Chocolate Monkey

Well, I have to say, nothing gets through my “need beer nao” haze, quite like the sudden arrival (at 9pm, wtf UPS?) of my Art of Tea dessert tea sampler. So now I am totally like “need tea, go away beer.” Ah, how fickle is woman, etc, etc.

Naturally, for my first pick from the sampler, I randomly drew one of the packets and this is what I got. Now, I have to say. Banana and I have a relationship that is even rockier than mine and Vanilla’s. You see, outside of tea, I am generally fine with vanilla. Whereas A. I have never HAD tea that involved banana and B. I am just not a huge fan of bananas. Unless I am in a banana mood. Which happens like, once every two months. Still, I was willing to give this tea a chance. Also, I am pretty sure someone else mentioned this, but monkey in the title! How can you go wrong?

Even before brewing, I am pretty impressed. This tea smells like a banana split! It has been ages since I had a banana split! I shouldn’t even remember how one smells! Which probably means that this smells like banana split should, not how it necessarily does.

The taste however…hm. I mean, don’t get me wrong, it’s tasty! So tasty, that I suspect Art of Tea of witchcraft, but it’s also kind of…confusing. Sometimes, I totally get chocolate and banana. But sometimes I also got this tang that puts me more in mind of a Polish dessert called kisiel. Which I am never in a million years going to be able to explain, so Wikipedia to the rescue: “It consists of sweetened juice, thickened with arrowroot, cornstarch or potato starch, and sometimes red wine or dried fruits are added. It is similar to the Danish Rødgrød or German Rote Grütze.” So, there you have it. It is usually tangy, has the consistency of custard (basically) and is super tasty with cream.

Anyway, which of the two things it’s gonna taste like varies basically from sip to sip, although the chocolate banana seems to be gaining the upper hand as it cools. My aim with ordering this sampler is that I want to find a dessert tea that I can use to full my sweet tooth into thinking that I have had dessert when nothing of the sort has actually occurred. I am unsure if this will serve the purpose. Further steepings are required! With milk! and possibly some sort of artificial sweetner! The more calories I can free up by avoiding dessert, the more beer I can consume! Yes, I have a one track mind, leave me alone.

Ah, a pot of tea finally. Have been out of town, and was kept quite busy. It’s nice to be home and relax with a nice, yummy pot, and go through the mail to see what came (goodies!!).

This was one of the 60 plus samples I received in my box of goodies from LiberTeas via Tea Trade. It seems similar to a few chocolate teas I have come to love so I was really looking forward to trying it. Like Fusion Tea Room’s Chocolate Mint Rooibos, this seems to have some fruit pieces in it (I am assuming Apple?) which lend a distinct “natural” sweetness to the blend. I also spy some red peppercorns, though I don’t ‘feel the burn’ so I don’t know how much they are contributing in terms of taste. As for that taste, I get sweet chocolate, with the fruit pieces really standing out on the sip. That said, it is a bit sweet for my tastes but still yummy to taste. Sort of like chocolate covered raisins, only without the raisin. I almost feel it might have done better with a stronger base – I am partial to flavoured blacks – though I can see the advantages of using rooibos with this.

As a fun aside, I am typing this up in outlook as I don’t have time to log in to Steepster at the moment and Outlook doesn’t think that rooibos is a word!

This tastes like foam banana sweets today. I had the first steep plain, and I am now sipping on the second steep as a latte since it is a miserable cold and rainy day here. I have made this as a latte quite a few times and it always comes out very sweet and syrupy, even without the addition of sugar. I was craving sweet today, so I am glad I chose this.

Much thanks to teaplz for the chance to try this tea! Honestly, since it is rooibos and banana, I never would taken the risk of buying this on my own. But is has ‘monkey’ in the name, so I really wanted to.

Right off the bat I’m a little nervous. The leaves smell like it has gone off. I don’t think it has actually gone bad. I think that’s the rooibos. And the fright grows once I pour the tea into my cup. I was hoping for some chocolate or even some monkey. But instead it looks like I get full on rooibos. I’m scared. Hold me.

Sipping it’s not quite as horrible as the smell. There is… taste… before the rooibos hits. The problem is, when the rooibos hits, it hits hard. And it doesn’t blend with or accentuate the other flavors that pop up at the beginning of the sip. It battles against them and kicks their collective butt. The initial smell is now banana and rooibos and then the sip is banana and then rooibos and then ROOIBOS. Where’s my chocolate? And I can’t pick out the apple (though maybe that’s some of the sweetness at the beginning with the quick banana taste) or the pink peppercorns (and they are pink! I wanted to pick them out!)

