S'mores Chai

I have had this once before, but somehow never got around to reviewing this. I received this in a swap, with Lisbet I believe. Thanks!

It was an interesting experience. I am not very fond of smokey teas, and the scent of is tea is in your face smokey. That worried me, but as I brewed it the scent transformed from outright smokey to spicey.

First try plain was an explosion of smokey. Sweetened the smokey played down a bit, but was still a bit strong for me. Finally I added milk and… Success! I got sweet spicey roasted marshmellow goodness. I never really found the cocolate note, but I enjoyed it anyway.

All in all, it is too smokey to be something that I can see myself wanting very often. I am super happy I got to try it though. It was a fun experience.

Thank you so much for this sample Ninavampi, it’s SO delish!
Now, I wrote this review once already but Steepster gobbled it up so here I am writing it again… which frustrates me because now I can’t recall all the lovely deets. Gah!
Anyhow I got a sortof burnt toasted flavour, which I love love loooove(I love my sh’mallows burnt and gooey) and a sweet sort of maltiness. My guess is that this has an Assam base.
With milk, there is even a bakey note going on but not with every sip, and only when you concentrate on each individual flavour. The spices are just right. Not overtaking any of the other flavours but still very present.
Now I’m craving a campfire and silly songs!!! :P

ChOTD…….courtesy of Jenn. (Thank you so much!)

I made this up by my usual pan method. What I get in the smell is marshmallows and chocolate along with the spice. I am not sure any cracker will make an appearance because that is more of a subtle flavor. The level of spiciness is not as in your face as something like Tipu, but it is a little stronger than the spice levels in my favorites. I do also get a little chocolate in the taste, but not as much of the marshmallow…I think the spices overwhelm it a little. For someone who enjoys chai, this is a wonderful change of pace. It still tastes very much like chai, but there are definitely more flavors going on. I really like this one and will enjoy every last bit of it.

It kind of brings out my inner Girl Scout. This is probably my last year (of 9) of being a GS leader. The girls that I have had the privelege of having in my troop from the time they were kindergarteners are just growing up and getting too busy. The are now in 8th grade. Mini-rant ahead, so you might want to skip this…..Plus, in my opinion, as with many groups that have big budgets and a huge building to maintain, our local council seems to have changed focus. To me it is so much less about the girls these days and more about the bottom line. Sad, really. My daughter and her friends can get together for activities in the years to come without having to worry about GS BS. Those of you who were scouts…they have changed so much of the program, it would be unrecognizable to you. (Thank you for reading…back to my regular scheduled programming….)

OK, first off, you all know me to be kind of a chai snob. But I’m also a huge fan of 52Teas blends. And this is easily one of the best blends he’s created. (Here’s hoping it’s in the 12 Days of Christmas Pack. HINT HINT!) This one is right up there with Pancake Breakfast.

Opening up the bag for the first time – or after a while – and you are greeted with a hearty, warm welcome – marshmallow-y (although I believe not actual marshmallows, I think it’s OK for vegans), cinnamon, ginger, clove and peppercorn.

There’s a sweetness to it, once you take your first sip. All the flavors aforementioned in the aroma are equally identifiable in the flavor. But there is something else. Brilliancy. I taste brilliancy. This is warm and welcoming, festive, flavorful and fun.

I’m going to ration this one, else I’d use it up before the holidays!

BALLS!!!! I’m not going to give S’mores Chai a numerical rating because I knew that my liking it was a long shot. 52teas chai teas are just not for me unfortunately. Too peppery? I don’t know exactly what the problem is, but I keep buying Frank’s new chai flavors because I always hold out hope (and I’m a shameless addict).

Mad props to Frank for making S’mores Chai vegan! It was worth buying it for that reason alone :) I’d love to gift my 52teas chai(s) to a good home, so please let me know if you’re interested. Don’t be shy… yes, I’m talking to YOU!

AWESOME! TOTALLY AWESOME!

I love this. It has a fantastic balance of flavors… a little smoky, a little spicy, sweet, chocolate-y, marshmallow-y. YUMMMMMMMY!

I think the only thing this IS missing is the mini marshmallows (sorry, but I’m not vegan), but it has inspired me to try a little something different with my next brewing of this… I am going to get some marshmallow fluff and make a slightly different version of a latte. This time I drank it non-latte, and it’s awesome like that… but I think it might be even better with that marshmallow fluff. And… if it doesn’t work out, I will then have a jar of marshmallow fluff and an excuse to make peanut butter and marshmallow sandwiches. Win-win any way you look at it.

