TEA JOURNAL | DAVIDsTEA | MINT CHOCOLATE ROOIBOS

DAVIDsTEA | MINT CHOCOLATE ROOIBOS

South African rooibos, peppermint, chocolate, cocoa, natural and artificial chocolate mint flavouring.

FROM DAVIDsTEA

"You won't want anything else for dessert when you taste this tea.  Even the aroma is totally satisfying.  Caffeine free."

MY THOUGHTS

Comparable to the aroma of Junior Mints and Hot Chocolate, this is a dainty winter tea with a flavor subtle enough to be pleasant, while also leaving you wishing it were indeed a cup of hot cocoa.  In fact, I bet it would be absolutely splendid mixed with a packet of Dark Chocolate Swiss Miss, especially because rooibos is traditionally enjoyed with milk and sugar.  Overall, this proves to be an excellent bedtime tea on a snowy night, especially if you feel some cold symptoms coming on.  The mint lingers and the chocolate is just satisfying enough for an evening by the fire.

THE DRY LEAVES

Minty and sweet, the chocolate smell is by far the most prominent and resembles that of a brand new open box of junior mints.  The leaves are very fine, so much so that a bit falls through the mesh of the basket, and little tiny chunks of chocolate can be found dispersed throughout.  The leaves are red, green, and a shiny reddish-gold color, resembling little splinters of wood.

ALLERGEN WARNING

This tea DOES, however also contain soy & traces of milk, so be mindful of that.

STEEPING TIME

DAVIDsTEA recommends steeping 1 1/2 teaspoons of dry tea per cup for 4-7 minutes in 208 ̊F water.  I (of course) steeped 2 full teaspoons for 7 minutes, but that's just because I like my tea on the stronger side.  The tea immediately begins to turn red and takes on a medium reddish-brown hue as the tiny bits of chocolate melt in.  Due to the very fine nature of this tea's leaves, I suggest running it through your basket into a fresh cup once the infusion is complete... and even then, you are left with tiny bits at the bottom.

BREATHE IN

The smell of peppermint hot cocoa fills the room as the hot water pours over the tea leaves and they begin to immediately infuse it.  After 7 minutes of steeping, the aroma begins to subside and the smell of rooibos tea takes over to tone down the chocolate and mint.  The hot cocoa smell subtly hits the back of the nose, although overall it is a balanced aroma of all ingredients.

THE TASTE

Front and center, the mint hits you right away followed by the warm familiar taste of chocolate.  The rooibos makes the flavor lighter and perhaps a bit sweeter than these two flavors would taste alone, and the peppermint stands strong, lingering afterward, as if this were simply a peppermint herbal tea.  The chocolate, however, is far too subtle for my taste.  This particular company adds "natural and artificial chocolate mint flavouring" which I am torn about.  Taste-wise I would rather see them add more chocolate (dark chocolate particularly), but health-wise I understand their goal of keeping it caffeine-free.

MY TEA RATING : A-