Strawberry Chocolate

Didn’t know what I wanted on this grump-tastic day. This came in the mail so I figured, sure, why the heck not.

1.8g in this tea bag. ROT’s bag size doesn’t thrilled me. But whatever. It smells good though. Exactly like chocolate covered strawberries. But once it starts brewing, the sour wood smell of rooibos is apparent. Meh. Whatever, we’ll give it a go. Maybe the sourness will blend well with the tart, fresh strawberry smell which I hope translates to taste.

Okay, my 18-year old arthritic and not-so-steady-on-her-feet kitty just traversed a table, two chairs, and a chasm between a chair and the couch to get to me for love so at this point, this could be the worst tea ever and my day has gotten pretty awesome. That was quite a feat for her! (She had to go via such a route because she physically can’t jump up to the couch directly and her stairs up are up to the chair on the other side of the living room).

Well, the good news is, this tea is not horrible. Nowhere near as cool as my kitty, but then what really is? (Nothing. Just in case you were curious. Nothing is.) It tastes pretty sweet but there is a little tart, too. Sort of like fresh strawberries with a dash of strawberry jam. The chocolate comes in mostly on the aftertaste for me but it is distinctively chocolate.. I can taste some ick from the rooibos hiding underneath everything, but eh. It’s not that bad. A little like moldy wood but not as obvious as I feared based on the smell. Easy enough to acknowledge and then attempt to ignore.

I could almost see myself buying this. Of course when I imagine it, most of the scenarios I come up with end with me giving it to my mom and just having a cup every so often when I visit. But still, that’s a lot better than I was expecting. A lot. Hordes. I don’t totally trust it though. I almost feel that I like it so much because it wasn’t disgusting and I was expecting to be disgusted. This tea and GM’s White Licorice tie for the ‘Weird Tea I Thought I’d Hate But Ended Up Liking But Maybe I Just Like It Because I Didn’t Hate It’ tea award. I kind of want to own about 5 servings of this so I can give it a proper taste run.

I have to be honest, I went in to the tasting of this tea with a bad attitude. I am not a big fan of RoT. Generally speaking, I find the bag size is too small and the price tag is too high. Also when I think strawberry and chocolate, I think Neapolitan ice cream. I really don’t care for Neapolitan ice cream. This tea doesn’t stand a chance.

Steeped for 5 minutes. First taste was ok but a bit bland. Added sweetener (which is my usual habit). Sipped again. I have to agree with Bonnie’s review – this isn’t bad. In fact I kind of like it. Read the label and noticed this is rooibos. I tried but I can’t taste rooibos in this at all. It is just a pleasant mix of strawberry and chocolate actually more cocoa, with a hint of vanilla. It tastes natural to me, not fake or candy. It is rich enough to enjoy, yet not overbearing in the cup. This is not something I would drink everyday but it is a pleasant caffeine free calorie free desert drink. Glad I tried it.

After seeing Auggy’s post about this tea, I knew a RoT catalog was on the way. When I got home from work, it was there waiting for me. Yay! I usually do not order anything from RoT, but I do look forward to the tea sample they include with the catalog.

Let me start out by saying that this is the best sample I’ve received from them thus far. OF COURSE it contains Rooibos…I would be shocked if it didn’t. This is what I taste – in order:
-a little zing of strawberry (very nice)
-the oncoming taste of mild chocolate (good)
-ROOIBOS!!! (loud and proud – Ehh…)

I understand that Rooibos is a good filler and that sometimes tea blends need that little extra something (the cowbell – see Steepster Dictionary thread). But this would be so good with a nice black tea base. Why can’t they push the freakin’ Rooibos aside just once and see if their sales don’t improve. The Rooibos takes over the aftertaste with that sawdust/woody/straw-like taste. I like Rooibos…and for some reason I do not taste the negative aspects when I drink it plain. But in blends, it’s there…and obvious.

Rant over. This is a big victory for RoT, but in the tea world, it’s just slightly above average.

Can’t say I’m really enjoying this one, unfortunately…

I got this as a sample from RoT in their catalog, and I was kind of excited to try it. Strawberry and chocolate! Where can it go wrong?

Well, for starters, the bag smells a little musty. I really wanted a bright strawberry smell, and it just smells like dusty strawberry mixed with dusty chocolate. So I steeped this bugger up for 7 minutes, and tossed the mini-bag.