Ultimately this is too much rooibos for me. The other tastes in the tea are too mild to make the rooibos step back so it just ends up being too much for me to deal with well. I’ll be able to finish the cup but I don’t think I’m going to be crying out for more rooibos monkey.

Another delicious one from Jaime!!! Banana candy! I don’t get chocolate, but that’s just fine. I’m perfectly happy with banana candy. I also put a splash of milk in it which made it super dessert-y! I am really loving these for a sweet treat after dinner. I have not even thought about a cookie. I am extra pleased that my husband is absolutely crazy about this one too :) I don’t need to be psychic to see an Art of Tea order in my future!

Thank you once again Jaime!!! I love it!

I wanted to like this more than I did. The description is tantalizingly delicious. I’ve had several cups of Chocolate Monkey and it’s nicely subtle. It’s quiet, aromatic, and has a great banana aftertaste.

It’s naturally sweet and very laid-back. The monkey seems to be napping and not up to much mischief here.

I realize more and more that I like big, brash, arrogant teas and that the subtle delights often pass me by because I want an enormous flavor whallop. Chocolate Monkey is a bit sedate and lady-like for me. Maybe if I crush the peppercorns? I’ll try that next.

This tea is monkeying around with me.

HAHAH, so punny.

Anyway, yeah, this one is messing a bit with my taste buds, and I’m sort of getting confused and frustrated as a result. The smell of this dry is really banana-ish, in a Banana Laffy Taffy or a banana chip way. Not the freshest banana smell, but more like candied banana. Or banana candy.

And the dry leaf is ridiculously pretty, with the contrast between the deep red of the rooibos, the poppin’ pink peppercorns, dark cacao nibs, and the yellows of the banana and apple bits.

So I steeped this one up, and the infusion sort of only smells like rooibos. There’s notes of banana in there, but I’m really not getting any cocoa or anything.

Here’s the problem with this one: it feels rich, but tastes bland. If that even makes sense. The tea feels weighty in the mouth, and substantial. Like a lot of flavors are going to burst out and be really tangible. But then the flavors never really develop into much of anything. It’s like a powerhitter that you put in in a pinch, and he strikes out. The anticipation builds, but it leaves you frustrated.

This tea is the tease.

I’m getting hints of good stuff! Banana is definitely the dominant flavor in this one, and it’s fairly nice! There’s only the really, faintest taste of cocoa, but it’s so fleeting I’m not sure if I’m imagining the taste because I want it to be there. I feel a slight tingle in the back of my throat from the pink peppercorn, or at least I think it’s from that. Or else I might have a sore throat coming on. Who knows? There’s sweetness, but I can’t really identify if it’s coming from the rooibos or the apple/banana bits.

At the bottom of the cup, when it’s cooled off, I’m getting a really strong, delicious strawberry flavor. Where that is coming from, I HAVE NO IDEA. Well, it tastes good!

That’s the other problem with this tea. It’s muddled and subtle at the same time. I don’t mind tea where the flavors mesh together so perfectly that I can’t pick them apart, but this is more like that person who chronically speaks low in class and you can never hear. You can pick out some words, but in the end, it’s just frustrating. That’s this tea. It’s not a bad tea, per se, but it just could have been so much more!

Steep Information:
Amount: 4 tsp
Additives: none
Water: filtered boiling 1 cast iron teapot full
Tool: Cast Iron Teapot with Mesh basket strainer
Steep Time: a little over 7 minutes
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: Banana (MilitiaJim Fake banana) chocolate if you look for it
Steeped Tea Smell: woody
Flavor: woody, banana, sweet
Body: Medium
Aftertaste: banana
Liquor: deep cloudy reddish brown

This was a gift from Teaplz

I am sadly not getting any of the chocolate, very little of the banana (it might be a brief flirt at the beginning but then gone), the apple I think just sweetens it.

In summary, smells better than it tastes, it doesn’t taste bad it just tastes like rooibos and after that smell you expect and want something more.

I have enough left for another pot, perhaps more, I think I’ll try a shorter steep.

Post-Steep Additives: none

images: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/03/art-of-tea-loose-leaf-rooibos-tea.html