Trader Joe's Chocolate Mint Flavored Black Tea


It wasn't the chocolate or the idea of a chocolate-flavored tea. It was, as usual, the packaging. That is one creepy looking bear. He could pass for a crazy uncle at Christmas. Claws, mug of "tea," , and creepy stare. Maybe a plaid flannel instead of the ugly sweater. Just sayin. 


I will admit that I was moderately curious what cocoa would do to tea. 


Gotta enjoy the tongue in cheek - because woodpeckers and bears have nothing to do with chocolate tea. But I guess they exist in Quebec. And so does chocolate tea. Therefore, chocolate tea and animals make perfect sense. Good thing reason doesn't always work like that in real life. :P


This tea smells like a thin mint cookie - chocolatey and minty. A comforting smell for the morning but the taste is a little lackluster. It's a black tea with vague cocoa notes. But I like it, kind of like how I enjoy medium roast coffee beans with cocoa notes, meaning it doesn't actually taste like chocolate but there's a certain warmth and slight bitterness that rounds out the tea. It is moderately more interesting that a plain cup of black tea and a little less minty than TJ's other mint teas, like the moroccan mint or the mint melange. Unfortunately, adding milk/cream and sugar does not make this tea taste like a thin mint. 

My overall reaction to this tea is very similar to my reaction to this rendition of "The Bare Necessities."  Which goes something like this - "Oh this song! Bill Murray! How cute! That movie was pretty good! Hey wait a minute, that singing AIN'T CUTE. TURN IT OFF." In other words, I get what TJ's was going for with this tea, but it's kind of underwhelming. Fortunately, this tea is better than that song, so I can enjoy it as a mildly-more-interesting-boring-plain tea. I wouldn't run out and get this though.

TL;DR: Trader Joe's Chocolate Mint Flavored Black Tea. Chocolitea? Bear-ly. 6 out of 10. 

Other fall/winter seasonal teas: antelope teafox tealemur teapolar bear tea

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