Republic of Tea - Red Velvet Chocolate Tea - June 3, 2015

Chocolate(s) of the Day:

The Republic of Tea
Red Velvet Chocolate Tea
Good
Weight: .56 oz. (1.6 g.) (estimate) in 1 tea bag
Calories: 0 calories (estimate) for 1 cup of tea
Cost: $13.99 for 1 box of 24 tea bags
Purchased from: East-West Bookstore, Mountain View, CA

Today was Day #9 of Chocolate Tea and Beverage Theme Weeks.

I tried another "chocolate tea" from The Republic of Tea's Cuppa Chocolate Teas collection. This rosy-red tea's color came from beets -- the original red food coloring for most Red Velvet chocolate cakes. (Over time the beets were replaced by red artificial and natural food colorings; although they're making a come-back now.)

I made some gluten-free devil's food chocolate cupcakes that were infused and moistened with today's red velvet tea. One cupcake lasted long enough to be frosted; two smaller cupcakes were eaten before the frosting could be applied.

Sno-Zen 
Today was a Chocolate + Tea double header.

Sno-Zen (Mountain View, CA) is a local San Francisco Bay Area business that serves shave ice and shaved snow -- a popular frozen dessert in Taiwan.

Late this afternoon I tried the company's Thai Tea shaved snow with sliced almonds, caramel and chocolate syrups and mochi. It was an elegantly presented and delicious version of a custom-made ice cream sundae. (Thank you Sara for tasting help.)