Thai Chai

Loves it!!!

I really took the time on Saturday evening to brew this correctly. The whole process took about 30 or so minutes. I had about 1 cup of cream that I added to the mix that made it superb! Diets aside, adding the rich cream was sooo good. The whole house smelled spicy and fall-y. After my husband’s initial, “you’re going to make me drink that, aren’t you?” he decided that he loved it. (I didn’t tell him it had coconut in it.)

On Sunday morning I awoke to the Thai Chai smell in the house again. I thought it might still be from the night before, but my husband crept into the bedroom with a breakfast tray of eggs in a pita pocket, a piece of homemade baklava, and the last rose from our garden. Oh yeah, and a huge steaming cup of Thai Chai for the both of us! He had snuck out of bed to start making the tea! He admitted that it was better with the cream added (he just used skim milk), but it tasted great to me because of all the thought he put into it.

As we lounged in bed eating breakfast and drinking our tea, he said to me, “Hey babe, I won’t give you a hard time if you order a much bigger bag of this stuff.” Yea!!! No more eye-rolling when he sees my tea orders!

Onto some more samples from CHAroma tonight as I await trick-or-treaters!

I’m not sure exactly what I was expecting with this one, but I was initially quite put off by a very soapy aroma from both the dry and steeped tea. It dissipated after the tea sat a while, but kind of grossed me out a bit. Other than that, the aroma reminded me a lot of Zhena’s Gypsy Tea Coconut Chai; sweet and coconutty, with a hint of exotic spiciness. I think I can also smell the lemongrass.

Unfortunately, I’m getting soapiness as a flavour as well. The flavours otherwise strongly remind me of the above mentioned coconut chai, which I adore, but the soapiness is unbearable for me. I really have no idea where it’s coming from; this was sent in its original packet so I doubt there’s flavour contamination. Sometimes I wonder, though, whether old coconut goes soapy after a while…

Either way, I really want to like this tea, and I am adoring what I can taste of it and the delicious mix of lemongrass, chai spices, and coconut, but I can’t get past the soapiness. (I’m trying to!) Perhaps it would go away if I sweetened/added milk to the tea, but my hopes aren’t particularly high. I may give that a shot later, though.

Thanks for passing some of this one along, CHAroma!

Part of me was a little frightened that I would actually like this tea enough to cause me to actually put an order through with Adagio. I’m not sure whether I’m relieved or disappointed that it wasn’t.

Chai for me has become very much a drink that reads of warmth and comfort and that is what the base of this chai said to me. However, the lemongrass was just a little too dissonant for me. Lemongrass speaks to me of spring and summer and is a refreshing, clean taste. Chai does not. I was having trouble connecting the two in my mind. Part of me feels like it shouldn’t have difficult, because chocolate and mint are kind of in the same family of combination, but maybe it’s because chocolate and mint are so ubiquitous and I’ve gotten used to them.

Anyhow, it just wasn’t gelling. And then I got some coconut shooting through the taste and that was the clincher that made me decide I wouldn’t be ordering this again. I’m learning to like coconut [I am now in love with the macaroon], but coconut milk is still something I can’t quite cope with and that’s what I was reminded of when I tasted it in the chai. I have some hanging out in the fridge, so maybe it will make more sense to me chilled.

This is all splitting hairs and everything, because really it isn’t bad. The fnal verdict is that this is a good chai, but it’s not going to knock out any of the other ones I enjoy. I can see why people like it so much.

holy chunky chai. uh-oh.
it looks really pretty! but it’s intensity makes me anxious.
i wanna try everything and anything once at least. usually even 2 or 3 times. even teas i hate.
i’m very moody and who knows how i’ll feel tomorrow. :)

i loved yesterday’s chai. didn’t think i would but i did.
so today’s chai…?
i did not leaf this tea as heavy as they recommend to. i can do that on the second cup. this first cup i played it a little safe i guess. and i’m glad i did. cuz i’m liking this chai too!
i really must have just had bad chai luck in my past. too heavily spiced with no finesse or balance. but this one is bright and yummy! i still have the urge to add cream and a little sugar to the cup. but not cuz i can’t enjoy it as is. just because when i think chai i think chai latte.
i should do a soymilk stove steep.
this tea is really so very pretty.
it brings a lot to the experience.

thank you TastyBrew yet again xo

Second Breakfast Celebration (of finishing my taxes).
My daughter & grandson came, & we made Gingerbread almond flour pancakes, bacon, coconut whipped cream (OMG…it’s amazing!), a little drizzle of maple syrup, and it was awesome.

