Tea of the Week for October 2, 2017!
At one point, Frank created a Chocolate Orange Honeybush. To be honest, I don’t really remember it – although I did review it and after reading my review, it would appear that I did enjoy it. Sadly, reading the review didn’t help me to remember the tea. So that blend was in no way my inspiration for this blend.
My inspiration for this blend is a love for the flavor combination of chocolate and orange. They go together so well. And when I began to consider the base I’d use for this flavor combination, rooibos seemed to be a natural choice. Granted, rooibos is seldom a ‘natural choice’ for me as it is rarely my first choice for any tea – but I felt that the sweet, nutty, somewhat woodsy flavor of organic rooibos would work well with the flavors of chocolate and orange.
So I started with some organic rooibos and added lots of cacao shells and nibs, some dried orange segments and some vanilla. I didn’t want the vanilla to be a strong, independent flavor, but instead, I wanted it to lend a creamy element to the cuppa – something to lighten the sometimes “dark chocolate” taste of the cacao shells and nibs, and something that would soften the bright orange notes just a little.
And – WOWZA! This is fantastic! There is a strong chocolate note, a creaminess and a sweet orange flavor that starts out kind of subtle but continues to develop as I sip. Nice!
organic ingredients: rooibos, cacao shells, cacao nibs, oranges, vanilla bean & natural flavors