Vanilla Bean Cheesecake Chai

This is pretty darned good!!!
The vanilla is quite noticeable. It’s very creamy! And the chai spices are really great! I wouldn’t say it was a cheesecake taste but it’s fairly close! Overall I am really LOVING the mixture of flavors and enjoy the spice but love the creaminess to it! YUM!

Thanks French Vanilla!

I got this in the mail today from Meghann M who was generous enough to send me some. Thanks very much!

I made this using the stovetop method, which I have never done before. I was nervous, having read some horror stories of curdling milk lately. I could tell I was doing something right when I licked the spoon. Oh boy, this was gonna be good.

This tastes like regular chai to me (which is delicious and super decadent). I definitely taste the vanilla, but the cheesecake not so much. The spices taste fairly muted, so perhaps I should add more leaf next time. It will be interesting to compare the chocolate version of this, which Meghann M also kindly sent.

This is one of the more delicious drinks I’ve ever made. Today has been a good, good day.

Thank you to TeaEqualsBliss for sending me a bit of this tea. I am so happy to be able to try it!

This is a delightful chai! Not as robust as some of 52Teas other chai blends, but, it more than makes up for it in sweet, creamy vanilla bean-y and cheesecake-y flavor! The cheesecake is a little more withdrawn than the vanilla flavor, but I can taste a very subtle tangy note.

Frank… if you’re reading this (and I know you are!) You should DEFINITELY include this in the 12 Days of Christmas package this year. :)

Another kettle fail this morning. Seems that I have blown the whistle on my tea kettle. I let it boil waiting for the whistle to blow. I never heard the whistle but water was boiling out of the top and spout of the kettle all over the stove. Reason #47 as to why I need a breville:)

I was surprised I hadn’t logged this chai yet, as I’m pretty sure I’ve had it several times. I’m halfway through the tin. I love this chai plain. The vanilla is sweet and delicious. The spices are tantalizing my tongue!

I didn’t get a strong vanilla flavor nor a cheesecake feel. It was there but I had to really concentrate. I usually prefer keeping my thoughts at a minimum while drinking tea. However, if it was labeled with a different name say… Creamy Smooth Chai I would have agreed. Don’t get me wrong this tea is yummy but not what I expected based on the name on the label. It is has a medium/light body, super smooth, not a hint of bitterness, and just mellow. The chai spices are blended perfectly. However, I am giving it a lower point value only because it wasn’t what I expected based on the label not because of the flavor, it was good.

I’m thinking that the cheesecake flavor may come across stronger thru vanilla than chocolate- or at least I hope it does.

Like the chocolate, this has no large green cardamom pods- so that’s a few points off right there. The aroma is extremely light- definitely not a “smack ya in the face” tea. And like the chocolate, the liquor is a light reddish brown- possibly lighter than the chocolate, but I’m not sure w/o doing a side by side.

1 heaping tsp (only 3.3g!)/6oz, hot and clean

Wow. This tea is disappointing. VERY little, if any, vanilla,…no cheesecake… very little spice. The black tea base has absolutely no problems coming thru the flavors- in fact it’s by far the strongest- but even the mouth feel and flavor are quite watery. A very smooth, light black tea w/ just a faint touch of spice. I hope these 2 are better w/ milk.

Wewt! I just got in my 52teas memorial day order. (My teafrog order has yet to get here though ;_;) I decided for the first try of this to make it using the stovetop method. I used vanilla almond milk instead of regular milk though, so I think that’s affecting the taste a bit. Clearly need to get some normal milk.

Now, my experiences with my other 52teas teas have been overwhelmingly positive but this is, if you look at it, a highly intriguing tea. I mean, cheesecake tea sure fine. But cheesecake chai? THAT is a lot less straightforward. It requires the marriage of two extremely distinctive flavors – moreover, flavors that, I would argue, (pardon me if I’m a little verbose by the way, I’m kind of in end of year research paper mode right now) are highly opposing in nature. Cheesecake after all, has a mildness about it that is generally at odds with the spiciness of chai. Of course, when making chai, one usually mellows it out with the application of milk BUT in this operation the milk is subsumed into the taste of the chai. (that’s actually the topic of my dissertation)

So yes, cheesecake chai. VERY interesting to see how it works. When I opened the tin, I was immediately overwhelmed by ginger, also some other spices, but mostly ginger. This, I felt, was not a good sign, but I was willing to give it the benefit of the doubt. Once I dropped the tea into the water, the fragrance began to shift becoming…well, mouthwatering. Then when I added the milk, I would start licking the spoon each time I gave it a stir, and at one point I was all like “Whazzat? Zat’s CHEESECAKE!” So yes, by the time it was finished I was super duper excited and really did not want to actually wait a couple of minutes for the chai to settle a bit.

I should mention at this point that cheesecake is my favorite kind of cake/pie type thing on grounds that it is super delicious. So I when I say “super duper excited” I am not exaggerating.

Anyway so on to trying it. OMG NOM NOM NOM this is sooooo good. There’s this lovely cream cheesiness about it and I just love how the spices interact with it – especially the ginger, which I feel is a great foil to keep the cheesecakeness (and the sweetness, since I used sweetened almond milk AND a bit of sugar) from becoming too overwhelming. It is still quite heavy, we’ll see how that changes with different (read: lazier) methods of preparation. And with normal milk. Good times are ahead!

Verdict: This would be a great addition to any chaibrary
Secondary Verdict: The above sentence was basically just an excuse to use the word chaibrary.

This is from a sample packet from god-knows-when that I dug out of my cupboard this morning. I like the blend of spices that Frank uses in his chais as I find them nicely balance. I taste the same thing with this tea but there’s an added creamy vanilla note that makes it seem decadent. I’m not getting that much cheesecake flavour, but that might be due to the age of the sample rather than any failing on the tea’s part.

As far as a chai goes, this is pretty smooth! It has toned down the spices (which I like) that usually plague some chais. I feel like half of the flavor is there… the chai, but where is the vanilla bean cheesecake? I don’t taste vanilla or cheesecake.. mostly just the chai. It’s a decent cup, nevertheless. I just wish that it had more sweetness or more of a creamy cheesecake quality. Thank you Meghann M for a sample!

Another sample Meghann M sent to me!

I have to admit, I’m slightly…intimidated by chai, and tend to avoid it as a general rule. The amount of spices that goes into it, as well as the strong scent…I’d rather avoid than find I don’t like a tea.

This one, though, is very mild and smooth to taste. Very strong scent in the dry leaf, but it doesn’t brew as strong as the taste. I’m getting a hint of vanilla over the spices, but not much of the cheesecake. From other reviews I’ve read, this is a “weak” chai…which means it’s a perfect gateway chai for the faint-of-heart like me. Looking forward to seeing what a second steep produces.

I enjoy this tea in the morning to get me started.