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__Morgana__ drank Chocolate Orange by The NecessiTeas

2036 tasting notes

Hello rooibos my old friend [?], I’ve come to talk with you again. Ugh. Now I have Simon and Garfunkel rattling around inside my head.

One thing I think I can say with certainty is that as much as I haven’t cared for the Necessiteas flavored greens and have even had a strike out with one of their flavored blacks, they do rooibos blends pretty well. I am hardly an expert on the point, but I suspect that rooibos is pretty forgiving when it comes to being a base for blends. Still, I’ve had ones that were too noisy, so it’s obviously not a foolproof base. Or perhaps some people just like noisy rooibos and find those blends successful and the ones I like the disasters instead.

Be that as it may, this one did remind me more than usual of the covering of the bottom of a hamster cage, but I think it is because of the huge honking hunks of orange peel in the mix that make the rooibos look so backgroundy. And the chocolate poking up from underneath. Which as it turns out, is an accurate visual representation of the taste.

The aroma, though, is somewhat orange-medicinal, like a kids’ liquid medicine.

The flavor is a strong orange flavor that isn’t sweet, rich, or candy like as the orange flavors I’ve particularly enjoyed are. This one is slightly tart and a tiny bit bitter, but not in an entirely bad way. It basically has the character of orange peel, which is to say it tastes like what it is. No surprise there. Behind the orange is the rooibos, an appley note that stands between the orange and the chocolate which isn’t really much more than a warm cocoa undercurrent. Sometimes the rooibos and the chocolate change places. It’s not consistent, though.

The aftertaste is pretty strong on the rooibos. Which is not the best way to end.

I preferred the Peppermint Pattie, but this isn’t bad if you like flavored rooibos.

Preparation

Boiling 5 min, 0 sec

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I love Simon & Garfunkel, but I absolutely adore Cylon & Garfunkel from Futurama. And it’s the Scarborough Fair song a la C&G that’s stuck in my head this morning ;)

And the bottom of the hamster cage? I smiled and then I got to the mention of chocolate bits and I giggled. :D

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I love Simon & Garfunkel, but I absolutely adore Cylon & Garfunkel from Futurama. And it’s the Scarborough Fair song a la C&G that’s stuck in my head this morning ;)

And the bottom of the hamster cage? I smiled and then I got to the mention of chocolate bits and I giggled. :D

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Bio

I got obsessed with tea in 2010 for a while, then other things intruded, then I cycled back to it. I seem to be continuing that in for a while, out for a while cycle. I have a short attention span, but no shortage of tea.

I’m a mom, writer, gamer, lawyer, reader, runner, traveler, and enjoyer of life, literature, art, music, thought and kindness, in no particular order. I write fantasy and science fiction under the name J. J. Roth.

Personal biases: I drink tea without additives. If a tea needs milk or sugar to improve its flavor, its unlikely I’ll rate it high. The exception is chai, which I drink with milk/sugar or substitute. Rooibos and honeybush were my gateway drugs, but as my tastes developed they became less appealing — I still enjoy nicely done blends. I do not mix well with tulsi or yerba mate, and savory teas are more often a miss than a hit with me. I used to hate hibiscus, but I’ve turned that corner. Licorice, not so much.

Since I find others’ rating legends helpful, I added my own. But I don’t really find myself hating most things I try.

I try to rate teas in relation to others of the same type, for example, Earl Greys against other Earl Greys. But if a tea rates very high with me, it’s a stand out against all other teas I’ve tried.

95-100 A once in a lifetime experience; the best there is

90-94 Excellent; first rate; top notch; really terrific; will definitely buy more

80-89 Very good; will likely buy more

70-79 Good; would enjoy again, might buy again

60-69 Okay; wouldn’t pass up if offered, but likely won’t buy again

Below 60 Meh, so-so, iffy, or ick. The lower the number, the closer to ick.

I don’t swap. It’s nothing personal, it’s just that I have way more tea than any one person needs and am not lacking for new things to try. Also, I have way too much going on already in daily life and the additional commitment to get packages to people adds to my already high stress level. (Maybe it shouldn’t, but it does.)

That said, I enjoy reading folks’ notes, talking about what I drink, and getting to “know” people virtually here on Steepster so I can get ideas of other things I might want to try if I can ever again justify buying more tea. I also like keeping track of what I drink and what I thought about it.

My current process for tea note generation is described in my note on this tea: https://steepster.com/teas/mariage-freres/6990-the-des-impressionnistes