Mayan Chocolate Chai

I need my chai again… and while it’s not quite as warm and humid today, I still don’t want to monkey around with a hot cup. So… I’m attempting to cold brew this. I personally can’t understand why a person would want to disreguard time and temp parameters (they are there for a reason)… but I really want my chai so I’m giving it a go.

1 heaping TB steeped in 1 cup fat free Smart Balance milk left in the fridge for 1 hr.

I have no ice cubes left so I added 1 cup of water to it when it was done steeping (The only reason I did it this way rather than adding the water right away is I didn’t want to risk having to fish a messy tea bag out of 16oz of liquid.) and served it James Bond style.

Slightly frothy, thick, and rich. The chocolate, black tea, and chai spices are slightly more subdued than when hot steeped but the cayenne is more pronounced. I can see where it would be too much for quite a few people. The other components probably could have stood up to a 6-8 hr steep, but I think leaving the cayenne in that long would have caused physical damage loI. I think I prefer it hot steeped even if served chilled, but this is still very good and I will absolutely be repeating this method again when my only other option because of the heat is to skip my beloved chai.

Dirty Chai Misto!

2 individual packets decaf instant coffee (it’s what I had)
1TB tea
just enough just below boiling water to cover the tea while it steeps (4oz worked for me)
enough cold water that the total water volume is 1c.
1c. Fat Free Smart Balance Milk

Steep tea and decant, add cold water, milk, and coffee. Serve James Bond Style.

I’ve been using Taster’s Choice brand coffee- I gotta find a different brand, this is so bitter.

Ok, ok… so I finally did it… I sweetened my chai. But only because it’s traditionally sweetened. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any traditional sweetener so I used stevia. 1 packet in a 16oz cuppa. This is only the 2nd time I’ve had sweetened chai (that wasn’t made from a mix). I had it (sweetened w/ honey) at Panera once. It wasn’t too bad. Yep. It’s a sweetened chai. The sweetener does nothing to change or inhance the flavor in anyway. It’s just… well. Sweeter. I prefer my chai (especially of the Mayan Chocolate variety) rich and decadent. This was more sweet and spicy… but at least the spicyness remained- actually I think it’s more so because the chocolate no longer has the savory notes to balance out the spice. I’m not completely ruling out sweetening chai, but I think I need a flavored sweetener like brown (or even raw) sugar, caramel or butterscotch ice cream topping, or ROT’s chai honey. But that’s not surprising since one of the reasons I drink tea is I have absoflippinlutely no motivation to drink plain water. Why drink something that has no flavor even if it’s calorie free?

4oz cup/5.33g tea. This is a 2nd infusion. I made apple cider w/ the 1st last nite. I was really hoping it’d be apple chai-ish, but it just tastes like I steeped it in vastly diluted apple juice. Not good.

Personal message to Frank: I propose you create a tea blend called Dirty Tortuga Chai. Read below for a description and why I think you should create this wonderful blend.

I love what I call Dirty Tortuga Chais (yes an espresso drink, but read this tasting note on how you can enjoy this beverage in an all tea version). Tortuga is Spanish for turtle- what the combination of chocolate and caramel is often called. A DTC for me, until about 2 years ago, had always been a caramel mocha latte w/ chai bags. Then I found Dr. Tea’s Coffee Oolong. SCORE! I love this oolong because the flavor comes from the process, not the addition of flavors. Upon this discovery, my DTC became an all tea beverage- equal parts of Coffee Oolong, a caramel flavored black tea, a chocolate flavored black tea, and a chai. Then I found a Creme Caramel Oolong. And THEN I found and fell in love w/ Mayan Chocolate Chai. The new formula (Equal parts MCC, Coffee Oolong, and Creme Caramel Oolong) was improved w/ the addition of almonds and cayenne, making my DTC much more authentic. Dr. Tea must have heard my prayers for an even better blend because he created Caramel LaTEA by adding caramel to his Coffee Oolong. That is the blend I am drinking today. 1/2TB each MCC and Caramel LaTEA, one cup each water and Fat Free Smart Balance milk. Now on to my cuppa…

This blend is divine… chocolately, yet sweet from the caramel… spicey, yet more subdued due to the the reduced amount of cayenne as well as the extra flavors. A richness is given by the Coffee Oolong, yet it does not contain the acidic burn that espresso often has.

