Product Review - The Earl Grey chocolate (Meiji)

We purchased these chocolates in a Japanese Outlet store in San Francisco.

We love the packaging in aesthetics and functionality of the cigarette-inspired flip-top box.  Each of the 6 chocolate sticks is individually wrapped in a protective foil package.

Like most Japanese made chocolates, the consistency was smooth and creamy, but did not have much of a cacao flavor.  In fact, this chocolate tastes more like a white chocolate, especially since the predominant taste is Lavender, which was soothing, but a little too floral.  Tea was an afterthought on the palate.

The beverage pairing would be best with something strong like coffee as there is a lack of body behind the chocolates.  Overall, the Earl Grey chocolates did not make a lasting impression, so we'll save our calorie & fat intake for a better tasting snack.

Tea Tasting - Darjeeling Green (from Chado Tea)

First of all, thanks for finding us and reading.  We're looking forward to sharing our experiences with this virtual Tea Cafe blog.

The first time we came across Chado Tea, we were enjoying a day off by taking the Metro Gold Line from South Pasadena to Little Tokyo.  Chado is right across the street from the Japantown stop in the same building that houses The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA.


We were intrigued by the look and feel of the space.  The employees seemed very customer service oriented and knowledgeable about the product.  We didn't purchase anything at the time, but the first impression intrigued us.  Our opportunity to patronize this establishment came when we redeemed a Groupon offer for an Afternoon Tea for two earlier this year. Included in the offer was bulk tea to take home. One of the varieties I decided to try at home was the Special Darjeeling Green Tea exclusively available at Chado Tea.

According to the website, the tea is described as: "A superb Darjeeling green and also rare to find in this quality. Specially manufactured for us this tea is a very refreshing green tea with a subtle and sweet taste. A rare find."

We found that this description was true to the tea (pun intended) and found the flavor profile pleasing and mild. It is versatile to pair with foods, especially with slightly sweet snacks or desserts. However, the gentle Darjeeling was great to enjoy on its own. It tasted akin to a lightly oxidized Oolong Tea.

We enjoyed multiple brews of steeping the tea leaves. The flavor of the tea maintained its stamina as high quality teas should. Highly recommended if you feel the need to indulge every once in a while.

 -Vivian808