Ripe For Romance

It’s not you, it’s me…
I’m removing my rating for this tea because, as it turns out, I just don’t like raspberry chocolate teas. I know, I’m as shocked as you are. But I’ve tried 2 now, and even though I can certainly appreciate that they (this one included) were well blended, I just wasn’t crazy about either of them. This is a good tea. It’s just not a good tea for me.

I’m having a lovely mug of this. I forgot I had it and was craving something sweet. I love the aroma I’m getting from this. It’s just like smashed red raspberries. So sweet. I’m not getting too much chocolate flavor but I can catch hints of a dark chocolate-like flavor. It blends well. mmmmmmmm

Adagio took a pretty safe route with this Valentine’s Day tea: chocolate and raspberry. That’s not a complaint nor is it a complement; I love the idea, but I’ve found that fruit-flavored blacks are not really Adagio’s strong point.

It smells nice enough, a semi-artificial (it’s far too sweet to be real) but clearly raspberry scent with a hint of chocolate. Not much of a tea scent here, which is fine by me when it comes to flavored teas on the inexpensive side (better to smell and taste the added flavoring than the cheap base, right?). It’s a fairly attractive tea, too (or else I’m easy to please) with real dried berry pieces and leaves adding color.

In the taste department, I’d call this… good at what it wants to be. It totally reminds me of a chocolate truffle with raspberry filling (which I assume they were going for, given the holiday release) and that accounts for the not particularly realistic nature of the fruitiness. It’s nothing like a real berry, but it’s definitely like a berry candy! The chocolate is there, but weak. It’s not a very complex taste overall (think candy from the drugstore, not Malley’s [do they even have Malley’s outside of the midwest?]) but for a Valentine’s-themed treat, it does the job. My preferred way of drinking this is in a custom blend, though; it goes very well with creamy flavors.

Like most of Adagio’s flavored black teas, you’ve got to keep a close eye on Ripe For Romance, as it can get very bitter very quickly.

I used to love this blend but right now… I can only tolerate it iced… that is all lol

You don’t always want something fancy that’s meant to be savored. At $9 for a 4 ounce tin, this is the perfect little treat to have around for when you’re in the mood for a hot cup of something caffeinated and uncomplicated (that isn’t coffee.) I can drink cup after cup of this stuff with how smooth and simple it is. Unfussy black tea of a decent quality with a very real red raspberry note and a hint of cocoa from the nibs. This isn’t a complex tea with notes that are hard to differentiate, it’s a plain old flavored black with a great execution and no bitterness to be found.

I always start out liking this tea and then find it increasingly bitter and off-putting as I drink it. Adding sugar makes it more palatable but still not great. Some milk might help, but I don’t have any handy right now. It’s a shame, since it starts out so nice.

A good tasting chocolate raspberry flavored tea which with a spoonful of sugar makes a good desert alternative. Just like most flavored teas the flavor does not seem right without adding enough sugar to give it a fairly sweet taste.