Hey there Teacups! I’m back today with another Let’s Talk Tea post and this time around I’m going to be reviewing Retro Leaf Teas – Chocolate Island blend. The team over at Retro Leaf Tea very kindly sent me three of their blend to try out and review for this series and out of all of the blends they sent I couldn’t think of a better one to start with than their Chocolate Island blend. Not that the other blends they sent don’t sound amazing (they do) I’m just hooked on Chocolate blends at the moment and I was really excited to see if this was going to be just as good as the other I’ve tried recently if not better.
Here’s what Retro Leaf Tea have to say about this blend over on their website: ”Strong black tea and real dark chocolate create a valley of deliciousness so good it stands alone among the rest.”
Ingredients: Ceylon Black Tea, Dark Chocolate Bits and Belgian Chocolate Flavouring
Tea Tasting Notes
When dry this blend gives off such an indulgent dessert like aroma! It reminded me a lot of the aroma of homemade chocolate cake or cookies being baked in the over and that was only intensified when I added the water. I was worried that when I added the water that it would have dissapated but that wasn’t the case at all once the dark chocolate chips started to melt this started to smell just like freshly made hot chocolate and I was so eager to start sipping.
As you all know since I started my blog my journey with chocolate teas has been a bumpy ride and there is one big reason why, its because chocolate teas are just so hard for companies to get right. They are either hit or miss and there is no in between at all I’ve had hard to many bad ones during my tea journey but recently things have gotten a lot better and the chocolate teas I’ve tried recently have been amazing. This tea is definitely another on to add to the list of amazing ones I’ve had recently because it’s absolutely delicious.
For this tasting session I tried this on its own, on its own with a little bit of honey added and then finally with both milk and honey. And I think I enjoy it the most on its own with around half a teaspoon of honey to sweeten those dark chocolate notes a little bit. That’s not to say it isn’t nice on its own it is the chocolate notes we’re just a little too dark for me as i prefer milk chocolate, and it’s also nice with milk but the addition of milk does mute the base tea a little bit and take away some of its subtler notes.
I do think that Ceylon however was the best choice for the base of this blend. I think a stronger black tea like Assam would have overpowered the chocolate notes in this and a lighter black tea like Darjeeling would have been overpowered by the chocolate. The Ceylon is still malty and strong but not as strong as an Assam and much smoother in my opinion and not as drying.
I was a little bit worried that along with the fantastic chocolate pieces used in this blend chocolate flavouring was also used. At first I didn’t understand the need for both of them but upon trying this I understood completely. The dark chocolate pieces are definitely the star of the show and most of the chocolate notes come from those pieces along with a subtle creaminess but the Belgian Chocolate flavouring stopped the dark chocolate from being to dark and bitter and made this taste like I had just melted a bar of dairy milk into my cup and started to drink it. Its light and creamy in terms of mouthfeel and such a pleasure to drink.
I’ve now finished the sample bag of this blend that I was sent but honestly if Retro Leaf Tea carry on stocking this I will go and purchase lots more of this blend as soon as I lift my tea buying ban. There are so many experiments I want to do with this blend and I can’t wait to have the chance to do them. Something tells me it would make a great iced latte.
Overall Teacup Rating: 5/5
If you want to find out more about Retro Leaf Tea and purchase some of this blend to try for yourself, you can do both here . As always if you have any questions at all either stick them in the comments or send them to me on Twitter/Instagram @teaisawishblog and I’ll do my best to answer them all as soon as I can.
Speak to you all again soon. Happy Steeping – Kimberley
*The tea featured in the post was gifted to me for the purpose of this review. All opinions are my own and have not been paid for*
Kimberley's Kyusu 
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