But… yes… but… Yes I know. I had you all drooling over this cuppa, wishing you had some. But. BUT! It could be better!

Frank,
This blend, while wonderful, needs tweaking. Tweaking only you can do. You see, only so much blending can be done w/ two teas. It needs more- more coffee, more cayenne, more chai spices, more chocolate, more caramel. I propose 1 tea. One tea that is better than the some of this tea’s parts. I propose a tea much like your already wonderful Mayan Chocolate Chai, but with a few changes. I suggest roasting a black or oolong tea like Dr. Tea has to create the coffee flavor w/o the need to add coffee itself and using that as the base for the chai. The only other addition I suggest is the addition of caramel. These 2 changes would make the PERFECT chai. This tea would make coffee drinkers all over the world go “Star….who?!” Dr. Tea is grabbing the attention of coffee drinkers and you need to show them what REALLY can be done w/ tea!

Any other chai, mocha, and/or caramel latte drinkers out there with me? I used to say “I love drinking tea all day, but I also love my coffee”, but if I could grab this perfect tea for my daily chai habit (I go thru a 2oz pouch in less than a week), I promise I will never drink coffee again.

Ack! Forgot mom made mac n cheese so I only have a 1/2 cup of milk left:(

1 heaping tsp tea
4oz just below boiling water
4oz cold Fat Free Smart balance milk
1tsp Creme Brulee creamer

Served regular latte style.

YAY! The creamer isn’t sickeningly sweet this time! There’s a bit of sweetness, but I wish the brulee aspect was stronger. I think 1tsp/6oz will be the perfect ratio.

1/2 TB MC chai and 1/2TB MC pu erh. I’m gonna blend the rest of my pu erh this way cuz the pu erh needs the chai spices and the chai needs bigger almond slices.

Tea steeped in 1c. water then added 1c. Fat Free Smart Balance milk and 2TB chocolate chip creme brulee creamer.

Mmmm… VERY chocolatey. VERY spicy. Lots of savory sugary flavor. VERY perfect.

Celebrating Indian Independence Day w/ a 16oz mug of this!:) This’ll be my last tasting note til Sat. Going out of town to watch an Extreme Makeover Home Edition build.

It’s been forever since I had this sans milk/creamer, but I’m not feeling well so I decided to add a tsp of rum extract. Whoa, I forgot how spicy this is. The rum extract doesn’t deter from it, but does add an extra layer of flavor. Very good! I just wish I could find a good rum flavored syrup.

In honor of Caitlin’s bday, I decided to have something special w/ breakfast:
1TB tea
8oz water
8oz Fat Free Smart Balance HeartRight Milk
4TB instant double mocha cappuccino mix
2 TB caramel coffee creamer

Yummm! Rich. Sinful. Lucious. Chocolatey. Caramely. Sweet. And just a bit spicy. Perfect! I can rationalize this w/ the fact that my breakfast was 3/4 cup Fiber Plus cereal, right? And P.S. contrary to how it sounds, the cereal is really good!

FINALLY finished off the last of that dreadful decaf instant coffee so now I can make a REALY dirty chai misto.

1c. coffee (I used half caf)
1 heaping TB tea
1c. Fat Free Smart Balance milk
1 TB Creme Brulee coffee creamer

Reheat the coffee once brewed so it’s almost boiling, pour over tea and steep 6 min. Decant into a large glass w/ the milk. Reheat and add the creamer.

Spicy, rich, smooth, creamy, chocolatey, and sweet. (i.e. perfect).

Using leaves from last nite (1 heaping TB steeped for 6 min), added 6oz water and steeped for 7 min.

