Caramel Vanilla Chai

Thanks so much TeaNSympathy for this delicious Chai! I’m glad I sampled this one. :)) I sampled this first on April 7th-two cups at 3.5 and 5 or 6 minutes, and again today, (with similar results), so I’ll focus on today’s cuppings.

I really like Chai tea, so I thought this one was pretty good. I could definitely smell the cardamon, clove, ginger, and the cinnamon was there to a lesser extent. The caramel aroma came through nicely. At times, I thought I could smell the vanilla-yes….no…I wasn’t sure. The other aromas seemed to overpower the vanilla.

The wet leaf aroma and the aroma in the cup is very nice. All the flavors mentioned are noticeable and well represented. The caramel flavor was soothing, and delicious. :)) The 3.5 minute steep seemed perfect. I really couldn’t smell the vanilla in the cup or taste it. Again, the other flavors masked the vanilla. My second cup at 5 or 6 minutes was very flavorful and not bitter. I thought the vanilla would come through with a longer steep time , but I couldnt smell or taste it.

Truthfully, I didn’t miss the vanilla. Too many dessert blends use vanilla, and usually it is overdone or artificial tasting anyway. Not noticing the vanilla made this chai better! The caramel was a nice addition though. I wouldn’t buy this chai myself, but it is a really good chai that I am glad I got the chance to sample. Thanks again TNS! :))

Cupped: Saturday, April 7, & Monday, April 23, 2012.

Reviewed: Monday, April 23, 2012.

Last night I had a little too much fun. It started with wine tasting and then my boyfriend and I walked to the bar down the street since we haven’t been able to go out for ages.
This morning I woke up with a muscle in my back ACHING. It’s still killing me. I have no idea what I did. Is there a masseuse in the house? Ugh!
On the positive side, I opened the mailbox and had a nice surprise! The best part of wakin’ up is new tea in your mail box! My two bags of Caramel Vanilla Chai from 52 Teas! I really enjoyed the Decaf Extra Bold Masala Chai, and caramel and vanilla flavors are my weakness, so I had to drop some dough on those puppies quick.

I was kind of surprised to see that the dry leaves were not really leaves at all but actually resembled soil. Dried out soil with tiny bits of dried out leaves and bark. Very ground up. Hmmmm.
The aroma was very bold clovy chai with apparent notes of caramel and vanilla.
Steeped 1 tsp per 8 ounces at 205 degrees in my Breville for 3 minutes.
Eek. I have never had a tea escape the Breville infuser THIS much… I took a picture to show the sediment that slipped through using only 2 teaspoons of tea – http://i55.tinypic.com/2zom8bb.png
o_O
The little pieces that didnt’ escape got stuck in the holes of the infuser. First time that’s ever happened with a tea in the Breville, also.
I don’t know if I should lower the score more for that? But the tea ended up tasting pretty darn good, especially with a spoon of brown sugar and a spoon of vanilla icecream, (I was out of coconut milk, but icecream works great as creamer!) Totally representative of the name. Caramel Vanilla Chai goodness. A pretty bold chai at that. I’m starting to learn I like my chais a little more heavy than this on the other spices..especially cardamom. This tea is pretty predominately clove and cinnamon. But overall, yeah.. I think it’s pretty good. I’ll have to see if my opinion changes after I have it again. (Although I’m really not looking forward to dealing with the small bits of tea again :/ )

Brewed this up for Tea Club this afternoon. I steeped for about 5 minutes because I forgot about it… :) It wasn’t bitter, though. It was definitely strong. But it stood up well to the addition of milk. I added sugar to my cup before tasting and I wish I hadn’t. It was very sweet so I wonder if the chai itself was sweet to start with.

Very caramel-y. And I certainly got a hit of black pepper. It wasn’t the Tea Club’s favorite, but it got overall good reviews.

Thanks for the sample, Liberteas!

This one comes from my 12 Teas of Christmas sampler – when I opened it, I thought it was the Extra Bold Masala Chai, and was surprised to read it was Caramel Vanilla. The aroma pre and post steeping is just that of the bold chai (which I have had bad experiences with, it can get very very bitter). I did this cup with boiling water and a brief steep, maybe two minutes. After letting it cool I could get a hint of caramel aroma, but the taste was pure chai. Very similar to the Extra Bold Masala Chai. I get a hint of caramel at the end of the sip, but it is more an echo than a taste. As it cools it becomes more bitter, so I added a bit of milk which enhances the illusion of caramel and vanilla. Certainly not a favourite, but I haven’t had a chai in a while so that’s nice.

