Double Dark Chocolate Mate

I’m a dark chocolate enthusiast so I was psyched to try this, based on its name: double dark. Sounds dark, doesn’t it? Trust me, it’s not. So I initially gave it a low rating for not being dark and for being bland and watery. Put it in the recesses of my cupboard. Then, having pulled it out for a steepster swap recently I tried it again, this time with an extra long brew time, well beyond the recommended 7 minutes. Big difference. This is one of those teas that really benefit from being kept hot while steeping, and in fact it seems best off being left in the cup till the end. I like it with a little splash of almond milk and it can also take a little dash of cinnamon or shot of whatever alcohol you like with your hot chocolate. Still not double dark at all, but a nice drink on a cold day or evening.

Perfect balance of choccie and mate. I don’t take the bag out while I’m drinking.

Okay, okay… so I rated this before saying I didn’t care for it. Maybe I was doing something wrong or maybe it’s just grown on me, but I’ve come to really like this mate. I think I may have been brewing it too strong before to try to enhance the chocolate flavor, and instead making it too harsh. It’s not as chocolate-y as I was hoping, true, but it is chocolate-y and caffeinated—a great combination! Pity I gave most of it away! Guess I’ll just have to get some more.

I really really like this tea. I was very impressed with the great chocolate taste it has. I am not a real fan of tea in bags but this one is truly worth the compromise. This tea hits the I need chocolate crave square in the face. I was so impressed with the fact that I could get multi steeps from the one bag and how great the chocolate flavor was and I did not have to add sweetener. This tea was so good I shared the bags with many friends.

This is a delicious, decadent tasting tea! I like opening the tin, seeing the coco powder escaping from the bags, and smelling the rich chocolaty aroma.

It’s really close to good dark chocolate or straight coco powder, not a sweet artificial taste like with a swiss miss style hot chocolate powder or a hershey chocolate chip. More like the urgent, pure taste of a Ghirardelli dark chocolate chip, or adding rich coco powder to a recipe.

After all my raving about strong, straight dark chocolate, the truth is, I prefer this tea with a little milk. That makes the flavor more full to me, and it doesn’t need any sweetener. With a little milk, the back of my mouth and tongue get a really sweet chocolaty flavor all on their own. Without milk, it’s not bitter, but just a little flat and too blunt.

I really enjoy this tea, I’m trying it hot now on a rainy day, and I just got an idea to try it iced. If I could pull it off, that would be delicious too!

I don’t feel jittery after drinking this tea, but I’m not sure if I feel more energetic from the mate either. I’ll have to pay better attention and see.

Nice tea for those mornings when I can’t get warm. Who knew that yerba mate and cocoa would work so nicely together? I don’t use any milk, but I’ve recommended doing so to a few people who had trouble getting past their notions of hot chocolate. They’ve liked it a lot that way.

Very nice dessert tea. I recommend adding a little cream to it. Smell is excellent.

Very thin flavor for being a “Double Dark Chocolate.” The last cup I had, I put 3 teabags in my cup and steeped fro the full seven minutes as recommended on the label. Still thin. Yes it has a cocoa flavor, it has a chocolate flavor, and as another reviewer said it also tastes like dirt (must’ve gone flying off of a horse or a motorcycle like I have to recognize that). Republic of Tea has amazing labels but the tea generally just isn’t as good as other brands.

Wonderful chocolatey aromatics.

First sip pulls you in with subtle flavor of chocolate, but more so the very distinct carob hits the palate most prominently. The mate is barely noticeable, but comes through ever so gently on the backend, but you really have to search for it.

With the name being “Double Dark Chocolate” I was hoping for a bit more dankness in chocolate flavor, but I realize how difficult a challenge that may be to execute in a tea without the use of too many added flavors.

I do have to mention, the fact that this tea is organic earns them points for sure. It could have been much easier to dump flavor into this blend and call it chocolate, but the team at Republic relied mostly on the formulation of natural ingredients to build out the flavors you’ll taste in your cup. Props to them.

Overall, it’s not bad, but it leaves me wanting for something a bit more with each sip.
If you’re a carob fanatic, this may be stocked in your tea cabinet, but the chocolate lovers may find themselves mildly disappointed.

I have a love hate relationship with Yerbe Mate. I either think that it tastes literal butter mashed with land grass and perhaps some cannabis on the side (I hate the smell of it), or buttery greenness that can go with almost anything. They are good as chais. They are good with flavors and cream. They are also good with chocolate, which is what this is, and it is one of the closest teas that you can get to a mocha, yet not the first nor the best example to do so.

How they are near to accomplishing this task is by using a roasted mate and chicory for the base, which provides the coffee like aroma and taste. The cocoa umphs up the mocha parallel. So, what you get is a roasted, light herbal cocoa with an extra kick of caffeine.

Cream, sugar, and honey can work with this, but more so with the sugar. I personally think that it doesn’t need anything. Honestly, this is best as an alternative to coffee for those who want something different, want a light hot cocoa, or trying to give up their coffee. This is one of the tea drinker’s mochas, but one of many others nonetheless.