Shangri La?is a tea company that makes?tea-flavored chocolate, of which I got free samples to review. I covered?the Earl Grey and Masala Chai on Tuesday, and today, I’m reviewing the remaining two bars: Chamomile Mint and Black Currant.
Chamomile Mint had the same 38% milk chocolate base as the Earl Grey and Masala Chai. Its back was a riot of different tea leaves and flower bits:?chamomile, licorice, spearmint, orange peel, and peppermint.
The milk chocolate took on an entirely different flavor profile with this?different tea blend, and the base milk chocolate’s?caramel notes were lost. Instead, it tasted?minty, with some of the sharp bitterness of anise and some floral notes from the chamomile and orange peel.
While I appreciated the flavor complexity, the texture was a bit off for me, as the larger flower bits and other crunchy parts didn’t melt away, and I had to spit them out. Like the Masala Chai, this gets a?demotion to an O because of the texture.
Black Currant was the only one of the set that had a dark chocolate base, a 66% cacao. It was flavored with black tea and “natural flavor”, which gave it a brightly fruity scent.
The dark chocolate snapped easily and sharply. It didn’t melt with any noticeable texture so much as just disappeared, leaving behind the crunchy tea leaves.
The “natural flavor’ added a noticeable dark red berry fruitiness, while the tea leaves made the chocolate finish with a noticeable astringency. I liked the flavor but didn’t like the lingering dryness. An O as well.
I imagine these would be great gifts for tea-drinkers. If only tea tasted as good as these chocolate bars!
Stay tuned tomorrow for something fun about these Shangri La bars!
Varsha