Veins of Gold

Ok, I’m totally not getting the desserty (by way of cinnamon bun, chocolate mousse, etc) that others are mentioning. Impressive that the rooibos base is nearly undetectable, but it smells more like chocolate than it tastes. Cacao shows up later as a lingering note but it isn’t prominent. I am also disappointed to not get any nutmeg.

Rather, I get black pepper. That’s right. Yet it’s not listed in the ingredients? Maybe it’s part of the rooibos base, who knows, but there is a distinctive bite of black pepper. It’s like it’s trying to be like a black pepper-infused chocolate chai, but it’s weak.

There is a creaminess to this, I will give it that. To be fair, the chocolate comes out a little more as this cool, too. In spite of my slightly disappointing observations, I still enjoy this, particularly as a latte.

Highly recommend this rich tea. If suffering a sugar addiction, replace a donut with a cup of Veins of Gold. Hands down my favorite rooibos. Has a milky flavor, taste lingers on the tongue like cream. Has a faint wood vibe, but not really, tastes like roots of earth mixed with chocolate and delicious cream. I drink tea straight, don’t add milk or sugar. Don’t need it with Veins of Gold, rich enough, like a meal in a cup.

I’d frankly kind of forgotten about this until I stumbled upon it while searching for a herbal tea that would be good hot/I haven’t had recently. I’m glad I found it because this is a really good evening blend. Very, very sweet — it reminds me of a sticky bun with raisins, cinnamon, and LOTS of brown sugar — yet it manages to not be sickly. Slight notes of melted dark chocolate (prominent at first, but faded as the cup went on) and dried apricot. In my first tasting note for this I mentioned a slight woodiness from the rooibos, but I didn’t get any of that in this cup. I probably wouldn’t even have guessed it was a rooibos if I didn’t know better. Very enjoyable.

The flavors of this sounded amazing. The black teas have been very strongly flavored and blending very well with the base, but with this blend, chocolate and nutmeg, the rooibos medicinal taste is hitting really strong for me. I did not add sugar tonight. Alot of times a tad bit of sugar helps tame this flavor from the rooibos. First impression is meh. I will have to experiment with this one.