Dark, coffeish liquor. Slight spice. Not much chocolate… almost like a mocha flavored coffee.

Chocolate apple chai cider!
5.33g tea/4oz apple juice.
I love a good apple cider, although the acidity of hot juices have a tendency to burn my throat. The chocolate in the chai sweetens it and covers the acidity so the only burn is from the cayenne. I just wish there was caramel in it!:)

Had this, neat, with a brownie (plain, no matcha sugar topping). This is a new pouch and I’m noticing a few more almonds in this one than normal- unfortunately not as much as the MC Pu Erh. What the dry leaf didn’t tell me was there’s also a LOT more cayenne in this one. WHOA! Almost too much, even for me! I’m so glad I had the brownie w/ it. It’s 10:40 here and I have a feeling I won’t be falling asleep any time soon- but it won’t be due to the caffeine in the Assam. It’ll be cuz of the cayenne- wow, it actually made me kinda hyper…

Definitely need this after such a long day. 1/2 heaping TB each this and MC pu erh steeped in 1 cup water then added 1 cup Fat Free Smart Balance Milk. Topped w/ whipped cream. SO chocolatey. SO sweet. SO spicey. SO… perfect! The only bad thing is whipped cream + hot beverage = almost instantly collapsing whipped cream.

Another misto. I’m feeling guilty about dumping my MC Pu Erh leaves after only 1 steep even though it was a 10 min one, so I dumped 5 1/3g of this on top of my Pu Erh leaves. This misto is almost as dark as the last, but more full and rounded flavors. Yum!

Made a 6oz cuppa and put 1TB of Dark Chocolate Creme Breve creamer in it. HOLY CRAP THIS IS CHOCOLATEY! Probably the most chocolatey drink I’ve ever had other than drinking chocolate. The creamer is very heavy on the chocolate and very heavy on the creme… not so much on the dark, which disappoints me. The freakish amount of chocolate cuts the spice down much more than I expected, but it’s still very much there.

I just had a splash of Smart Balance milk left, so I dumped it in. Not really a “splash” kinda girl when it comes to milk in my chai, but what else am I gonna do w/ this little bit of milk?

Blech… extremely watery spicy chocolate milk…

1TB tea
just enough just below boiling water to cover the tea while it steeps (4oz worked for me)
enough cold water that the total water volume is 1c.
1c. Fat Free Smart Balance Milk
2TB Creme Brulee Creamer

Steep tea and decant, add cold water, milk, and coffee. Serve James Bond Style.

Whoa… unlike the chocolate chip version of this creamer, I can VERY much taste it’s presence. Both the (extremely) sweet creme and the caramely burt sugary aspects are very much here and have no problem fighting thru the cayenne, spices, and chocolate- but they don’t hide them either. This is DEFINITELY a dessert type chai. I love the burt sugar taste, but the creme is way too sweet for me. I wish the brulee came across stronger in the chocolate chip version.

1/2TB each MC chai and MC pu erh. 1 cup each water and Fat Free Smart Balance Milk. Drank while watching a documentary on the Titanic. You’d think I woulda gotten my fill in 7th grade (when the movie came out)- but ever since I can remember (probably kindergarden or before) the 2 things that have always interested me have been the Titanic and the Holocaust- and they still do.

Ugh… my last serving… well, actually 1/2 serving since I normally drink this 12oz at a time. I’m glad I didn’t run out of this any earlier as I just bought a half gallon of smart balance milk and I only drink it in chai and espresso lattes/mistos.

Mayan Chocoalte Chip Creme Brulee Chai Smart Balance Misto:
1tsp Mayan Chocolate Chai (not the heaping teaspoon I’m used to…)
3oz just below boiling water
3oz Fat Free Smart Balance Milk
1TB Creme Brulee coffee creamer

Whoa… um yeah… ok… this is gonna be hot. Not only did the last tsp contain a lot of cayenne, I was having problems w/ the top to my glass tea pot- the tea wasn’t pouring so I had to lift it up letting a lot of the cayenne in my cuppa.