Here’s where the problem begins. For some reason, the infusion smells like strawberries and chocolate, mixed with a cilantro-type smell. I loathe cilantro. I’m one of those people that has that gene that makes it taste like disgusting soap. I don’t know how people can like it. Soapy-cilantro-rooibos-strawberry-chocolate. No thanks.

It actually definitely doesn’t taste like cilantro, which is a plus. This is a very light rooibos, with the strawberry and chocolate clearly coming out. The strawberry is more on the forefront of the taste, the chocolate in the aftertaste, but the two blend together. The only problem is that this tastes like cheap chocolate, like the kind you get from CVS for Easter. That kind of musty, goes-white-very-quickly chocolate that kind of doesn’t taste like chocolate, but more like plastic-chocolate. The strawberry isn’t a round and juicy flavor, but an echo of something more akin to strawberry candy. Like those little strawberry hard candies wrapped in a pseudo-strawberry paper and had a semi-liquid filling.

The rooibos base lends an odd tartness to the blend. I definitely think this would have been better with a black tea base. The rooibos isn’t robust enough to support these flavors.

Is it horrific? Nope, but it’s certainly not great either. I’m having trouble finishing my cup. I could imagine other people enjoying this, though.

Well, of my box of cuppa chocolate teas that I got from RoT, this is the one I like the least so far, of the 4 I’ve tried (Still have the velvet one to go). It definitely tastes like chocolate and strawberry, but I’ve never really liked that taste except for an actual chocolate covered strawberry. Strawberry ‘flavour’ just doesn’t taste quite right to me in most places and this is not an exception.

I can see why some people like it and some people hate it though. I wish this wasn’t a rooibos blend because generally I don’t like those very much, though there are exceptions to every rule. This is at least palatable. I think I’ll probably end up giving away the three bags left of this that I have.

Bought this on impulse during a lunchtime grocery store run. Not like I need more tea… went ahead and made a cup when I got home, because why drink one of the 100+ teas I have when I can open a new tin, right? Anyway, it’s yummy and soothing – it tastes and smells more like candy to me then a real fresh strawberry, but that’s ok. I find the scent comforting. It’s sweet enough but not tooth-achingly so, which is nice. The chocolate isn’t strong, in fact it blends seamlessly with the strawberry flavor. This reminds me a bit of a milk chocolate Ritter Sport candy bar w/ strawberry filling that I had recently. Next time I will try it with a splash of milk as suggested. (It would probably be good with almond milk, coconut milk, or even vanilla flavored versions of either.)

Was gonna choose my Yogi Immune Support with echinacea tea this morning, but my fingers grabbed this one instead. I was actually surprised at how much I enjoyed it, despite having not been fond of the strawberry flavoring in the past. I agree with some other posters, the amount of tea in the bag leaves a little to be desired. I almost steeped mine with two bags instead of one, but decided against it at the last second.
Anyway, perhaps the fake-tasting strawberry doesn’t bother me so much when I’m sick. The chocolate flavor came through okay, and the rooibos hid in the background most of the time. Enjoyable enough. :)
Side note: I’m surrounded on both sides by snoring cats. XD

I had this last night. Despite the fact that it says caffeine free, it does have chocolate in it, and I think that plus the sugar is what kept me up pretty late last night….though being a terrible night owl it could of been anything.
1st smell: Sweet and strawberryish.
1st taste: Pretty sweet. Not overkill though.

While I’ll be ok finishing off the canister…I am not sure I will get this one again. It wasn’t terrible….but not really inspiring either. I think I agree with another person that posted a review for this tea. They said that they think it would taste better with a black tea base then a rooibos. I have liked most of the rooibos teas I have had, but I don’t know…..who knows maybe it would taste just as uninspiring with a black tea base. I think I am going to try writing to ROT and see what they think. Some companies appreciate that kind of thing…others don’t.

I enjoyed this over the top tisane brewed in 6 oz of boiling water, steeped for 5 minutes, with milk and sweetener (drop of pure maple syrup). This combination resulted in what tasted like a strawberry milk chocolate candy.

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: fabulous! juicy strawberries and milk chocolate
Steeped Tea Smell: strawberry, hints of milk chocolate
Flavor: rooibos, a small hint of chocolate
Body: Medium
Aftertaste: chocolate
Liquor: opaque dark red-brown

I am always disheartened when the teas smell so scrumptious and taste so ordinary.

It’s a nice rooibos with hints of sweet fruit and chocolate.

