If you're a tea lover, like exploring new flavors and prefer your "cuppa" slightly sweet, The Republic of Tea's Strawberry Chocolate Tea is definitely worth a try. This delicious, low caffeine herbal tea has no calories, so it's a lovely, guilt-free sweet treat you can enjoy any time of day.
I have been a lifelong tea drinker. While I enjoy a cup of coffee from time to time and I have been having one more often since switching to a low carb / keto diet, I'm definitely not in the "don't talk to me until I have had my morning cup of coffee" camp. However (with apologies to the Florida Citrus Board), "An afternoon without tea is like a day without sunshine." My favorites are made by The Republic of Tea, Harney & Sons, Twining, Tazo and Stash.
For the first half of my life, I drank only black tea varieties, growing up with the ubiquitous orange pekoe, then branching out into English Breakfast and Darjeeling. Later fruit flavored black varieties such as peach, apricot and mango became my favorites. About 10 years ago, I began taste testing green, white and rooibos (red) for their health benefits as well as decaf and low caffeine teas for evening sipping, after noticing that my previously low sensitivity to caffeine was increasing with age. I found the flavor of most green teas so grassy as to be unpalatable, but eventually I discovered The Republic of Tea Decaf Ginger Peach Green Tea and the company's naturally caffeine-free Ginger Peach Red Rooibos Tea that, until recently, was the only red rooibos beverage I enjoyed.
Since I consume not just a cup or mug but a large, 16-ounce Thermos insulated travel tumbler (and sometimes two) of leafy brew that I sip on over the course of several hours each day, I like having a nice selection to choose from. This year, I was in the mood to find a few new favorites and take a break from some of my old standbys. Since The Republic of Tea offers the largest variety I've seen and frequently adds to its line, I focused my search on their herbal and low caffeine offerings.
I found several delightful, new-to-me flavors, including naturally caffeine-free Queen's Cake Vanilla Fruit Tea and refreshing Whistledown Punch hibiscus iced tea with hints of citrus and pineapple from the company's Bridgerton collection, as well as SuperAdapt Restore and Reset, an organic herbal blend with reishi mushrooms and cocoa that's earthy and calming, and my newest obsession, Strawberry Chocolate Tea.
Image by Brook from Pixabay |
Smooth, Satisfying and Slightly Sweet
I adore chocolate and cocoa, but I had never heard of a tea flavored with either one before encountering the company's Cuppa Chocolate Tea collection. I was skeptical but also intrigued by this idea. I also love chocolate-covered strawberries. So, after reading the overwhelmingly positive customer reviews of The Republic of Tea Strawberry Chocolate Tea on the company's website, I decided to give that one a try and ordered a 36-bag tin on Amazon (along with the SuperAdapt Restore and Reset and the two Bridgerton collection flavors I mentioned).
According to the label on the back of the tin, the strawberry chocolate flavor is an "Herb Tea for Sweethearts" with an equally fanciful description: "Chocolate mingles with a hint of ripe strawberry atop the rich flavor of rooibos in this delicious, aromatic and romantic cup." After highlighting rooibos's high antioxidant content, it invites us to "Enjoy a lovely cup of dessert with your sweetheart." The copywriters' creativity failed to persuade me, but it did amuse me. My husband doesn't much care for tea and, if I were to offer him a cup of this magical romantic potion, no doubt he would look at me quizically before politely declining!
Imaginary romantic associations aside, I hoped I would find this brew pleasurable to sip, whether alone or in my husband's company. What I never expected was that it would become my new current, go-to hot beverage!
Rooibos, with its gentle, smooth, nutty and slightly sweet (as well as somewhat earthy) flavor makes a perfect base for the chocolate and strawberry in this blend. To me, those two are more like "topnotes" or supporting players for the rooibos, but even though I'm usually not as fond of earthy teas, the rooibos flavor plays nicely with others and doesn't dominate. There is also a hint of vanilla that adds to this delightful cuppa.
Many customers find the natural sweetness sufficient for their tastes. I like mine a bit sweeter, especially since I often enjoy it in place of a dessert, so I stir in a spoonful of BochaSweet. You may prefer it with a little sugar.
What's In It?
Here are the ingredients in this delicious Strawberry Chocolate Tea:
Rooibos, carob, cocoa kernels, sweet blackberry leaves, natural chocolate and strawberry flavor, and bourbon vanilla beans.
Using all-natural flavors with nothing artificial helps to give this delightful tea its smoothness.
Naturally Low in Caffeine
Since I enjoy sipping tea in the evening as well as during the day, I always include some decaf, caffeine-free or low caffeine options. Fortunately, The Republic of Tea's Strawberry Chocolate Tea contains very little caffeine. Since both rooibos and carob are caffeine-free, I'm guessing the small amount of caffeine comes from the cocoa kernels.
A Sweet Treat That's Also Good For Your Health
Although it is marketed to appeal to romantics, anyone watching their calories, carbs or gluten will be happy to know that the lovely tea, with its natural sweetness, contains 0 calories and 0 carbs and, like all the company's products, is gluten-free.
As this 2020 WebMD article about the health benefits of drinking rooibos tea explains, rooibos is rich in polyphenols, antioxidants that have important potential health benefits such as fighting inflammation, lowering blood sugar and reducing blood pressure.
So, while you're sipping your delicious cuppa, you're also doing something good for your body and your health.
Save Money With Tea Bag Refills
I love The Republic of Tea's products and commitment to environmental sustainability and responsible use of natural resources, such as its signature round, unbleached tea bags that don't use unnecessary envelopes, strings, tags or staples and the air-tight, light resistant tins that can be refilled over and over or repurposed.
I always buy one of the 36-teabag tins when I want try a new flavor. If I don't love it, I always find an alternative use for the empty tin. For example, I have a couple next to our kitchen sink that hold dish/bottle brushes, and plan to cover a few others with decorative paper to hold some of my small jewelry making hand tools, pens, brushes, etc.
If I like the contents but am still on the fence, I can order a 36-teabag refill for the tin. When I fall in love with a flavor, as I did with the Strawberry Chocolate Tea, I buy the larger, more economical 250 teabags refill to replenish the original tin over and over.
Steeping Tips
The Republic of Tea recommends using one teabag per 6-ounce cup, and for herbal varieties like this one, to use boiling water (200–212 ℉) and steep for 5–7 minutes. I steep mine in my tall, insulated stainless steel travel tumbler, using two bags and 12 ounces of boiling water.
When I followed the recommended steeping time, the flavor a bit too weak for my liking. Fortunately, I remembered that herbal teas, unlike the black variety, don't become bitter when "over-steeped." So, after experimenting a bit, I found that I much prefer the taste of my strawberry chocolate cuppa after letting it steep for 10 minutes (or even a bit longer).
An Unusual, Delicious Strawberry Chocolate Tea With 0 Calories by Margaret Schindel
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