Yep. Definitely hot. But the chocolate and tea base definitely stand up to the oh so rich, creamy, thick decadence of the Smart Balance milk. YUM!

… sigh… well… that’s it… it’s gone… I’m REALLY hoping manteas has a sale on this for Cinco de Mayo! PLEASE, PLEASE, PRETTY PLEASE Frank?!

1 heaping teaspoon (4g), 4oz just below boiling water, 2oz coffee concentrate, 1 TB chocolate caramel coffee creamer. All flavors are equally strong, the cayenne is definitely present but not painful.

Cinoi fed my addiction! No milk in the house so I added 1TB chocolate caramel coffee creamer. WOW! The cayenne is definitely there, but it’s much lighter than in the past. The extra chocolate gives it a richness and the caramel gives it extra sweetness. I LOVE this creamer!

Made a chai latte right before I sat down to watch Biggest Loser. Chai lattes are hard for me amount wise… because I consider a serving of a chai latte to be 12oz because it requires a full serving of milk, and that’s a lot for me to drink at once. So anyway…

1 Mayan Chocolate Chai Latte:
2 heaping tsp chai (8g)
1/2 cup purified water, just below boiling
1 cup milk (almond milk would be amazing w/ this)

Preheated the milk for 30 sec (didn’t want to scorch it) during the last 30 sec. of the chai’s steeping, decanted the tea into the milk, then heated to the desired temp.

The heat definitely stands up to the milk, and so does the tea base. The chocolate; however, doesn’t as much. It tastes like it was made w/ a very weak chocolate milk. But it is there. The chocolate issue can easily be remedied by adding unsweetened cocoa powder or 100% dark chocolate shavings melted into the mixture. It’s even less of an issue for me because this is not a problem when I only prepare it w/ water. If it would, it would be really hard to remedy because adding cocoa powder or melted chocolate to regular tea would just screw up the texture.

This would be wonderfull in desserts like fondue, pudding, and ice cream. Just remember to let the milk cool after steeping the tea in it.

Steeped 1TB of leaves (this is a 2nd infusion) in 2oz water and added it to 6oz of coffee for extra warmth. Yum!

Busy day of wedding planning (my best friend’s, not mine)- had this before my day started.

Taking a break from my orange spiced iced tea to have this. 16oz cuppa. 1TB tea, cup each water and Smart Balance milk. Yum! Over half done w/ my liquid intake for the day and done w/ my plant sterols. Yum! Who ever knew plant sterols could be so yummy?

Ok, there’ve been like 6 different chai tasting notes on my dashboard today so I just had to have this tody… haha… yeah right… like I needed a reason:) 1tsp on top of a mix of Mayan Chocolate Chai, Caramel LatTEA and Mocha LatTEA at various stages of steeping plus 1tsp of caramel macchiato creamer.

In spite of only adding 1tsp of creamer, this seems pretty thick… almost… chewy… I’ve never used that to describe tea before and I’ve never even understood that verbiage til now… but I do think it’s on the verge of being chewy. No flavor is really strong which shocks me… hm. Strange. This is certainly an odd cuppa tonite. Oh well, that’s ok- it keeps me on my toes. Haha I’m full of jokes tonite=D

Dirty Chai Mocha Misto!
10 2/3g tea, 4oz water (just below boiling), 4oz cold coffee concentrate, 8oz milk… and yes, I checked to make sure I used the fresh milk=D

Gasp! I don’t think I have enough for another full cup after this! :,( Decided to make a hot chocolate latTEA.

4g tea
2oz almost boiling water
4oz fat free milk warmed during the last 30 sec of the tea’s steeping
1tsp drinking chocolate milk

Steeped the tea for 6 min in the water then decanted it into the milk, added the drinking chocolate mix, and stirred.

