campfire s'mores

“ Campfire S'mores Tea evokes mixed feelings among reviewers, with most appreciating its unique blend aiming to capture the essence of s'mores by the campfire. The smoky touch of Lapsang Souchong adds complexity, blending with chocolate, marshmallow, and subtle vanilla flavors for a cozy, nostalgic experience. Some reviewers recommend adding sweeteners or cream to enhance its dessert-like qualities, while others enjoy it as is, cherishing the smokiness and chocolate notes. Despite some finding the smoky flavor overpowering or lacking graham cracker elements, the tea is praised for its creativity and ability to transport drinkers to summery nights around a fire. Overall, it's an adventurous choice for those open to a bold, smoky, and sweet tea experience. ”

“ Repost of my Jan 29 ‘21 review, correcting a couple of accidentally chosen words that some could have found offending:

I received a free sample of this tea in Dec 2020, but couldn’t write a review. Below is my official communiTEA review:

Everybody was present in my packet this morning. Moderate chocolate and mild smoky aromas were noted. The marshmallows and safflower threads looked like they was planning something. The safflower lit the match, starting the fire ... there was no turning back!

I decided on steeping this one at the recommended time and temperature. I did this because previous steeps at lower temperatures resulted in flavors that were too mild.

When hot, dark unsweetened chocolate flavors were moderate. No bitterness was noted. I added some sugar to help sweeten things up. A mild smokiness was present. The vanilla creme and marshmallows started smoothing things out.

When warm, moderate bittersweet chocolate flavors were noted. Moderate smokey flavors were provided by the lapsang tea. Towards finish, there were some mild grainy graham tastes. From what ingredient(s), I really don’t know! Slightly burnt melted marshmallow flavors were moderate at the end. I quenched the fire, and completed my review.

I think this one came pretty close to hitting the mark of a s’more. It was a pleasant chocolatey smooth and smoky drink. (3 mins @ 212ºF, 3/4 tsp sugar) ”

“ UPDATED from 1/29/21: The CommuniTEA packet smells yummy of chocolate, and there are miniature marshmallows! Seriously, tiny marshmallows! But there is also the aroma of smoke from the lapsang souchong. Steeping the tea at a lower temp works to keep it from being too bitter. The dark chocolate bite is great, and the lapsang souchong adds a full body flavor which is only slightly smoky, yet very rich. Surprisingly sweet, this tea does not need more, but adding ¼ teaspoon of sweetener (for 10 oz) and heavy whipping cream does make this much smoother. Ahhh - this is a liquid s’more in a cup.Very enjoyable, and able to steep more than once. Yummy! (3 mins @ 200ºF + sweetener and cream).
”

“ An important note before I get to the meat of my review: for the first time in all of the catalog teas I've seen so far, Adagio has created a blend with an ingredient that is neither vegan nor kosher/halal. The mini marshmallows in this tea are made with pork gelatin; caveat emptor for those who are trying to avoid such additives.

With that being said, as an enthusiastic carnivore and a minimally observant follower of my family religion, I find this tea delightful. Like many of Adagio's flavored black teas, it needs babying to bring out the full dessert quality of the flavor, especially given the presence of lapsang souchong in the blend. However, if you treat it nice, campfire s'mores does in fact reward you with a smoky, creamy, lightly chocolate-y cup that tastes remarkably similar to a marshmallow that's been roasted over an open pine flame. There's even a hint of ash for those of us who are nostalgic for the times our marshmallows caught fire and ended up well-blackened on one side. This is one of those teas that really needs sweetener and cream to make it as nice as possible, so don't drink it black or you'll have a very different experience! (2m 30s @ 200 F, 2 drops EZ-Sweetz, 1 tsp cream) ”

“ I do not like it; I would not could not drink it; No lapsang souchong! ”

“ Although I did not vote for this tea in the 2020 vote, I do definitely approve of the concept. S'mores mmmm :) This tea has a sweet scent, but as it contains Lapsang Souchong I was very careful not to overbrew. 200F, 3 minutes. The chocolate flavor definitely comes through, but it's more of a cocoa sort of taste than the dark spicy chocolate I prefer. I didn't note any marshmallow flavor, although I did have a couple tiny ones in my packet. And the Lapsang smokiness didn't percolate through either. Mostly, this tasted like chocolate with a black tea background. Not bad....just not totally what I expected. On 2nd steep I threw in a bit of a favorite -- Chestnut -- to round out the taste a bit. A likeable cup of tea...the chocolate notes were nice....but I really would have rather had banana split tea :) I hear it is coming this year....strawberry banana split. So eagerly awaiting that one! And I did order a bag of S'mores tea....I just doctor it up a bit to make it closer to what I like. :) ”