A few months ago, in a haze of afternoon jittery-ness, I decided to cut down on my caffeine intake.  I slashed my 4-5 cup a day habit to one 8oz mug with breakfast, and I stocked up on caffeine free herbal teas to feed my psychological need to have a steaming mug sitting beside my laptop at all times.

I thought a good chocolate rooibos tea would be a sensible coffee-esque substitute, and I tried a few different blends.  But that obsession can get pricey pretty fast. Many of them also lacked the deep bittersweet chocolate foundation that I was craving.

Then, this afternoon I discovered the best supermarket tea hack ever.  It’s a little “Sandra-lee semi-homemade” and a little “desperate broke nerd,” which I love.  It’s super chocolatey, and with the addition of a little honey and milk is a great low-cal substitute for hot chocolate.

Ingredients:

1 Celestial Seasonings Madagascar Vanilla Rooibos Tea sachet

5-6 dark chocolate chips

1 tsp honey

splash of milk

Toss the tea and the chocolate chips into a warmed mug. (NOTE: If you are tea nerd like me, then you will cut open the tea sachet and pour the loose tea leaves into your mug to allow them to steep freely) Pour boiling water over and stir for 30 seconds. Allow to steep for 4-5 minutes, the remove tea bag (or strain out tea leaves with a strainer, pouring your delicious brew into another mug). Add milk and honey to taste.