The dry leaves smell intensely of bananas. I do detect the pink peppercorns as well, and somewhere in there is dark chocolate, but primarily I smell bananas.
Without sweetener, this tea tastes very mild to me – but don’t think that’s a critique, because I have such a sweet tooth that most things taste mild to me without sugar. This one tastes a little woody (the rooibos, I think), a little floral, and pleasantly spicy. It isn’t bad, but I rather think a dessert tea should be sweet.
With sugar, this chocolate monkey is a whole other animal. (I apologize.) The banana becomes rich, ripe, and rather in my face. This was initially a disappointment, since I bought the tea hoping for more chocolate, but after the first wave of banana, I do taste a light fruity chocolate flavor that my brain wants to call “Tainori” after a similar-tasting Valrhona chocolate bar. (If you’ve ever had snobby chocolate, you will know that certain types have many notes of yellow fruits. This tea tastes more or less like that sort of chocolate.) After the chocolate is a bit of spice that sits at the back of my throat.
Overall, I would identify this more as a banana tea than a chocolate tea, but it’s a complex banana with strong chocolate notes. I’m not disappointed anymore; my search for the perfect chocolate tea must continue, but this one is actually rather delicious, albeit not what I thought I was ordering.
