Mayan Chocolate Chai

Steep Information:
Amount: 2 tsp
Water: boiling, 12oz
Tool: kati loose tea system (my Review here.)
Steep Time: a little over 2 minutes (http://steep.it/2 minutes)
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: nutty, chocolate, black tea, mixed spice
Steeped Tea Smell: spice
Flavor: watery peppery burn
Body: Light
Aftertaste: burning
Liquor: translucent brown

I added 2 minutes

A stronger tea, but still burning!

Post-Steep Additives: + honey
= sweeter, but still burning

Too much spice for me, but I could see people who like spice steeping this in hot coco (I never think there is enough chocolate flavor).

TeaEqualsBliss gift, thanks

Pictures: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2011/01/52teas-loose-leaf-black-tea-mayan.html

First off, apologies are in order. After ordering this tea based on it’s description and reviews on this site I then promptly ignored all comments on how intensely spicy this was, assuming for some reason that the praise was accurate but the comments on it being too spicy would not be true for me. Oops. This is too hot for me by itself.

With some milk and honey it is much better, but with some quality cocoa powder it’s amazing. A great addition to the cupboard for the fall.

This is like chocolate gingerbread. It’s like being wrapped up in a warm, cozy blanket of spicy, cocoa-y goodness!!!

I love it. It’s good. :)

I looooove the chocolate with the chili powder added. Also, a friend of mine made fudge around the holidays with chili powder and cinnamon and it was sooooo good. I loved the extra kick! So with that said, I was really excited to try this!

The dry leaf scent kind of reminds me of Teavana’s Azteca Fire. However, unlike Azteca Fire, this is actually spicy. :P (To be fair, Azteca Fire is kind of spicy, but it’s at a much lower level.)

This is a very tasty tea! It definitely does remind me of my friend’s fudge, though I would like it to be more chocolatey. (You can never have too much chocolate! :P Well, maybe you can… but I ♥ chocolate.) I definitely like the kick from the cayenne pepper. I can understand why others wouldn’t be a fan, but I like it!

This definitely isn’t something I would want every day, but it’s great for cold winter days when you need some warmth. :) I bet it would be a good wake-up tea for the morning, too. :P Nothing like spice to wake you up! Mmm.

It hits the spot today! :)

This is a tea with a spicy kick that will catch you by surprise if you’re not ready for it! The aroma is a pleasant mix of chocolate and spice, and the color is a golden brown that gives no indication of the spiciness within. Even when you take a sip, you can actually hold it in your mouth and not really get the spice that awaits. Take your first swallow however, and it catches the back of your throat with a peppery burn that spreads to the sides of your mouth, and makes you remember what the main ingredients in this tea really are. Thankfully the burn only lingers for a moment, and you’re left with a general spiciness that’s enjoyable, though this is by no means a tea for fans of smooth, easy to drink flavors!

Backlog from two days ago. Shared some with a suitemate, who enjoyed it after adding a lot of honey to it. Still couldn’t taste a lot of the chocolate, unfortunately.

SO SPICEY!

WOOOOOOW!

I love it. I add rooster sauce to almost anything edible, and this tea reminds me why I love intense spice that makes the back of my neck sweat.

The third Chai sample from Meghann M. Needless to say, I’m excited!

Oh, the smell! It smells just like Mayan or Aztec Hot Chocolate. Identical. The taste is smooth and chocolatey. It’s not spicy at all, and then the tea hits the back of your throat…

Woah. This one is spicy. Not as spicy as the Matador’s Kiss I had yesterday, but quite spicy nonetheless. It sneaks up on you. I’m very glad that I only brewed up one cup, because I don’t think my “delicate sensibilities” could handle more than just this cup. Yowza. Don’t know if I could handle a resteep even. It’s delicious, but it burns.

Delicious under appreciated blend from @52teas

I’ve had this tea for about a month and I’m finally trying it now. I put it off for so long because I found the smell off putting. It’s smells very medicinal to me. And a little like chocolate.

I forgot about the tea brewing so it was definitely over steeped. When I took my first sip sans additions I almost choked as I forgot the tea was supposed to be spicy, and boy is it ever. I love spicy food, so this was a welcome aspect of this tea for me. Another good thing about the spiciness was that it somewhat covered up the medicinal flavor I was getting from the dry leaf. I am getting the chai, but no chocolate whatsoever. If anyone has tried sugar free Oregon chai, that is what this tea tastes like, plus cayenne pepper. The sugar free Oregon chai had the same medicinal taste that I hated and had to throw away the rest of my carton. I’m not going to throw away this tea, I want to try it a few more times, less steeping time and less leaf. Maybe as a latte as well, and see if that helps. If not, this is another one for the traveling tea box.