The spice is most obvious in this drink, followed by the chocolate and last the tea base. It’s not a strong flavor, but just enough to say “hey, this isn’t an espresso latte”. The texture probably would have been a lil better if I’d used all milk, but I didn’t want to messs w/ it. A perfect cup of indulgence!

Hadda get up at 5:30am to go to the bathroom (Dang chai at 9pm)… came back to find my dog hijacked my bed so I had to lay cross ways on my bed. Surprised I was even able to sleep, but I layed there for 4 hrs. I need something to wake me up and ward off possible pain that may result from my contortion. So I steeped 1tsp in coffee. HOT! Complex. Rich. Not so chocolatey. YUMMY!

90 degrees, high humidty, heat index in the mid 90s, and no A/C means I’ll be drinking very little hot tea today… so I wanted to do this right!

Equal parts MCC and Caramel LaTEA (1TB each), 1 c. water and 1 c. fat free Smart Balance milk.

Whoa! I may die of a caffeine induced heart attack, but I’ll go happy. Chocolatey. Caramely. Sweet. Savory. Thick. Chewy. A bit lighter on the cayenne than I expected. Hello perfection! Now if only I could physically and financially afford to drink it like this every day:)

Made this my usual way 1TB leaf/8oz water/8oz Fat Free Smart Balance HeartRight milk except I left the 2tsp of Caramel LatTEA in my ingenuiTEA. Doesn’t really give much flavor, but I felt bad wasting it.

Why must I crave a 16oz cup of this late on a hotter than blazes nite? A decaf option would sure be nice. Maybe w/ a honey flavored Assam?

The usual. 1TB steeped in 8oz water, add 8oz Fat Free Smart Balance Milk. I’ve offically reached my goal liquid intake of 80oz once I finish this. Although I think I should have drank a little faster today. I have a feeling I’ll be getting up tonite.

My daily chai and milk servings! 8g tea, 8oz water, 8oz milk. I can’t wait for Smart Balance to come to WI so I can try it w/ this.

Decided to put 2TB of vanilla creamer in my 16oz chai misto today. It’s funny, I keep various flavored creamers in my fridge for both coffee and tea, but this is one I don’t put in my coffee. Just not a vanilla girl when it comes to my coffee. But I think that’s cuz it’s the only flavor in it. I’m not a fan of vanilla flavored teas if it’s not blended w/ other flavors. Unless it’s vanilla green:)

Another pouch bites the dust. :(

Rewarding myself for reaching (upon completion of this) my tea/liquid consumption goal for the day. YUM!

UGH! It’s so hot that heating the milk for this was miserable. But it was SO worth it. 1 heaping TB steeped in 1 cup fat free Smart Balance milk, then chilled. Blended w/ 1 cup ice. It’s too hot to even eat a cold meal in the house and this gives me a cooler internal temp and some nutrition.

Thank GOD yesterday is over! In spite of 2 fans (we have no A/C) going and chugging 80z of cold tea I was terribly over heated and ended up getting heat stroke. I wanted this so bad, but was not physically able to boil water. Today is a LOT cooler- I haven’t even had to turn on my fan (one of them died last nite). So I think I’ll make up for yesterday:

2 TB each MCC and LatTEA steeped in 4oz almost boiling water, add 4TB instant double chocolate cappuccino mix and stir the heck out of it to make sure it’s mixed (I pretty much stirred it til it was cool). Add 4oz cold water and 8oz Fat Free Smart Balance Milk and stir again.

WHOA! VERY Chocolatey. And thick. And Creamy. The cayenne is in the back ground, but very mellow and the intant coffee gives it body. Not your typical chai (think blended iced latte vs frappuccino), but oh so good. Definitely put a smile on my face =D

Getting to the bottom of the pouch. I think I’m gonna start a new pouch tomorrow then add the rest of this one when there’s room. Added 2TB of caramel coffee creamer to cut the extra spice. And it worked yummily!

Dirty Chai Misto
3rd infusion, 8g/4oz water/9min, then added 2oz espresso and 6oz milk and reheated.