Update: That black tea is SO BITTER. Might do the rest of the sample as stovetop with milk, but I definitely shouldn’t use boiling water. Might go add some sugar as well as the milk (neither of which I usually add. I happen to think it’s a poor tea that requires milk or sugar, but I know that isn’t a popular opinion). Hoping that with alternate preparations I can really get the most out of this sample. Sugar and milk helped cut down the bitterness, but I’m still making a pinched up face while I drink!

52teas 12 Days of Christmas Sampler 2011 – Day 10

Caramel Vanilla Chai…I LOVE Chai!!! I quickly brewed this up, added a little Truvia and skim milk, and took a sip. Hmm, there’s something weird going on in this cup. It might be the balance of spices, the black tea base, or the added flavorings. I can’t really tell.

At first, the after taste is pleasant. I get equally strong caramel and vanilla notes. But then once those fade, the after taste is kind of funky. I would probably like this better as a chai tea latte. It tastes kind of weak when it’s largely water with only a little bit of milk. Oh, I just read the description, and it says it’s an Assam tea base. That must be it. Don’t mind me and my dislike of Assam.

The more I sip on it, the better it tastes actually. This is kind of a weird tea morning. There has just been soooo much drama over this wedding. My brother is getting married in 2012 as well, and he seems to have taken it as a personal affront that I got engaged. I have yet to figure out why he’s so upset let alone how to make him feel better.

It’s created an awful situation for everyone. My fiancé’s parents seem to be really mad at my brother, my fiancé just doesn’t care about his feelings at all, my dad is trying not to pick sides, and I’m left in the middle trying to appease everyone and getting nowhere fast. I haven’t been able to sleep or concentrate in days. It’s kind of ruining the whole experience. I’ve only been engaged for two weeks, and we haven’t even set a date yet. All this drama seems a little premature.

Anyway, I just have to get this off my chest. I don’t know how I’m going to feel better if my brother keeps acting the way he is now. It’s such an unfair situation. I feel like no matter what I do, I can’t win. I’m sorry for making this a rather gloomy, despondent tea post. I think I’m going to go make more of that Ginger Ale Tea from yesterday. It was really great. This chai just isn’t hitting the spot. I need something calmer. If you like chai, this is a good one. It’s definitely unique from the other chais I’ve had.

This reminded me of the first encounter I had with one of Franks teas. Not because of the similarity in flavors, but because of the intense smell that greets you as soon as the package is open. On this occasion it was mouth watering vanilla and spices. I think it was just what I needed tonight! The puppy is still growing and has decided that her favorite pass time is bothering my older dog. It is exhausting to control her after I am used to my trained and well behaved older doggy. I can’t wait for her to grow up! : ) In the mean time, vanilla, spices and black tea will carry me along.

I believe that this was supposed to be the 10th tea of the 12 teas of Christmas, but tasting it got postponed due to holiday craziness (though I did open it and sniff on the correct day!).

Did I already mention that the smell was spectacular? I think so… But I will repeat it, the smell was amazing! Vanilla and Spices and if I thought about it I could even get a hint of the caramel. Impressive.

I steeped 2 teaspoons to my 12oz of water. 3 minutes of wait while I drooled to the scent of spicy vanilla. Drum-roll and…. wow… so bitter… Added milk and sugar… Better, but bitterness still there… The aftertaste was good vanilla and spice, so I was determined to keep trying.

Second cup steeped for 2.5 minutes with only 1.5 teaspoons for my 12oz. After 2.5 minutes of fingers crossed, I had a first sip. Hmm… Not bad! Much less bitter and still about the same amount of spiciness! As an added bonus I got a tiny bit of caramel something that added to the vanilla. Milk and sugar added and it became delicious! I had to try really hard not to gulp it down. After that first sip, the caramel got lost to me, but the vanilla and spices worked wonders!

Now, I have two cups of Caramel Vanilla Chai in my belly and two doggies fast asleep. Aaahhh… Pure bliss! : )

I too thought this was the Extra Bold Masala Chai when I first opened the packet. Upon brewing, I taste lots of that delicious chai flavor with just a small hint of vanilla. I don’t taste any caramel at all, but seeing as fresh caramel causes me pain in an allergic reaction, that’s fine with me. ;)

This is very good, but the name isn’t entirely accurate. Vanilla Chai would be better – but who am I to judge?

