Chocolate Tea

I didn't mean to do two posts in a row with "Chocolate" in the title as I have already proclaimed myself as not much of a dessert person, but I wanted to highlight some unusual and delicious tea I received as a Christmas present this year. As I mentioned in my last post, my husband and I are big fans of Christmas. We started a tradition about five or six years ago of getting each other 5 small gifts adding up to no more than $150 or $200, forcing us to be a little creative and also ensuring that there are enough wrapped gifts displayed under our tree (there is nothing sadder than a Christmas tree without any gifts under it!). Inevitably, at least one of the 5 gifts is food-related.

While I went for the obvious and cliched route of getting my husband some truffle salt, my husband got me two canisters of tea from Tea Forte along with a beautiful tea press. The gift was especially thoughtful as I am trying to wean myself off of caffeine. The first canister is a simple decaffeinated breakfast tea but the second is an unusual herbal tea -- Coco truffle tea! It is listed as a dessert tea on the Tea Forte website and actually contains cacao. The flavor of the tea is subtle and contains some spices associated with holiday desserts, such as cinnamon and ginger. But, I think what puts it over the top is the hint of fennel. A pot of Coco truffle tea, along with a chocolate chocolate chunk cookie and a good book, is all I need for a cozy vacation day at home (all coming to a crashing halt next week when I, gulp, go back to work!).