Double Dark Chocolate Mate

Sipdown!

And thanks to terri for this tea from our swap. Soooo i’m pretty sure it’s official that i just don’t really like mate. In fact i’m pretty sure i mis logged the tea from the weekend that i said was a mate…and was actually drinking a different tea. Because mate? It’s not pleasant. Doesn’t seem to matter if it’s roasted or not, if it’s flavoured, mixed in with other things….it is just not the tea for me. Nope.

BUT objective me says, this isn’t a terrible bagged chocolate type tea. if you like mate. which i don’t. nuff said lol

This is the tea of choice this morning as I need something seriously good to motivate me to get up, go to class and be productive in general for the day. This tea is interesting in that almost all of the ingredients are some form of cocoa or chocolate – yum! The teabags are very powdery with a fine, cocoa-like filling that floats up out of the tin when you open it. The Republic of Tea recommends brewing the tea for 7 minutes, and the end result is a cup of cloudy tea that smells exactly like hot cocoa. It tastes just like hot cocoa too, one you add a little milk and sweetener. If I had any mini marshmallows in the house I would throw them in the cup also. This tea takes me back to my childhood days of sipping a warm, sweet cup of hot chocolate during the winter. This has been one of my favorites for a long time and it looks like it’s time to purchase more as there is only one teabag left!

-Round natural unbleached teabag. Teabag is powdery with a fine cocoa-like filling.
-Teabag smells strongly of rich chocolate. Tea liquor aroma is exactly like hot cocoa.
-Tea liquor is a dark cloudy brown color.
-Deep dark chocolate flavor with a strong sweet cocoa finish.
-Best with milk and sweetener.
-Excellent tea. A rich creamy and satisfying cup.

Thanks to Jude for letting me sample this one. :)

The tea bags smell like hot chocolate – the instant kind, from a box. I’m not a big chocolate person – I like it and all but I prefer fruity candies over chocolate.

However, when I have to decide between chocolates I must go with dark (I’m allergic to milk chocolate). So this would be one I might pick for myself.

ANYWAY I’m new to mate – and my last try was disastrous so I’m somewhat hesitant.

Still smells chocolately… can’t see the bottom of the cup. I smell the “old coffee” smell that must be mate…

Drinking it, it tastes basically how it smells. It’s OK. Not my fave chocolate tea, but not the worst thing I’ve ever had.

MMMmmmm….Chocolaty! Loving this tea!

I was nosing through my professor’s tea basket today after class and saw this tea. In the middle of sniffing it, she encouraged me to take some for the road since nobody else was drinking it. This was one of the teas that I have been wanting to try, so I plunked it down in a little Styrofoam cup and brewed it on the spot.

I think I brewed this around 6-7 minutes while I was walking to my next class. The water was at a lower temperature than normal, so I figured a longer steep time wouldn’t hurt it. I drank it hot and plain.

This was my first time trying a mate. I’m still not sure what to expect from one, but I could feel the effect it had on me. I was a little drowsy after class and I knew I would be in danger to not pay attention in my next class. After I drank this I was alert, barely doodled, and took more notes than normal. Considering that this was my last class of the day, the tea perked me up.

The chocolate is subtle. I saw the cocoa powder falling off of the bag when I put it in my cup. The bag itself smelled like dark chocolate hot cocoa powder. I get the taste of the cocoa in the back of my throat and on my tongue during the after taste more than when I was drinking the tea. The taste of the tea was light and reminded me of mocha. Only without the aftertaste of a bad espresso that most coffee drinks leave me with.

I can’t wait to go back to my class to get more of this tea. If I had it in my personal stash, I would have drank at least two cups of it today. This is a tea that I would recommend and that I plan to pick up in the future. I also have plans to try different types of mate.

This is my favorite chocolate tea. It is simply ~ amazing ~. I’d never tried a mate before but I have been wanting to find a chocolate tea to help me keep from drinking hot chocolate and this is definitely ~ the one ~. My favorite teas are the kinds that I can keep the bag in the cup the whole time while I drink it and I can definitely do this with this one. It does not become too strong for me. The taste and smell of the chocolate flavor in this tea is very intense, and there’s not an overpowering taste of coffee like I have experienced with some other ‘chocolate teas’. I will keep buying this blend again and again.

This tea smells heavenly, I had a hard time waiting the 7 minutes to drink it! Actually, the fact that I could smell the chocolate through the tin was what led me to buy it in the first place (it was between this tea and chocolate orange rooibos year of the tiger tea). First impression: kinda weak, not particularly rich in the chocolate or mate. I decided to let it cool a bit, as it was still too hot to really tell. A few minutes later: still a little more subtle than I had hoped, but very drinkable. I have to remind myself that this is tea, not hot chocolate, to judge based on what is there, not expectation. While in the mouth, it doesn’t taste like much, but during the swallowing process and aftertaste, its kinda toasty and a pretty tasty, mild soothing chocolate.

this is great with a spoonful of chocolate ice cream in lieu of milk/sugar!

