Belgian Chocolate Rooibos

In the sample packet, the smell is to die for. Chocolate. Nom. Chocolate. Nom nom. Chocolate. Nom nom nom. Not really much else, just sweet, creamy smelling chocolate.

You can’t really see it in the picture, but the red rooibos is interspersed with long yellow dried petals. They’re pretty. They look sort of like fragments of crepe paper.

I had very high hopes that this would be some sort of caffeine free chocolate dream concoction that I could drink at night while watching The Biggest Loser. Just the illusion of calories.

Unfortunately, it was not to be. In the cup, the aroma is rooibos first, chocolate illusion after. As is the flavor. The chocolate isn’t bad as far as it goes. The rooibos isn’t a bad rooibos. It’s the balance that’s the issue for me. As with some other recent rooibos trials, the problem here is that the rooibos won’t shut up.

For me, if a rooibos is good, it’s a lot like a good waiter. You barely notice they’re there, you just notice that you’re not left wanting anything. They don’t barge in, they don’t totally ignore you. They’re just a very quiet presence that miraculously gets the job done.

This one isn’t quite there. Dang. Now what can I have while watching The Biggest Loser. Quick, before I head for the cookies!

Still on the hunt for a good chocolate tea… This tea smells just like cocoa, with a hint of the woodsy rooibos. There are bits of cocoa bean and some really pretty yellow flower strands.

After the brew, the liquor is of course the nice deep red of a rooibos. It smells mainly like rooibos now, with a hint of chocolate. By the smell, I don’t think that this tea will solve the chocolate hunt.

The firs sip…mmmmm it is pretty creamy and almost minty, with a slight hint of chocolate at the end. The rooibos smells strong but doesn’t taste that strong at all which is the way I prefer it. After a few more sips yup there is a bit of chocolate but the main flavor for me is the end notes that is minty and leaves my mouth refreshed.

After it cools there is a bit more chocolate flavor, so if that is what you are looking for let it cool a bit! This for me is a nice tea, I enjoy the blend but it doesn’t solve my craving for chocolate.

This is my first experience with rooibos tea. I am rather pleased with it. So much so, that I am going to purchase some from the Tea Table now. I have gone through a 4 oz bag in about 1 week. I like the essence of chocolate, without it being overbearing. And if the minty hints I’m getting are classic rooibos flavors, I love how it blends w/ the chocolate essence. Mint chocolate is a classic combination, after all!

I think my favorite thing about this tea is that it looks like it’d be caffeinated, but it’s not; so I enjoy making a pot in the evening and then keeping a cup on my nightstand to sip if I wake up in the night. I also love that I can give it to my 6 y/o daughter at night before bed. She loves mint-chocolate anything (leaning more toward mint than chocolate), and this tea is proving to be perfect for her!

Sooooo badly wanted this tea to curb my chocolate cravings. Not a chance. So sad >sniff<.