Second from the Winter Collection.
This is very, very sweet! I mean, you brew it up and you can instantly tell that it’s been presweetened. Personally, I really dislike when companies sweeten my tea for me: as someone who never adds sugar to conventional hot cups of tea (the only time I add sugar is when I’m making tea soda) it’s a big turn off. That said; I can’t taste Stevia at all so the addition of it here isn’t a massive turn off. It’s one of the reasons DT’s Blueberry Jam is one of my favourites – I’ve been apparently blessed with a Stevia immunity. Sorry Stevia haters: It didn’t choose this life, it chose me! I can, to some extent, appreciate why DT added sweetener to this tea hot chocolate is a sweet drink even if I don’t appreciate the act itself. Intentions can be quite different than the result of acting upon them.
Sweetness aside: the chocolate notes are also wicked strong which seems appropriate given what the tea is aiming to be. If you dislike chocolate teas, well, what are you even doing drinking this one? It’s obviously a tea made for chocolate lovers. And I mean lovers: there’s chocolate chips, flakes, and nibs. A trifecta of chocolate! It would take milk so well, right? Right.
Finally, the base: admittedly the Pu’erh base was what initially drew me into the blend. I’ve been trying to really ease in to drinking Pu’erh lately in whatever way I can. Flavoured, straight, blended, whatever. I’m doing my best to be open to it. Mostly, the base is covered up by the general sweetness and creamy, rich chocolate notes. However, there is a mild earthiness which I think only serves to keep this from crossing the line into cloying levels of sugary goodness. Instead of crossing it, it merely hugs it insanely closely. Like, creepy Uncle hugs that last too long and are too tight. That kind of hug.
Overall – I applaud the tea for tasting exactly like what it’s named after. I’d likely drink it again if I was really in the mood for something chocolate/sweet but there’s not a chance this will be finding a permanent spot in my cupboard. It’s too different from my normal tastes/tea drinking habits.
