The worst chai I have ever tasted. Prior to trying this tea, I was under the impression that chai was pretty hard to mess up. Let me preface this by saying that I am not a “chai snob”; I grew up on homemade masala chai tea and enjoy the loose-leaf varieties, but I’ve also been impressed with the not-so-expensive bagged offerings from Tazo and Stash Teas. So, I was under the impression that maybe chai was just this miracle brew that was just impossible to screw up. Yeah, I was wrong. I’ve tried this chai with and without milk, with and without sugar, light steep time to long steep time, different temperatures of water. Every single time it comes out tasting like bitter cardboard marinated in cinnamon. I don’t know how else to describe it. Avoid at all costs and try Tazo or Stash if you’re looking for bagged chai.
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This is sad! But I’m liking this because I appreciate the heads up. Loose (IMO) is better, but sometimes I’m just lazy. Have you tried Bigelow’s Vanilla chai? That was my 1st experience w/ chai. In a completely uncontroled steeping environment too- hot water of an unknown temp at an airport and I didn’t time the steeping.
I haven’t tried the Bigelow vanilla chai yet…how did you like it? Have you tried it after the airport experience? For me, chai IS lazy tea, and most of my chai is bagged. :) I want chai when I want to be comforted and warm, and bagged chai is perfect for those times!
It was good! I haven’t tried it since then because I try to avoid bagged tea due to a personal preference. My favorite chais are the tea I’m craving + chai spice mix. I’m very picky about all my flavored teas. I like to be able to taste the tea and not just the flavor. That allows me to not only have any flavor chai I want, but to control the spice level.
Do you have any recommendations for loose leaf chai? I am also not a fan of bagged teas (chai being the exception, because it works so well in a rush). I’ve heard disappointing things about loose leaf chai, so I haven’t worked up the will to order some yet. (Not to mention, Celestial Seasonings ruined my faith in chai reviews…there are so many good reviews on Amazon for it! Maybe I just received a bad batch…)
I say drink what you like, so pair chai spice mix w/ any tea you like. I like Adagio’s chocolate chip and rum teas. Their green chai and thai chais are pretty amazing too. I also like to make chai w/ green caramel and caramel creme oolong. I’m thinking I’m gonna have to make a premium sencha chai sometime too;)
This is sad! But I’m liking this because I appreciate the heads up. Loose (IMO) is better, but sometimes I’m just lazy. Have you tried Bigelow’s Vanilla chai? That was my 1st experience w/ chai. In a completely uncontroled steeping environment too- hot water of an unknown temp at an airport and I didn’t time the steeping.
I haven’t tried the Bigelow vanilla chai yet…how did you like it? Have you tried it after the airport experience? For me, chai IS lazy tea, and most of my chai is bagged. :) I want chai when I want to be comforted and warm, and bagged chai is perfect for those times!
It was good! I haven’t tried it since then because I try to avoid bagged tea due to a personal preference. My favorite chais are the tea I’m craving + chai spice mix. I’m very picky about all my flavored teas. I like to be able to taste the tea and not just the flavor. That allows me to not only have any flavor chai I want, but to control the spice level.
Do you have any recommendations for loose leaf chai? I am also not a fan of bagged teas (chai being the exception, because it works so well in a rush). I’ve heard disappointing things about loose leaf chai, so I haven’t worked up the will to order some yet. (Not to mention, Celestial Seasonings ruined my faith in chai reviews…there are so many good reviews on Amazon for it! Maybe I just received a bad batch…)
I say drink what you like, so pair chai spice mix w/ any tea you like. I like Adagio’s chocolate chip and rum teas. Their green chai and thai chais are pretty amazing too. I also like to make chai w/ green caramel and caramel creme oolong. I’m thinking I’m gonna have to make a premium sencha chai sometime too;)