint Cacao Tea consists of cacao shells and Egyptian peppermint. I’ve never had Egyptian peppermint before, but it has the crisp, refreshing aroma of mint that I’m used to.

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Preparation

Tisano recommends steeping Mint Cacao Tea in 212°F (100°C) water for 3.5 minutes. I followed the steeping instructions for the initial steep.

First Taste

Mint Cacao Tea steeps to a golden orange, and has a mostly chocolate aroma that wafts up from the tea. I smell a hint of mint, but it’s primarily the chocolate that comes through. On first sip, it reminds me a lot of the Original Cacao Tea that I reviewed previously, with just a touch of mint that shines through. There’s a touch of bitterness to this cacao blend, that reminds me a lot of dark chocolate. I found myself searching for the mint at times.

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I added a touch of cream to Mint Cacao Tea and found that it helped with the bitterness, which allowing the mint to come through a bit more. There’s not as much sweetness as I was hoping to find in a chocolate mint tea, but a little bit of honey helped bring out the chocolate flavour a bit more.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Mint Cacao Tea and found that the mint chocolate flavours was quite watery compared to the first steep, and would say that Mint Cacao Tea is good for one steep only.

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My Overall Impression

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I thought that Tisano’s Mint Cacao Tea was just okay. I found myself wishing that there was more mint in the flavour of the tea, but the addition of honey and cream helped the blend to taste more like a hot mint chocolate. The aroma of the dry leaf is amazing and reminds me just like mint chocolate candy, and it smells quite a bit like chocolate (with a touch of mint). With a bit more peppermint or mint extract, I think this would just hit the spot.

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Tisano’s Original Cacao Tea

Original Cacao Tea by Tisano
Herbal Infusion / Straight
$14.95USD for 4oz

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Tisano has provided me with Original Cacao Tea for the purposes of providing an honest review.

First Impressions

Tisano sent me a sample of their Original Cacao Tea. The sample came to me in a resealable bag (thank goodness), and the aroma of the cacao shells is one of pure chocolate. It smells and reminds me of a rich hot chocolate. Original Cacao Tea is a tisane made up of only cacao shells. I’m not sure what a cacao shell is supposed to look like, but the tisane is made up of thin, light brown flakes and smell like a chocolate bar.

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Preparation

Tisano recommends steeping Original Cacao Tea at 210°F (99°C) water for 5 minutes. My initial steep was for 5 minutes.

First Taste

Original Cacao Tea steeps to a beautiful golden brown colour. Surprisingly, there’s slight bit of oils across the top that I think it comes from the cacao shells themselves (since chocolate has oils). The aroma from the steeped tisane is nothing short of hot chocolate. Sipping Original Cacao Tea has the taste of chocolate, a slightly watery version of hot chocolate. There’s a slight bitterness to the tisane, it reminds me of dark chocolate.

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I added some cream to Original Cacao Tea and I found it helped to dull the bitterness and make it taste a touch more like hot chocolate, as it allowed the natural sweetness from the cacao to come through more.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped the Original Cacao Tea, but found that the flavour was a watery compared to the initial steep. I would recommend Original Cacao Tea for one steep only.

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My Overall Impression

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I liked Tisano’s Original Cacao Tea. I found that it was really good with the addition of cream, it made it taste like a hot chocolate. It’s a nice alternative to the sugary commercial hot chocolate mix available out there. I wasn’t too fond of the bitter notes with the straight tisane, so I recommend adding some cream or milk to make it into a rich hot chocolate drink.

Curious about the cup rating system? Click here to learn more.