Godiva Roche

So. Fiance and I went up north(ish) to have a weekend of kayaking, swimming, mini golfing, bonfires and general amusement. The plan was originally to head home tomorrow afternoon sometime, but we left tonight to avoid the traffic. We still got in everything but the swimming, so it’s all good. Definitely heading back up over labor day to spend some time with my sister and her boyfriend.

Tea #3 from Traveling Tea Box C

There’s quite a bit of stuff in this box with little or no caffeine, and while my caffeine addiction might not be thrilled with this, the part of me that likes going to bed at a reasonable hour is ecstatic.

The dry smell of this tea is sweet and desserty and has a nice subtle vanillaness to it. Brewing though, I can definitely pick up the rooibos. That being said, this tea has a nice vanilla sweetness that comes through in the forefront, and a natural cocoa note lingers at the tail of the sip. It also goes down really nice and smooth. This isn’t enough to mask the rooibos though, as the other 90% of the flavor is rooibos.

Honestly, rooibos and I are still at odds. It’s starting to taste less like cedar chips now, but I’m still not in love with the flavor so this is definitely not really a tea for me.

Tea #16 from the traveling tea box.

I made this first thing this morning and somehow forgot all about it. When I finally rediscovered it I tossed it in the fridge to enjoy cold later in the day. This makes a pretty nice iced tea if you like rooibos. The vanilla gives it just a hint of sweetness that really appealed to me.

With a five minute steep time I can taste more vanilla bean than cacao and the rooibos comes through very strong. Since I’m not a huge fan of rooibos this tea isn’t for me.

Traveling Tea Box C #22
Having this as a sleepytime tea tonight. I don’t get much cocao, I do taste the vanilla. I have to say I need to start looking at this tea site! They have made me a believer in rooibos. Crazy I know! Well goodnight steepsters.

Thanks again for the swap, AJRimmer!  Sadly, this was not one to write much about.  I’ve certainly had worse chocolate teas, but this was mostly rooibos in flavor (as well as mostly rooibos as a blend itself) with only the faintest hint of chocolate, and possibly an even fainter hint of almond type flavor which I guess would be like those sorts of chocolates?  But it seems the name itself is combining multiple brands of chocolate candies, so not sure what they were going for here.  Maybe I’m imagining the almond and it’s really chocolate.  So really this is heavy rooibos, light chocolate.  I’m glad to only have a sample —  next time it will be gone.
Steep #1  // 1 1/2 teaspoon for full mug // 29 minutes after boiling  // 2 minute steep
Steep #2  // just boiled //  3-4 min

Although the chocolate flavor isn’t too deep, this is tasty enough. Chocolate and rooibos combine to create a decent flavor. It’s not very exciting, but it’s okay. I like the rooibos they use. If you’re looking for a chocolate tea though, this really isn’t the one.

To me, this tea is smooth and yummy! I love rooibos, as I get the feeling of tea without the caffeine in the evenings. My new tea plan is to drink a different rooibos each night to calm down before bed.
I brewed it for about 10 minutes. My first impression was that it was a little weak, but that is because I have been mainly drinking black teas. After a few sips, I picked up cocoa and vanilla flavors. Then I added a splash of almond milk and a pinch of sugar. The caramel flavor really popped out at that point. It almost tasted like a milky way candy bar. Very soothing as well. I will be drinking and ordering this tea often.