Rogers Chocolates High Tea Bars

Rogers’ Chocolates have been around for a long, long time and as a result it is hard to think of them as anything but a very traditional chocolate company. And considering their line-up of tinned chocolates and their Victoria Creams, they embrace that history and it works for them. But every so often, they throw out a curveball like their new High Tea Chocolate Bars.

These bars couple together some of Rogers’ 70% chocolate with different varieties of tea provided by Silk Road, a tea company also based in Victoria, British Columbia. The three bars in the range are Matcha, Earl Grey and Chai Tea, and all the ingredients are certified organic too, making this as healthy as chocolate gets. Plus the bars are just 50 grams, so it is tough to really overindulge.

I should preface this with the fact that I’m not really someone who sits down with a cup of tea on a regular basis. There is absolutely no doubt that these are flavoured with tea because both the aroma and the taste is dominated by the tea. And when 70% chocolate ends up taking the backseat, you know that you’re dealing with some strong flavours. Yet the balance is good and the combination works well in each and every case although, naturally, I have my favourite.

Out of the wrapper, the bars pretty much all look the same with Rogers’ logo, the year of their inception and some maple leafs just so there’s no confusion about which country it comes from. The chocolate has a little bit of texture to it, in part because there is the occasional piece of tea mixed in and also down to the slight graininess of the chocolate itself.

The Matcha bar is the subtle one of the trio, with the tea and the chocolate working in real harmony. Green tea is such a common flavour these days that it doesn’t really provide the surprise that it might have a couple of years ago, but this is a nice version of it.

The Earl Grey bar was my least favourite because I’m not a fan of that distinctive perfumed taste that comes with that kind of tea rather than it being unpleasant. When it comes down to it, if you like Earl Grey tea you will likely enjoy it but the converse is definitely true too.

The Chai Tea bar stands head and shoulders above the other two, at least to my palate. The mixture of black tea with all those other spices creates a complex flavour that shifts and changes with each square. There’s an initial burst of cinnamon which is elbowed out of the way by the ginger and cloves before settling into the almost metallic black tea and cardamom, then they all dance around together taking turns leading. Very clever stuff.

So all in all, Rogers’ Chocolates have done a good job here. Tea drinkers will love these all of these, while everyone else should at least try the Chai Tea bar for its lovely blend of flavours.

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