This was a tea that surprised me… I had seen it online but I’m not a huge peppercorn fan (I like heat but I’ve never been able to handle peppercorns well) so I wasn’t really looking to try it. But it came as part of the chocolate lovers gift set so I figured why not, if I don’t like it I’ll find someone who will. Then I brewed my first cup and ya… I’m certainly not giving this one away!
Dry this tea screams “*Chocolate*”. Sweet and dark, with just enough mint to cut through some of the (almost overwhelming) chocolate scent and a slight tang coming from the peppercorn. Right from the first scent I just really wanted to sit there and smell it forever, it was that good.
Brewed you get a clear orange-brown liquor that smells of a wonderful mix of peppermint and dark chocolate. And the flavor… Yum! The black tea forms a great, somewhat earthy, base for the chocolate and mixes well with the refreshing peppermint flavor. There’s just a touch of heat from the peppercorn, not enough to really pick it out as “pepper” which is what I was afraid of from the start. The mouth-feel is full and rich but not heavy. It reminds me quite a bit of DT’s “Santa’s Secret” but with a darker (and deeper in a way) flavor profile.
Honestly this tea turned out to be the dark-horse of the gift pack; warm, robust and refreshing. I hope to keep my cupboard well stocked with this it for quite some time.