Steep Information:
Amount: 2 teabags
Additives: none
Water: 12 ounces filtered boiling water (my pottery friends mug is 12 ounces)
Steep Time: a little over 7 minutes
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: dark chocolate bar, nutty
Steeped Tea Smell: mate, chocolate, nutty
Flavor: weak watery chocolate
Body: Light
Aftertaste: chocolate
Liquor: dark brown, you can’t see to the bottom of the mug

When I opened the canister I wanted to eat the bags right there and then! I have gotten used to The Republic of Tea’s “powdery on purpose” tins, so the cloud of coco dust didn’t surprise me and I certainly don’t mind chocolate wafting through the kitchen.

I was very excited for this tea, I had been expecting so much from it. What I got was a weak coco, like when you make the “prepare with milk” coco packets and accidentally make them with water.

I added the bags back in per some other reviews.

Next time, 3 bags, and maybe some milk.

Post-Steep Additives: none

images: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/02/republic-of-tea-teabag-mate-tea-double.html

Wow, I really love this stuff; it really satisfies my chocolate cravings. However, don’t expect it to be sweet tasing, as it’s more of a rich chocolate flavor, instead. It’s important to use boiling water and let it steep for 10 minutes or more, in order to get that rich decadent flavor. Also, make sure to use 1 serving for every 6 ounces, if not then it will not be rich enough. Sometimes, I prefer to add a little half and half to really get that comforting dessert like creaminess.

I love the name of this tea and wanted it to be great. The smell is of a creamy, rich chocolate. The taste, however, is significantly different. I can get hints of chocolate, but now as much as you would expect from the scent. Isn’t there a darn mate (or other tea, for that matter) with a rich, creamy chocolate taste? I might be asking too much.. trying to find a healthier, but equally satisfying replacement for hot chocolate. Anyway, this tea isn’t awful, just a bit disappointing.

Wow this was pretty yummy! I really enjoys it…better note later family everywhere.

Trying this at one my new favorite hangouts. Like some of the other reviews here It smells amazing. When it gets to the cup….It’s not bad. I’m really not getting the chocolate flavors I was hoping for, but decent nonetheless.

I worried about the chicory that’s listed as an ingredient because my grandfather hates it… I figure I must therefore have a genetic predisposition toward hating it too, right? That’s how my mind works, anyway. Back during World War II, the coffee rations given to the U.S. soldiers were extended by adding lots and lots of chicory. That’s one of the very few war remembrances he’s ever shared. My grandfather doesn’t complain about much, but the man has a chicory vendetta.

Familial prejudices aside, this was such a pleasant surprise. It makes a great coffee substitute for me since I won’t touch the stuff. The aroma is dark, smoky chocolate. It’s not much on the sip, but the aftertaste that remains in the mouth is so satisfying. I have mine with a generous splash of milk and two level teaspoons of sugar. I think I’m going to brew another cup right now…

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.

I’m pretty new to the tea world and just bought several varieties of The Republic of Tea tin cans. This is the first one I tried and it was delicious! I’m partial to Twinings’ Earl Grey but Double Dark Chocolate Mate is a yummy change ;)

I’m a dark chocolate enthusiast so I was psyched to try this, based on its name: double dark. Sounds dark, doesn’t it? Trust me, it’s not. So I initially gave it a low rating for not being dark and for being bland and watery. Put it in the recesses of my cupboard. Then, having pulled it out for a steepster swap recently I tried it again, this time with an extra long brew time, well beyond the recommended 7 minutes. Big difference. This is one of those teas that really benefit from being kept hot while steeping, and in fact it seems best off being left in the cup till the end. I like it with a little splash of almond milk and it can also take a little dash of cinnamon or shot of whatever alcohol you like with your hot chocolate. Still not double dark at all, but a nice drink on a cold day or evening.

This is pretty decent for a bagged yerba mate. The flavor is fairly thick, chocolaty and rich (just don’t expect it to be hot chocolate). I can’t taste the mate. I steeped in 5oz of water for a little over 12 minutes, then added about 1oz of almond milk and some stevia.

Perfect balance of choccie and mate. I don’t take the bag out while I’m drinking.

I really really like this tea. I was very impressed with the great chocolate taste it has. I am not a real fan of tea in bags but this one is truly worth the compromise. This tea hits the I need chocolate crave square in the face. I was so impressed with the fact that I could get multi steeps from the one bag and how great the chocolate flavor was and I did not have to add sweetener. This tea was so good I shared the bags with many friends.