Ari picked this tea to go with our meal. I would have probably picked something plain & black, as a contrast to all the sweet creamy flavors, but this was pretty tasty. It is basically a coconut chai, & a tasty one at that! I didn’t get the full impact of the flavors, because I was already eating lots of coconut & spice flavors. There is enough left in the package to sample it without food next time.

This tea reminds me of a coconut macaroon cookie, like the kind we used to make at Mrs. Fields cookies (I worked there wayyyy back when they were still owned by Debi Fields, and we mixed the dough fresh every morning instead of pulling frozen dough pucks out of the freezer.) It almost tastes like the love child of a snickerdoodle and a macaroon. Incredibly yummy. Much better than I thought it would be.

In a much better mood today! Yay! Since I was in such high spirits I let myself open one of my unopened, not yet tasted teas! Yipee!

I decided to go for this chai 1. Becuase I have been wanting chai 2. Because I still had a bit of latte base (that I made 4 days ago…) that I wanted to use up and figured this would work great with it!

Brand new tea opening is always so fun! I opened it and breathed in the first whiff of this tea. First thought: “Yum! Spicy Chai!” Second thought: “Wait… Where is the coconut creaminess? Where are my coconut pieces?” Turns out the coconut pieces where much smaller that what they look like in the picture (think grated cheese). Once I scooped out my 2 teaspoons I did get a hint of coconut creaminess, but not as strong as I was wanting it to be.

I brewed it for 5 minutes (as recommended) and ended up with a creamy smelling chai! This is much more like the smell that I was expecting. I smelled a lot of clove and cinnamon with notes of cardamom and pepper. The lemon grass poked through nicely when brewed. It popped up to say “I’m here, I’m here!” and lead way for the final note which was a creamy coconut.

I tasted it first plain. It was pretty sweet on its own and had a nice creamy something towards the end. Not quite coconut, but it reminded me more of butter cookies with a hint of coconut. The lemon grass was a main player along with the other chai spices, and definitely a good inclusion. Once I added my latte mix (basically just 1 part condensed milk stirred over heat with 2 parts milk) the coconut leaped out, but I lost a bit of the lemongrass which I really was enjoying. I think I almost like this plain more than with milk!

I happily finished up my Thai Chai latte and smiled knowing that I have a full 3oz of tea to drink before it is gone! : )

A good twist to a chai. Not strong enough to be my favorite but good enough to make me smile.

Backlog from the weekend
I received this in a swap, I feel it was from Alphakitty but it may be from will work for tea. I have so many teas from swaps and samples that I can’t keep track.

I’m not sure why I chose this, maybe because I love chais and its fall. I was suprised to see all the lemongrass but didn’t really notice the coconut. Hmmm this should be interesting.

This is deli ious, slightly lemony, chai like with the slightest hint of creamy coconut. This is so good. I’ve only tried a few teas from Adagio, most or all I have really like. This chai is almost tropical like.

This one hit the spot today! I was really looking for something creamy with a little spicy kick on the backend and found it with Adagio’s Thai Chai.

Really liking this one better than the old coconut chai I had been housing for what seemed like forever! Zhena’s Gypsy Coconut Chai is too spicy for me – not a fan of black pepper in my chai.

This one has cinnamon, ginger and a little cardamon – just enough spice to keep my tongue excited. :)

Half-n-half and sweetener made this almost too much for late summer, but in the winter I can see this as a regular winner!

What was I waiting for? Ninavampi sent me a sample of this months ago!