Surprisingly coffee and milk are the dominant flavors. The cayenne is there, but light and unfortunately the chocolate, other spices, and black tea are all but gone:(

Suggested preperation: 1/2 water, 1/2 Fat Free Smart Balance Milk w/ Plant Sterols

Suggested pairing: White Tea Brownies from Sanctuary T

Attempted to make a caramel apple chai latTEA… read more here: http://steepster.com/discuss/291-i-cant-believe-that-happened

I’ve been awake for a few hours and just feeling kind of blah… when it occurred to me that I hadn’t taken the time to make myself a cup of tea. You see, my youngest is a bit under the weather and when one of my kids is sick my mind pretty much is occupied with that and I’m not into my normal routine.

Anyway, I am not sure why I reached for this tea. I knew I wanted a black tea and I wanted something I hadn’t had in a while (or perhaps something new) and this is what I chose.

It’s good. It is almost startling my taste buds awake! I wish the chocolate was stronger here, though.

Backlog: I started my day off with this tea. Unfortunately, with my taste buds being the way that they are, the only flavor I could pick up on was the cayenne and so the best way I can describe what I tasted was like drinking cayenne tea. At first, the burn was a pleasant one, but by the time I got to mid-cup, it became a bit too much for me especially since I wasn’t picking up any chocolate or tea or other spices.

I liked this a lot better when I wasn’t sick …

I think I’ve found the way to make this “just right” for me. I add some Keemun when I brew it (in this case, I happened to reach for Zoomdweebies Keemun Hao Ya). The Keemun broadens the flavor of the black tea enough so that I’m not just getting spice and chili.

Very nice, indeed.

This is my second steep.

This is quite a bit weaker than the first cup. Not bad though, in fact I kind of like it… I don’t know that I necessarily like it better than the first cup because they are both a bit different from each other. In that same way I have a hard time comparing this tea to my own chai because they are quite different. This one is good, but if I had a cup of both in front of me and I had to choose one to drink, I’d choose my own.

This time, I added honey but no milk. I feel like if I would have done so… the tea would be indistinguishable… it would be like drinking sweetened, spiced milk. Which… might not be too bad actually…

The last time I had this, I liked it. But in the days after I had it I wondered whether I thought I liked it more than I actually did. It was so very different from most other things I’ve tried in tea land that when I stood back from the experience I wondered whether it was infatuation rather than true love.

Furthermore, it was abundantly clear from my last foray that I had overdone the amount of chai given the spiciness quotient of this tea. I like spicy, but as I said in a previous note, this isn’t just spicy. It is way way way way spicy. In retrospect, the degree of spiciness was probably more than I could reasonably stand on an ongoing basis. I liked the first experience but on second thought I had no real desire to repeat it.

This time around I’ve gotten closer to an optimum mix. In fact, this would probably serve if i can’t optimize it any further. Two cups of water, 2 tablespoons of sweetener, one tablespoon chai, three tablespoons Kusmi Chocolate (not the spicy, the regular). Boil until water mostly gone, then add two cups milk. Bring to boil, immediately turn off heat, let steep for 10 minutes or more. Strain and serve.

This is still at least one “way’s” worth of spicy, but it isn’t burning my mucous membranes and making my eyes water as I recall it doing last time. It’s really much more enjoyable to me this way. The chocolate in the Kusmi seems to enhance the chocolate in the chai, too. It smelled incredibly chocolatey while it was bubbling on the stove, and it’s a really delicious, creamy consistency with a lot more chocolate flavor than I recall it having last time. Which, seeing as that was what I found the major drawback of this tea at the time, is a particularly awesome discovery.

Excuse me, I must go now and enjoy my very chocolatey version of Mayan Chocolate Chai.

