Tea Type: Rooibos
Where To Buy: American Tea Room
Product Description:
This sumptuous, caffeine-free, fat-free blend of organic cacao husks, organic vanilla beans and organic rooibos is sure to be an instant American Tea Room classic.
If the color and aroma of our Choco-Laté blend doesn’t evoke chocolate, then nothing does. Rich brown cacao husks, dark flecks of vanilla bean and umber-colored rooibos present a beguilingly sweet dark chocolate aroma that’s backed with the naturally sweet, woody scent of antioxidant-rich rooibos. The deep garnet brew has a seductive aroma akin to European sipping chocolate. Its smooth flavor is a perfect balance of chocolate, vanilla and rooibos that appeals to chocolate lovers and rooibos lovers alike. The lingering, cacao-rich aftertaste is enough to satiate even the most ardent chocoholic.
Drink Choco-Laté on its own as a naturally sweet, fat-free snack or dessert, or dress it up with agave nectar and rice milk for a healthy tea latte. It’s a natural pairing for chocolate, but if you’re trying to be good, sip it alongside fresh fruit instead. Delicious!
Tasters Review:
There has been quite the amount of chatter about this one on Steepster – an online tea community that both Anne and I belong to.
83 is the LOWEST rating for this one here so far on Steepster and there are at least 14 ratings so far. It’s also the #1 Rated Tea on that website! Needless to say – I have been wanting to try this since it was brought to my attention. And recently I was lucky enough to receive a sample of it from American Tea Room!
The aroma is that of a semi-sweet chocolate but certainly not over the top intensely scented. By that I mean it doesn’t smack you in the face when you open the package. You can see the many ‘husks’ within the ‘mix’. The aroma post-infusion seems to be 33.3%-33.3%-33.3% across the board – Semi-Sweet Chocolate and Cocoa combined with Rooibos and with Vanilla.
The taste is VERY smooth and chocolaty with a little woodsy aftertaste. It certainly is one of the better tasting chocolate-type attempts I have had and it works very well with the rooibos.
I think I am in the middle of everyone else’s ratings. Where I wouldn’t give it a perfect 100 I certainly wouldn’t go below the lowest score of 83, either. My fear was, after reading the other reviews on Steepster, that this one was pumped up too much and I would be disappointed but that is far from the truth! This is very good! It does deserve the ratings as I have found it hard to find a sweet, smooth, chocolaty flavored Rooibos that the Rooibos isn’t still overpowering the rest of the mix. The ingredients live in harmony with each other on this one and it’s lovely.
A fellow Steepster recommended tripling the amount of the dry and then infusing. I am going to try this very soon! I also want to point out that this is vegan according to a online friend of mine! A perfect chocolate treat without the dairy!