I didn’t add any sugar to the chai (shocker, I know) and normally I do. Perhaps that would help round out the sharp edges of this spicy tea. I never add milk to chai because I’m allergic, but I also enjoy spicier teas.

Overall, this was a great one to try, but I’m not sure if I would buy it separately. I’m so very picky (OK, snobby) about my chais so that’s nothing new!

Thanks be to the wonderful Erin and her gracious sample!

I wanted a chai night tonight, so I added a bag of chai tea to my rice when it was cooking, and a splash of chai concentrate to my simmering Butter Shrimp (Like Butter Chicken but with.. well, shrimp!). Oh! And this tea! :)

The caramel/vanilla notes were a bit muted, but well blended with the other spices, I thought. It’s still a pretty strong chai (I’m not sure if I’m a fan of the tea base 52teas uses a lot, but it depends on the tea so I’ll just shut up and drink because I have no idea what I’m talking about haha!)

So I probably wouldn’t purchase this one, but I really appreciate the chance to try it! Frothed milk with a bit of vanilla syrup. Yummeh.

gosh I love tea!

You know, I am really surprised at what a low rating this tea has. Though it’s not one of my favorites, it’s a far cry from a bad tea. In both the aroma and taste I am getting more of a maple syrup and brown sugar vibe than carmel and vanilla. It does come off little bitter but still a soothing mild chai.

This is another one I was hoping would be in the box. Caramel! Vanilla! Those are words to get me interested in many things indeed. But then the chai bit… I’m not a chai fan. Actually I’m beginning to wonder if it’s starting to look like I don’t like anything at all. I do like plenty of stuff, I swear! It just seems like I have a tendency to dislike many things that others like.

So yeah, chai. Not a huge fan of that, but due to the whole caramel or vanilla business, I was dithering about giving it a go anyway. As is quite normal for me, by the time I decided I was brave enough, it was gone.

Second chance, though. Now to see if I’m missing out hugely or if I had a lucky escape.

The leaves were teensy tiny. The pot will be easy to clean out because most of them landed in the strainer anyway and can be tipped straight in the bin.

As it is a chai, I thought it would be suitable to serve it with milk, and because it was harder than expected to pour equal amounts of milk in the two cups (sharing this with the boyfriend), it turned into rather a lot of milk. Since it’s chai, though, and these often seem to get steeped in warm milk, I didn’t think it mattered.

It smells sweet, but spicy. Very ginger-y to my nose. We’ve been around the ginger-issue before, haven’t we? Apart from some generic sweetness, I can’t really tell whether it’s caramel or vanilla or both or neither. It’s just sweet and it’s not sugar.

Due to the milk, it’s quite lukewarm, and I have to say that the primary flavour I’m getting here is that prickly ginger again. Oh and milk. It may be because I used too much milk and it got too cold really, but I can’t really find much of other flavours. A bit of cinnamon at the bottom maybe, but I’m unable to spot anything else.

As chais go, though, I’ve definitely had worse. I don’t find it super-spicy-offensive, apart from the ginger, which I could have lived without, but it’s drinkable. I wonder if the fact that I can’t find very many spice flavours in it is actually to my advantage.

Yeah, now that I’ve tried it, it’s probably for the best that I took so long to gather up the courage.

made a strong half cup and added about 3 oz of Odwalla Vanilla Protein Monster to make a sweet but protein-packed latte. Mmmm. Next time will try it cold/iced.

I was surprised by how small and broken-up the tea leaves were – it looked like something more suited to being inside of a tea bag. At the risk of sounding snobbish, if I have to pay $9 for 4oz of tea I’d really like for it to be good-quality whole-leaf stuff. And of course this was one of the pouches that hadn’t been sealed properly so I ended up with half of it on the counter and the floor. >.<

Appearance aside, it has a nice blend of chai spices but I’m not really getting as much vanilla or caramel as I expected. I’ve had vanilla chais that were much creamier and richer than this one (Metropolitan Tea’s Vanilla Chai comes to mind) so it was a bit of a let down. That isn’t to say it’s a bad-tasting tea or anything – as a plain chai blend it would have been fine. It’s just a bit disappointing because I know Frank is capable of making better.

Tragedy Strikes!!

Previous installments of my 12 teas of christmas set have had significant holes in the bottom, where portions of tea have escaped, but previously I’d been able to salvage enough to make a cup.