Post-Steep Additives: German rock sugar – brings out the flavors a bit

Rating: 2/4 leaves

Blog: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2011/09/republic-of-tea-teabag-rooibos-tisane.html

Once again my taste in tea puts me in the minority. I like this tea! It is the current Republic of Tea catalog sample, and I made a cup as soon as I got it (and squealed like a giddy child when I saw the combination of strawberry and chocolate they’d sent out). I think it’s better than RoT’s Strawberry Vanilla and on par with their Vanilla Good Hope.

Smell: fake chocolate
Taste: at first, a hint of fake strawberry. Other than that, fake chocolate (aka carob.. I never cared for it).

It’s drinkable, but I wouldn’t buy it.

My first taste of this tea was horribly underwhelming. However, as I’ve continued to drink this, mostly to get rid of it so that i can use the container. It’s grown on me a tiny bit. I’m now able to pick out certain flavors from it. It’s not the greatest tea I’ve ever had, but, it’s still far from the worst and I have to give in and admit it does taste pretty similar to a chocolate covered strawberry.

The tea smells very chocolatey, no real hint of strawberries in the scent to me. It brews to a dark orange with perhaps a slight red tint.

This is kind of like the ear-worm of teas. I don’t really like it, but, I keep exposing myself to it without complaining too much.

Just bought a whole tin of this on impulse from Whole Foods’ valentine display. I opened up the tin and let the scent waft about my car on the ride home. I was genuinely worried after reading others’ tasting notes that this might turn into a cognitive dissonance thing (hello psych degree) where I’d convince myself I like it just to avoid buyer’s remorse. But I honestly do love this. . . with TONS of sugar. Delicious candy in a cup!

I got a few free samples of this at a local coffee shop and was super stoked. I’d been interested in buying one of the RoT cuppa chocolate teas (particularly the banana and coconut ones) but was always hesitant to buy a full tin due to the mixed reviews they’ve received on here. I figured this would be the perfect test to see whether or not it’d be worth actually buying some!
The tea definitely smells like strawberry cocoa. An artificial strawberry cocoa, yes – but I didn’t mind! It smelled yummy, in my opinion. I prepared it according to the instructions and then took my first sip…meh. I wasn’t all that impressed. It was a very, very mild flavor and not really enough to satisfy my sweet tooth. I added a dash of milk and some Stevia which helped bring out more of the chocolate. Not half bad!
Overall, I thought the tea was pretty yummy but I was still a bit disappointed. I enjoyed it and will probably drink another one of my free sample bags tonight, but I wouldn’t go back and buy this flavor in particular! Maybe I’d have better luck with the other teas in the cuppa chocolate line?

Funny how this tea is either a hate or love affair. I mean really…like conservatives and liberals! Lighten up. It’s not that bad. I’ve had better, I’ve had worse and this is not that bad. I think instead of chocolate it tastes more caramelly with a hint of strawberry flavor that reminds me of the strawberry taffy that you bought as a kid (I’m really old so you may not have had the pleasure of having this type of taffy bar) for 5cents and you slap cracked it on a hard surface to break it into small enough pieces to eat. It was the most wonderful fake taste…cream-a-liscous! Well… Give this to your old folks if you don’t like it and ask them to remember the taffy. Good with cream too. It is dessert.

Normally I would never think of trying this. I like chocolate but have never had a tea with chocolate in it…But I have a sample…so here it goes….
First, the smell is quite chocolatey. The taste is an equal combo of rooibos and hot chocolate. the chocolate taste becomes stronger if you leave it on your tongue for a few seconds. Strawberry is absent for me.
If you like rooibos and teas with chocolate in them, you may like this one.
I still maintain that chocolate and tea should be enjoyed seperately.

Where do I even start? This tea is absolutely amazing. The key note is chocolate (and lots of it) with just a hint of strawberry. It’s naturally sweet so it doesn’t need sugar. Just Wow.

I wasn’t sure about it when I received the sample with my catalog but I have to say I loved this blend!! Mixing three of my favorite things … tea, strawberries, and chocolate … I was delighted. Slightly sweet with just a hint of chocolate, it is perfect for a sweet treat in the afternoon or after dinner in lieu of a dessert.

It smells wonderful! It is better with some sweetener as I find is the case for me with the fruity tisanes. Added some milk for a creamier chocolate taste. I like the rooibos in this too, delicately blending in with the rest of the ingredients. Thanks to Serenity for the AK sample and prep advice!