I’m always willing to try a new variation on chai. Chai has always interested me in its balance of spices, so adding coconut and lemongrass is pretty intriguing. Especially since I planned on having it cold. Anyway, I let it brew for six minutes in about half of the amount of water I would for normal iced tea. I then added a splash of cold milk and two good handfuls of ice.

The result is a delicious summer breakfast. The traditional chai spices are there on the surface; cinnamon, cardamom, ginger. I can’t say I can really taste the lemongrass, but the coconut is there. The coconut is faint, and reminds me a little more of plain vanilla. Since I love vanilla chai, I don’t mind. The black tea is hardly present, but that might have something to do with me neglecting this sample for so long. I would have to try a fresher batch to make any judgements there. In summary, I really like this chai, and it’s great iced.

This is a black tea blend from Adagio that works for me. In other samplings of their flavored black teas, they always tend to turn bitter. Not this one. I already tested this before joining Steepster and have already purchased a larger quantity. It’s that good (if you like chai teas in general).

Black tea, cinnamon bark, ginger root, dried coconut, lemon grass, cardamom pods and natural coconut flavor.

On first sip, you really notice all the spices, with none really dominating over the other. If I had my way, there would be less ginger, but that’s neither here nor there in evaluating this tea. What sets it apart from a “normal” chai is the lemongrass and coconut. They play a major role in the overall flavor of the tea, and in my opinion make it special. The flavors are strong and yummy, and with the addition of honey, it’s nice and sweet. Would recommend a test to the chai tea lovers out there.

Ugh!! I can’t believe it! I wrote my Thai Chai tasting note and then accidently deleted it! AHHHHH!!!! You can never write the same thing again. It’s never exactly as it was. What a pain! Blurg! This sucks…now how to try and recoup my loss.

I made this tea two ways: a traditional Chai tea latte and a normal cup of tea. I’ve had limited Chai experiences, so there’s not a whole lot of things to compare it to. But this one still ranks pretty highly. It’s not my favorite. Adagio’s Spiced Apple Chai still claims that title.

It’s good though! Just not quite as spicy as I like. The lemongrass and coconut create a much sweeter, softer Chai. It’s a completely different experience. If you love Chai, I definitely recommend you try this one out.

The normally brewed tea tasted remarkably similar to the latte. I couldn’t distinguish much difference. That’s good and bad, in my opinion. Good because you don’t have to expend a lot of effort to make a great cup of tea. Bad because I did expend a lot of effort to make two different cups of tea and that effort was kind of wasted.

But overall, I enjoyed this. You know what? I didn’t like my first review anyway. This one’s better, right? Oh, how would you know. Whatever. Drink more tea!!!

do.not. like. i think it might be the coconut but this starts out as a nice chai and then the after taste makes me cringe. I appreciate the share terri but this one is not for me! :)

I tasted this tea in 3 stages. Steep time 5 minutes 212 degrees. There is a strong first fragrance of cardamom and ginger root. Liquor Golden with a slight green tinge. The wet brew is a salad of chopped coconut and lemongrass, ginger root, some type of small light seed (not coriander), black tea, cardamom and cinnamon. Very pretty. First pour plain is slightly sweet and mainly tastes of ginger root with a lemony finish…nice and light. Adding sugar brings up the cardamom a little bit. Adding milk…WOW…this is CHAI! The cardamom comes up further and the blend becomes creamy, balanced and delicious. The ginger is calmed down by the milk but the cinnamon still lends a bite. If I were to correct anything at all I would increase the coconut content and tone down the ginger a bit so that you know coconut is there along with the lemongrass which gets a bit lost. I like Chai that takes you somewhere exotic. For that…this tea hits the mark. I am not in North America when I drink this, I’m on a journey and transported. (I know some people say I’m not on this planet either)…Good tea though!

What makes a Chai “Thai”? Is that coconut I smell? It is!! Mmm…coconut. Love the smell of this as it steeped.

Very smooth taste; spices are well-balanced and no single one is trying to steal the show. It tastes “Thai”: spicy, coconutty, lemony. More sweet-spicy than hot-spicy, but it still warms you up from the inside out!