I think I’ve found my little cup of heaven. I brewed this up (a bit longer than I meant to, around 5 minutes instead of 3:30). Then I added 1 T of Coffeemate’s Pumpkin Spice creamer. OMG…..this is better than sex chai. I love pumpkin spice latte’s, pumpkin spice coffee, pumpkin spice tea, and now, pumpkin spice mayan chocolate chai. This creamer plus the heat of the cayenne and the chocolate is AMAZING! I have only enough Mayan Chocolate Chai to last another pot, I will have to place an order for another pouch now that I have tried this. Wow…yummy.

Will have to try with the last tsp of Matador’s kiss from Jaime to see if it gets the same results:) So spicy, but so good!

Alright, finally some good tea! We went to my in-laws for (supposedly) one night so I didn’t bring any of my tea stuff. They usually have pretty decent bagged teas for me to work with, so I didn’t want to risk breaking my teapot by transporting it for such a short trip. Well, we ended up staying an extra night and I was dying for some really good tea!

I’m having an interesting combination this morning. I’m finishing up the last of my Mayan Chocolate Chai (which looks extremely cayenne rich…) with a mix of Adagio’s Caramel and a bit of Yunnan Silver Tip Choice. Overall, this mixture tastes very good. The MCC delivers on the spice and chocolate added to a caramel kick and a malty chewiness. But, Wow, is this last bit of MCC spicy!

I don’t think I would repurchase this Mayan Chocolate Chai, but I would be interested in the Chai with Chocolate, since the cayenne is the only part of this tea that is a bit overwhelming for me.

I’m using this extra spicy-end of the bag part of my Mayan Chocolate Chai to also finish up my sample of Kusmi Spicy Chocolate. The end result is fairly good and not overly spicy. I still have a bit more MCC though, so I’ll have to figure out a good tea to cut it with.

I think I lucked out today because the cayenne is on the lower end of the spectrum which is allowing me to really enjoy my chai.

I needed something to wake me up quickly this morning – something to punch me in the face without the usual swollen eye or bloody nose you’d expect … so I turned to this tea. I think I’m lucky in the fact that my pouch doesn’t seem to have a lot of cayenne, but just enough so you know it is there. I probably couldn’t handle more than this anyway. This is quite enjoyable, but I’m starting to wonder if even the small amount of cayenne was smart to have on an empty stomach…..

I finished up the last of my Mayan Chocolate Chai this morning! I added a spoonful of Golden Snail to round out my pot and the chocolate notes of Golden Snail went very well with the chocolate in the chai. The end of my pouch was mighty rich in cayenne though, heartburn meds may be in order. But it was SO worth it!

I’m finishing up the last of my stovetop chai that I made earlier today and it is just awesomely spicy! This chai is my go-to chai for stovetop preparation each Saturday or Sunday morning.

I have been wanting to make chai for the past couple of weeks so I went ahead and ordered a pouch of this since it is one of the most balanced chai blends I’ve tried. This morning I made a big stovetop batch of this and wow!! It is super spicy, but super good! The chocolate is stronger than I expected, but still not as strong as the spices. I bet adding a bit of my favorite dark chocolate creamer would be awesome with this tea! The cayenne kick is just what I needed to help me wake up today!

I took this in my travel mug to work today and it was awesome! I’m close to the end of the package so the cayenne is a bit stronger than previously, but it did a marvelous job of keeping me alert.

Confession time. I am a t-sac junkie. Here’s how it goes: I buy a pack of t-sacs with the intention to only use them at work, while traveling, and when I’m on the run in the morning, but then I just end up using them for every single flipping cup of tea I make because I am supremely lazy. It’s gotten so bad that I ended up finishing a pack of 100 filters within the span of a couple weeks. Time to stop putting a strain on the environment and my wallet and just use a darn infuser basket! I will conquer this laziness. I just bough two new perfect mugs from DT last week, so now I have no excuses :)

Which leads me to my beloved Mayan Chocolate Chai. This was my first time making it with an infuser rather than a t-sac, and holy heck is it ever spicy! I can’t believe the difference sans t-sac. The pepper is the first flavour I taste and it remains dominant for the whole sip. Yum! Spicy, spicy goodness. I can’t believe how much flavour I was losing before. All the more reason to permanently kick my t-sac habit.

