Tea Review Tuesday - A Review of Republic of Tea's Peppermint Chocolate Rooibos

This past weekend, I attended the San Francisco International Tea Festival and had an absolutely amazing time. I spoke with some great vendors, worked with some fantastic volunteers, experienced some tasty food, and - of course - drank some amazing tea. While I was there, I had great conversations with all the ladies, who were faithfully working the Republic of Tea booth, representing the brand and pouring sample after sample of their teas. Thank you so much to all, who made this festival wonderful.

Today's review was actually not one of the teas I sampled at the Republic of Tea booth, rather it came in the "goodie bag" that all festival attendees received. I tasted this for the first time on Sunday night, after returning home from the show, and I knew that I had to make it the star of this week's Tea Review Tuesday. As a part of Republic of Tea's "Cuppa Chocolate Tea" assortment, Peppermint Chocolate offers a caffeine- and calorie-free cup of sweetness, bringing the taste of a liquid dessert and plenty of antioxidants!

To brew, I used one cup of just-boiled water, along with one teabag, then let it steep for somewhere past seven minutes. Republic of Tea recommends five to seven minutes, but since rooibos cannot be oversteeped, and I like my herbal teas to be strong, the extra steep time did it no harm.

This blend contains a surprising number of ingredients, but they all boil down (no pun intended) to rooibos, chocolate, mint, and some sweetness. The first aroma I notice is rich, decadent cocoa, which is very immediately followed by the sharpness of mint. Though the blend does not contain it, there is a faint smell that reminds me of chicory. Interestingly, the blend does contain carob, which is often used as an alternative to cocoa powder, in addition to cocoa kernals. Providing a lovely background and base for the other flavors is the rooibos.

My first sip immediately reminds me of a chocolate peppermint candy, and it is sweet. However, what I find to be really refreshing is that the sweetness does not taste like processed sugar, more like a natural sweetness, which I suppose comes from one of the ingredients. The flavors are really not complex, nor do they need to be. Peppermint chocolate is the tea's goal, and peppermint chocolate is how it tastes!

On my personal enjoyment scale, I would rate this rooibos blend a 4. I think it is a regular, and not seasonal, offering. Therefore, hopefully, it will remain available for some time. If you like mint or chocolate, give it a try! If you do not care for rooibos, I still recommend trying this, as the rooibos flavors are not prominent at all.



Photo credit to Built from Ink and Tea.
Republic of Tea's Peppermint Chocolate Rooibos is available from their website, here.
This review was unsolicited and uncompensated.
You can read more about my Personal Enjoyment Scale, here.
Text is copyright 2016, Built from Ink and Tea.