Thanks, Meghann, for sending me some of this. It’s definitely one of my favorite chais that I’ve had!

I want to like this more than my first impressions give me :(

The dry smell was all coconut with some distinct cardamom and lemon grass notes, and a tiny hint of ginger. And this was the flavor profile I was looking (and hoping) for!

The aroma of the steeped leaves loses some coconut and picks up a lot of ginger.

The tea itself it very spiced. Primarily ginger and cardamom, with a cinnamon bite. The sip ends on a bright lift from the lemon grass and they aftertaste is the coconut, lemongrass, ginger smell I picked up in the dry blend. Milk and sugar bring it together really well, and it’s definitely tasty. I think maybe coconut milk would help it’s cause.

I really wish the actual sip tasted like the aftertaste! I keep sipping hoping the coconut-y taste doesn’t leave my mouth!

backlogging some teas from the other day before getting to today’s tea. Forgive my lack of detail in my tasting notes as of late, it’s been insanely hectic with the kids & I haven’t really had time to sit down & really write out my thoughts, so I’ve been just jotting down some quick notes & rushing off to tend to the babes

I actually purchased this tea for my husband. He likes the idea of chai teas, but hates cloves (unless studded into a ham haha!). I am glad I did because it is the perfect chai for him.

The coconut adds a sweet silky touch and the lemongrass gives a delicate floral citrus note to this tea that makes it quite different from other varieties of chai I have tried over the years. It lacks the punch that more traditional chai blends have since this has no cloves in it, but you still get spice lingering on your tongue with each sip. It’s a great option for people like my husband who do not really like cloves, or for people who are intimidated by the strong flavors in a traditional masala chai.

Adagio is an odd company—they’re so inconsistent! Some of their teas are great, some are downright icky, others are middle of the road. Usually companies are consistent in terms of the actual quality and I just have different opinions on the taste according to personal preference, but with Adagio it’s like a surprise in every bag. The second I opened this, though, I knew I was in tea-love.

Thai Chai is a winner for me for sure—I only got it in sample size and am already regretting that decision. I thought mixing H&S’s Bangkok and a base chai would yield similar results but this is definitely a different thing all together. I brewed this my usual chai way—extra strong and mixed with a ton of milk & sugar. It’s less fragrant than Bangkok for sure, and has a more earthy flavor as well as a less prominent lemongrass/coconut flavor and a more even amount of ginger. (disclaimer: Bangkok is my all-time favorite tea so I really do like the more prominent coconut/lemongrass flavors) But the spices are mixed very well here, with that signature “chai” taste in the background.

This is definitely a milder chai, not that spicy but still with the “spiced” flavor you’d want. I think it would be a great bedtime chai because of how creamy it is (even before milk—I’d assume that’s the coconut), though personally tea caffeine doesn’t make me that awake so it’s probably more of personal preference.

Easily my favorite tea from Adagio. I think i’m a big fan of the lemongrass. I know I love coconut but that doesn’t seem so strong. Resteeps 2-3 times.

Do you like coconut curry? I like coconut curry. This tea is OMG coconut curry. Don’t put milk in it… Gosh I’m frenetic today. Do you like rice? I like kitties. Seriously though, no milk in this one. blech

When taken hot and with sugar… I’m consistently looking at the bottom of my cup trying to figure out where they put the chicken. It has to be in there! This tea is just as savory as coconut chicken curry. Weird!

The coconut is really strong too. Reaaally strong but, I love coconut so I’m perfectly fine with that. The lemon grass is just the right amount to add a sour quality and have it accent instead of annoy. Good job Adagio.

After that it’s just plain chai though. Is there tea down there? Yea. Do I care? no. CAUSE it taste like chicken curry!

This tea is amazing! And I really thought I was going to hate it. Yum Yum, Yum.

You know when your cats are looking into a container of some kind because there is a threat waiting to pop out of it. Their tails going methodically back and forth. Eyes unwavering. That’s me over my cup right now looking for the chicken. I swear I’m going to find it.