This morning I bought a milk frother, so that I might make tea lattes. The girl at the shop assured me that this tea was great in latte form – and I love Republic’s other chocolate teas, so I bought the tin. I am in danger of becoming a fan of dessert teas, and I never liked them before!
This tea smells amazing, and you can see the cocoa powder drifting out of the bags when you take them out. I was excited! I steeped 2 bags in 12 oz of water for 8 minutes (I think mate needs a long time.) I used my frother on 4 oz of milk, and I added sweetener to the milk. I was a little worried after seeing the mixed reviews, but I gave the plain tea a sip.
Well, I don’t like mate without milk (I think it’s a coffee sub, and as such it requires it.) But let me try here – it’s dark and rich, with a little bit of bitter dark chocolate taste (as if you ate the powder from a box of unsweetened cocoa powder.) It’s very dark and murky – you can’t see through this tea!
I added my milk and sugar. Ah – this is what I was hoping for! It’s very smooth with milk. There’s the taste of the mate (which is a taste I like, but it is a bit earthy) and then the finish is smooth chocolate. I don’t think it tastes like dark chocolate after adding milk – more a mild bittersweet chocolate. I actually think this is a great hot chocolate substitute – I may have to float some marshmallows in my next cup! The last sip contained the dregs of the cocoa powder, and had a nice bitter finish.
Recommended for fans of mate and chocolate, as both are present in the cup. It’s more expensive than some of republic’s teas, and I wish it were available in loose form. I recommend using 1 bag per 7 oz of water – a pain, I know, but I find that all of Republic’s teas are best that way. It would have certainly been too weak with just one.
