Bigelow Peppermint Bark Herbal

Bigelow Description:
The refreshing combination of peppermint and chocolate in our Peppermint Bark all natural herb tea is hot and cool all at the same time. A warm treat on a cold day with a minty finish your taste buds will thank you for. Add a little sweetener and it's just like a decadent dessert.

We use a special foil pouch to protect your tea from any air, moisture and surrounding aromas. So open and enjoy the unparalleled flavor, freshness, and aroma of Bigelow Tea everywhere you go!

Ingredients:
Peppermint, Chicory, Rose Hips, Low-fat Alkalized Cocoa Powder, Licorice Root, Natural Chocolate Flavors with Other Natural Flavors (Soy Lecithin)

My Review:
I've never seen this one on the store shelves. It says new in the box picture so it may have only been introduced this year. I love a handful of winter themed bagged teas. Most of which I buy enough to have all year round. I am looking forward to trying this one, not just because it is minty chocolate, but because it is Bigelow. We go way back. In fact the very first tea I ever bought was Bigelow Constant Comment. I shudder to think how many years ago that was and all I'll admit to is the tea came in a container with a metal top and bottom.

I only have the one bag that came in a Christmas card. An internet search shows it comes in a box of 20. Each individually foil pouch wrapped bag contains 2g of ingredients. The envelop says to steep for 5 minutes. So I boiled some water and set my timer.

The string is long enough to keep the tag out of the water if you don't pour into the mug too exuberantly. After 5 minutes the brew turns as dark and orange as if it were a black tea, yet this is an herbal.

The dry scent is peppermint and chocolate as is the brew scent. The taste is just a little flat. It is obviously peppermint and at a pleasant non-threatening level. The chocolate on the other hand is just not coming through as much as I would like.

I added some Splenda and it helped brighten the flavor. It still lacks the decadent level of flavor I had hoped to encounter. It is tasty enough, it just lacks a wow factor. I think if I had more of this to experiment with I could lift it to the next level by adding some cacao nibs.

I find what I am seeing here is pretty typical of chocolate teas. They never quite live up to what my brain expects. It would help if I could just get it through my head I am drinking an herbal tea and not a hot chocolate. I know that but it never helps.