HOLY CRAP. My throat is on fire! I just drank an unsweetened/milk-free sip of the tea and it’s ridiculousy spicy. Definitely need MILK. And SUGAR. (It did taste good though, once I got past the megaspice). Apparently 1.5 tsp might be a little much for one cup. Wowza.

This is such a good chai though. SO good.

(Thanks Azzrian – still working on the sample you gave me! Even though I have my own whole package now :D)

ETA: Added milk and agave and it’s still sooooo spicy! Throat burning! Haha but I like it. I just really love this flavour combination.

Ha, I’m a terrible tealogger sometimes. Forgot I brewed this up all nice and delicious with milk and sugar last night. I was working on a presentation until the wee hours of the morning, and it was deliciously indulgent. With that presentation completed, I’m now working on #2 which is to be given tomorrow morning. Yay for committee meetings… Anyways, I had two tasty cups of it (but forgot to reduce the water for the second cup to make it better. Sad sad.)

Haven’t had this in far too long, and my aunt is big into chai, so I hoped this one would be a hit, and I was right!! Everyone loved it, and loved the spicy kick. Project give away tea met with some success, as she liked it enough that I offered her the rest of the package (which she happily took). Will have to send some for my mom too, as she enjoyed it as well. This one is so good :)

Read Indigobloom ’s tasting note on this one tonight and had to dive into my new package. Mmmm, well worthwhile. Used up some cream I had in the fridge instead of milk, plus lots of sweetener. Divine. Three good infusions :)

Mmmmmmm, super spicy tonight! Love it!

Haven’t had this since sometime in July, when I gifted the remainder of my packet to my aunt, who quite liked it! Wanted a flavourful black (i.e. caffeinated) tea tonight, and a chai sounded perfect! Brewed up quite strong, with some milk and maple syrup (I have got to find some other sweetener… this is an expensive use for maple syrup, and the flavour is mostly lost!) Absolutely wonderful for in the lab (I mean, uh, sipping outside the lab door, in the hallway, because it’s against the rules to have food or drink in the lab…). Spicy, and strong (and sweet) and fabulous! I don’t even notice the smokiness anymore, but I’m sure I’d miss it if it wasn’t there! One of the best chais I’ve ever had, for sure!

Chanced across a mention of this tea this evening and instantly wanted some.

Decided to only use a little less than 1.5 tsp today, and I think it needed more. Boo. Not enough body, not enough spice. Perhaps I also should have shaken up the packet for a bit more cayenne. The almond milk is probably also not helping. Sigh!

Ok, with 2 tsp sugar and putting the infuser basket back in for another minute or so, it’s much better. Still think I need to use more tea though. This could get expensive.

Drank a delicious giant mugful of this last Friday. It was so, so spicy and delicious! This remains one of my top-ranked chais, for sure!

Gave my roommate the 2oz. package I bought in my last order since I now have 4oz. on the way. She brewed some up tonight, and there was a cup’s worth leftover, so I nabbed it :D Apparently oversweetened it a touch tonight (tastes rather caramelly), but it’s tasty and spicy. Here’s hoping it doesn’t give me heartburn.

Backlog from Saturday: Sometimes, I forget how delicious this tea is. And then I have some, and it’s pretty much the best chai ever, with milk and sugar. Mmmm. Lasted for three infusions this time!!

Second nite in a row I am having this tea- I am taking a page from Cofftea’s book…anyway w/this chocolate creamer, this is a nice dessert (but way spicy from the cayenne)…

Added this brewed tea w/one of those low -fat coffee creamers flavored w/chocolate. So this was extra creamy, and was perfect w/the almond and cayenne flavors of this tea,,,,Better than any dessert

No longer 100, as I seem to have lost the knack to make the tea taste like chocolate, however – this tea is great to throw in a half a teaspoon to a bland chai and spice it up just right. Only need a sprinkle though! :)