water and chocolate

I got a lot of great birthday cards last week. But my secret favorite features a turn-of-the -century photo of a woman in a dark pointy hat and tiered a-line frock and reads “Gail’s chocaholism led her to dress more and more like a chocolate chip.“ Well played, especially considering my annual pre-Valentine’s birthday candy-fest.

One birthday present, however, offers sweet salvation from the heart-shaped, super-processed, super-sweet confections that always find their way into my mouth no matter how well I’m doing with my resolution to swear off refined carbs for the new year (I mean you, Necco Sweethearts). I’ve been wary of chocolate teas since the late 90s when my mother had me try some sickening abomination from Stash that smelled amazing and tasted like hot water plus a tablespoon of Hershey’s syrup. So I was skeptical when my mother gifted me with a tin of dessert teas in wee pyramid-shaped silk diffusers from Tea Forte,  (it’s been called “the Lamborghini of tea bags,“ Oprah loves it), with a Coco Truffle bag front and center. I thought about re-gifting the offender, but figured I could give it a shot. After steeping for three minutes the brew was a rich amber and smelled like sweet spices layered over rich dark cocoa powder. Surprisingly, the taste was even better - bitter cocoa with hints of sweet cardamom, ginger, and liccorice peeping through. Don’t take a swig of this expecting hot cocoa; savor the refined flavor of cocoa beans at their purest. This almost zero calorie and caffeine-free tea is my new go-to for quenching sugar cravings, a sensible choice for those looking to replace a mid-afternoon mocha latte.

It’s expensive at $24 for a box of 20, or sometimes available for around $2 a bag at specialty shops, but considering the price of a moment on the lips…

Tea Forte is available locally at the Origins store and The Mole Hole. Photo courtesy of Tea Forte.