That all changed today! The ENTIRE (and I mean every last particle) of today’s sample had disappeared through an entirely open bottom, leaving only the sticker left to taunt me about an amazing-sounding tea I won’t get the chance to try :(

I fear that I got a little too excited about finally trying this tea that I overdid it with the measuring, because it’s quite strong. Still good, but with it this strong, some of the Assam’s harsher qualities emerge as it is a bit on the bitter side. So, I will have to wait until I taste it again (tomorrow!) before I offer a rating.

I added some steamed milk to make a latte, and the milk has curbed some of the harshness. The other elements in this tea taste wonderful, I taste the caramel and the vanilla tones, as well as the zesty spice. But, I still want to wait until tomorrow before I’m able to rate it.

This tea is SPICY and smooth. You can really taste the pepper and the ginger. It’s a fantastic favorite. Cream and sugar of course.

It lingers on the back of my tongue and makes me happy. Not all chai teas are created equal! I’ve never actually made a chai the traditional way. If I had to choose one, it’s this!

I’ll let you know!

Also: Dr Who S4E13

I now have this lovely tea in my cupboard thanks to threewhales.

I was a bit stingy on the steeping time because the CTC leaves concerned me a bit. However, I think 3 minutes is too little. What I have now is a very mild chai and I’m not getting the caramel or vanilla as I expected. I think this tea would really shine with a traditional stovetop preparation so perhaps I’ll try that tomorrow morning.

This was day 10 (I think?) of the 12 teas of Christmas sampler from 52teas – I am finally getting around to trying both this one and the one from day 12 – both of which were the only new ones (to me) of the last half of the box. This particular sample was the only one of the 12 that had an improperly sealed bottom, but I was able to collect it and still have enough for two full cups, so it ended up okay!

Anyway – steeped one heaping tsp. of this in about 7 oz water at below parameters. The dry leaf was very ground up – I used a paper tea filter instead of my Breville because I remember someone saying how it easily got through the mesh basket, and I didn’t want to have a huge mess on my hands. It smelled quite spicy – no hints of vanilla and caramel, though.

Once steeped, I added milk (probably about 2 oz) and sugar because that’s how I like my chais prepared. Taste-wise, I think the overall spiciness of the chai was kind of weak – it didn’t have as much bite as I wanted. However, I did get a touch of vanilla and buttery caramel, which I suspect the milk and sugar were instrumental in bringing out. I didn’t notice any underlying astringency with the black tea base, but I didn’t try it sans additives so that could be why.

Overall, I think it is a nice, though mild chai. More for people who like the idea of vanilla and caramel tea with a hint of spice, rather than the other way around – but more than a welcome addition to my tea cabinet during this cold weather!

So I opened my Christmas presents tonight since I’ll be away from my family on Christmas. I had no idea my mom got me the 12 Teas of Christmas, and she had wanted to give it to me at the proper time but that wasn’t going to work. At least I hadn’t looked on Steepster beforehand today so a quarter will be surprises! Although by now I don’t think I really remember what was when so I can still be surprised.

I made this as a latte because I don’t like chai too much by itself and I have the s’mores chai and I figured this too would be too peppery for my liking if I didn’t. I have no idea if there’s some sort of more proper way to do it but I put enough tea for 8oz in but pour only 4oz of water in, then whisk 4 oz of milk on the stove, and once the tea is made, add it to the milk, make sure it’s all nice and hot then put it in my mug. Works for me, I taste everything so I’m sticking with it!

This is pretty good, I don’t know if I would drink it again after this because I have enough chais for the rare times I want it. I do like that it’s sweeter than most though, thanks to the caramel vanilla part.

Also the set of tsacs is going to save my life while staying in a hotel for 5 nights next week. I was trying so desperately to find a way to still have MY tea despite us staying really close to an Argo Tea.

ChOTD….Thank you Jenn!

This is good, but it pretty much just tastes like chai. I do get the very faintest hint of caramel. I am thinking I can do better on preparing this one. This chai, and the other one I have from 52teas is more ground up than other chais I have. I imagine this is more traditional. I forget that for chais that are not full leaf, I can use about half the amount of leaf. Yeild was about two cups and I used 2 perfect teaspoons of leaf. I think it will be much better if I cut it. I will rate it the next time around, because I think it will improve greatly. Plus, that means more servings!!!!!!

Nope, this is not the chai for me. I don’t taste any of the caramel and vanilla flavor I was so excited about in this blend, and the pepper notes are so over powering for me that I’m unable to taste much else. I’m a huge 52teas fan but I couldn’t even finish my cup.

I feel a bit like the only kid that doesn’t get the punchline to the joke here after reading all of the positive reviews for this tea. BUT truth is truth, and truth be told this tea is not for me.