This one just smells divine in the pouch, almost like eggnog. I love the combination of chai spices with sweetness, and the mallow/cacao here is quite pleasant. Alas, it’s still hot hot hot in Houston, so I use this tea to pretend that I am somewhere more autumnal.

I like this one because it really does have a touch of smokiness to it on top of the sweetness. It’s definitely a clever take on a s’more. Yum. If I ever actually had people over for tea I’d make a big pot of this and serve it with pumpkin cookies. I would love to make this one into a latte, but the tea lattes I make tend to be terrible. Why is that, I wonder? I just make well-steeped extra strong tea with foamed milk and sometimes a shot of vanilla. What’s not to like? They taste better at $tarbuck$, and I’m not sure why.

But I digress, massively.
Brewed this one is a lot simpler than it smells dry. It’s a decent chai, with a hint of smoky- sweetness.

So I received this sample from Amanda, and I will say I can not get s’mores out of this. It tastes like a smokey cinnamon stick. Not too sure I like this, but Im glad I got to try it.

I got this one when it came out but have been letting it sit for a while. I made this using the stovetop method (200ml water, 300ml milk, 2tsp chai, 1.5tsp palm sugar) and it tastes just right. Sweet yet earthy and I can definitely taste the laspsang souchong. The smoky aspect is perfect – not too strong, but just enough to give the tea a lovely ‘campfire’ type taste. The spices are balanced perfectly. I love to see black peppercorns in a chai blend, but they can be really overdone – I’m glad this isn’t the case here.

The tea is very, very finely ground, which usually, would get my goat a little but here (as long as I use T-sacs and not an ordinary strainer because I hate bits in my tea) it means that the brew is bold and well up to taking milk. I had high hopes for this, and I wasn’t let down.

I just don’t get the s’mores aroma from the spices alone or the chai… My first infusion was, a good chai, yes, but not the s’mores I expected. So of course, I set out to brew it properly with milk and a pinch of sugar.. It is a lovely chai. Its best features are a spicey smokiness, and a suggestive hint of chocolate.

I love s’mores and tend to dislike chai, so this was an interesting one to try. The smell is very distinctive — not quite chai, not quite marshmallows, and not really a combination of the two, just… distinctive. In a good way!

The liquor tastes like a weak chai… which is not a complaint in and of itself. Most chai is far too spicy for me, but this one is at just the right level for me to notice the spices without feeling overwhelmed… although I would prefer less peppercorn and more cinnamon. Sadly, I’m not really getting much s’more taste, even sweetened. There’s maybe a hint of graham crackers when I search for it, but overall it feels like it’s trying very hard and failing to be something besides a plain chai.

Overall, yay for being chai that I enjoy smelling and drinking, boo for being only barely s’more-esque.

Wasn’t sure what to expect with this one, and I’ve had bad luck with chais. I was especially skeptical after sniffing the bag. Straight after brew it was a little strong flavored, but still “watery,” of course. I sort of expected that and added just a drop of cream. Still missing something, so I broke down and put a touch of sugar in it. First off, not my norm. I’m sure there are people out there who can drink this tea straight and appreciate it, but I just couldn’t take it. With cream and sugar? YUM. Warm and spicy, overtones of mallow and graham, and just a whiff of smoke. A perfectly delectable treat on a chilly afternoon. Just what I wanted.

I’m not too much of a chai person but I do greatly enjoy s’mores so I decided I’d give this a shot. The first time I made it, I didn’t like it at all. I thought I’d give it a chance again tonight, this time with a bit of sugar and milk. I like it way better now.

I get smoky and cinnamon, a little bit of marshmallow (I think using vanilla sugar helped there) but not so much chocolate. I could eat chocolate with it I suppose, but I already had hot chocolate tonight. Oh well. The milk and sugar makes it less spicy, because it was a bit too peppery for me before that.

It’s hard to make this without getting bits of tea in the cup because it’s ground up so finely. I tried shaking it out before making it but realized I was gonna soon lose all the tea!

I’m still not entirely sold on it, but it’s not awful by any means.

The leaves have a light spicy sweet aroma that intrigues me. Because the spice is one of the first to catch, I suspect the s’mores taste might get overwhelmed.

And I was right, as the spicy chai flavor is above all the taste in this blend. It is not a bad flavor, a sweet and creamy variation with a smoky touch.

The marshmallow and others are subtle, but you catch them in different sips, as the spice still does overwhelm.

Nonetheless, for chai lovers, this is a great variation.

I was excited about this tea. How could it get better? S’mores AND chai!

First steeping is a bit disappointing. Nothing terrible. Nothing outstanding. I would drink it, probably make a good morning tea.

Now to add some milk and sugar… nothing spectacular. Hope I find the right mix since I bought two bags.