Chocolate Mint Rooibos

Decayed leaves with mint
As I steep again, again
Balance of taste shifts

Tea three of our tasting party. The dry mix had a strong chocolate and mint smell. The liquor smelled of wet leaves/tobacco with tinges of mint. It had a balanced taste with a nice refreshing mint finish. There wasn’t really any cocoa flavor. We tried adding milk, which was a terrible idea. It did bring out some cocoa, but mostly it tamped down the mint and strengthened the decaying leaf taste.

The second steep had more cocoa and less wet leaf/tobacco scent. We decided that the taste was no better or worse than the first cup, only different. The flavor profile changes matched the scent changes: The wet leaf/tobacco flavor was less, which allowed a sweetness through that was nicely balanced by the mint.

We tried a third steep. It was drinkable, but kind of meh. Not recommended. There were more notes of cocoa and a slight sweetness in the aftertaste, but only a mere breath of mint.
Added sugar brought out no extra flavors.

This smells so good…just like Andes Candies! But once I brewed it, the chocolate disappeared and all I could smell or taste was the peppermint. It was a nice smooth, cool mint flavor, but I really wanted to be able to taste the chocolate. Also, I know rooibos tends to be very fine, but this stuff is like powder! I used an infuser with very fine holes, but still ended up with a ton of residue in my cup. A disappointment overall. But since I have a whole tin to finish, I’m thinking about adding extra chocolate to it and seeing if I can salvage it that way.