Masala Chai

I was disappointed with this tea. I had a sample of it and thought that I was probably putting too much tea into my blend, but I wanted to use the entire sample. I thought it ended up being very insipid.

I’ve had tea-bagged Chai that is more flavorful than this chai, which tastes mild and characterless to me. I do like big, bursting, pyrotechnics in my chai and have a plan to try to make my own blend ultimately. I like my Chai to be a big brass band and this is a leeeettle tiny piping from a tiny piccolo.

I feel rather tragic that I cannot appreciate the little things. It reminds me of Jack Osborne fighting with Kelly because she did not appreciate the “little things” in life, like the return of the McRib to McDoof’s. Or maybe I’ve just grown to expect the whole hog instead of a riblet?

Got a sample of this and several other Adagio teas in a recent knitting swap. I’m in love! This is a most excellent chai. LOVE the spiciness of it, the strong scent upon opening the packet, and the boldness even after adding milk! It’s got that lovely full-mouth feel, plus the warmth of the spices. Makes for a great tea when you’re cold, when you don’t feel well, etc. LOVE!

All of my chai samples are gone. It’s a very sad day. This was an above average chai, but I much prefer Adagio’s Thai Chai. The coconut and lemongrass in the Thai Chai really make a difference. I made up enough chai last night for several cups and a travel mug for this morning. I’ve gone 100% traditional when it comes to making chai, so I can only make it at home…not the office. holds arms in the air al a Fiddler on the Roof TRADITION!!!! It was pretty sweet to be able to drink this at work. It’s all special and whatnot.

I’m waiting to see if Adagio does any kind of November special and then I’ll reorder a big bag of Thai Chai for the hizzouse.

I drink chai about once a month it seems but I’m always pleasantly surprised by the tasty treat! I’m still very sick with the friggin Swine Flu and thought I needed to put some spices in there to help get me over the hump of this damn flu. I’ve never felt so sick in my life! I am able to make teas all day long to try and get thru this mundane existence right now-thank God for tea! This chai is tasting very good, so for the moment I am happy, I’ll just savor the malty ,spicy,yumminess of all the wonderful herbs in this tea right now..its just about the only thing I can do to try to keep my mind of feeling like utter crap.

This chai reminds me strongly of how Starbuck’s chai used to taste before they got all cheap are started using that wussy, sugary syrup instead. It’s a big, bold chai with a nice, well-balanced mix of spices. I love the light ginger notes that are woven through it as many chais just go with the basic cardamom/cinnamon/cloves and leave it at that. I’m going to have to try this as a traditional-style latté next time.

This is a decent chai. A nice pepper taste from the ginger, not too spicy though. The black tea base is not so harsh in the midst of the spices, which works in Adagio’s favor here, because usually I am not too crazy for their black tea base.

I added some brown sugar to this cup, and I like the way the molasses works with the spices, it reminds me of spice cake! Not my favorite chai, but it’s good.

This is one of the nicest blend of spices for Masala Chai that I’ve tried. It is a warm and toasty type of drink… A comfort tea. I had it this afternoon done Western style with a huge mug and a large infuser. I’m going to try this stove top when I’m not lazy. :) delicious overall. It’s not too spicy but I imagine that over stovetop the flavors will be powerful.

Happy Halloween!!

I had to go deposit some checks in the bank, & I always enjoy a sweet tea to drink when I’m driving, so I brewed some of this Chai. It’s actually a fairly decent Chai, at least in my opinion. Tasty with stevia.

Dipping Girl Scout Shortbreads into this.

Oh happy day.

Woo! This might be a bit too spicy for me. I’m a pretty big wuss though when it comes to spices.

I got this from the sampler pack and brewed this according to one of the reviews on Adagio: " I brew it in boiling water for 2 minutes, then add milk (1:1 proportion), bring to a boil, bring the heat down and simmer for another 5-6 minutes. Then add in some honey and its perfect."

I think it may be the ginger, but something hits me right in the back of the throat. I’m not a huge fan of ginger so… Not sure how much of the actual tea I was getting either, could have been I didn’t use enough (a heaping perfect teaspoon). This definitely needed the honey for me, sweetens it up nicely and brings out some of the flavors. I may try again with some different brewing.

I was surprised by this tea – mainly by how much I liked it!
I really really hate chai tea. So, naturally, when I went on my tea buying spree, I ordered a chai sample :) I’m the kind of person who will keep trying new things even in the face of evidence showing it might be awful!
When I opened the bag I got a mix of scents I love and scents I hate. The clove was kind of overwhelming, but I liked the other spices.
I added milk to this (because seriously, if I don’t usually like chai there is no way I’m drinking it without milk) and I actually really liked it! It wasn’t overwhelmingly spicy and sharp like other chai I’ve had. The milk mixed with the spices giving it a nice and balanced nutty flavour.
In the future I might brew it shorter as the black tea seemed to get slightly bitter. Maybe 4-4.5 minutes would do it.
Overall though, I love it!

I made another steeping of this for only 4 minutes. Wow, this tea does not resteep well. It’s much more one-dimensional after the first steeping and pretty bitter. The sweetness of the spices is gone leaving a flatter tart brew.
First cup: wonderful.
Second cup: almost undrinkable.

I feel like my tealog is becoming a list of “Ways In Which I Fail At Mornings” but, this morning I somehow managed to get up an hour early (4am!) and not notice it until I’d already showered, made chai, and been online for a good 45 minutes.

I think I may have brewed this a little weak in my slightly off-kilter state, so I’m withholding my rating until I do it nice and proper. I made it with equal parts water and soymilk, with a touch of vanilla sugar this morning, but it didn’t have the… zazzle? that I was looking for.

I have enough of this for a few more trials. This time around, it was a little peppery for my taste. I am thinking this is ‘not the chai you are looking for’.

1 1/4 c water, 3/4 c skim milk, 4 heaping tsp chai. Simmer 5 minutes and strain. Maybe less chai next time? At least the milk part was about right this time.

Making this quick because I need to leave for work in three minutes.

This chai is exactly what I expected to be, but unfortunately a little on the mild side. While it’s better than the DeKalb Farmer’s Market blend I have been drinking, it isn’t the best. Arbor Teas still has my heart when it comes to chai. Still, I’m going to enjoy it on this gross, cold day while I drive into the city.

Backlog —
Adagio’s basic masala chai is good, but nothing super special, and nothing I haven’t tried before. I wasn’t sold on this upon first trying it, but brewing it double strength as a latte really improves it. The blend has TONS of cloves. I prefer more ginger and cardamom flavor in my chai though. If I’m going with a chai from Adagio, I’d rather have their spiced apple any day.

Thanks LIberTEAs!
This is a pretty good masala chai. A nice go-to for chai!

I had a cup of this earlier today. Or, rather, I had a glass. I made a cup according to the directions, and realized after the fact I had meant to steep it more strongly to add soymilk. I decided to go ahead and add the soymilk, and then ice to cool it down, and at that point it was so bland that it was really chai flavored soymilk. Next time I’ll do it right!

Super yummy! And great when it’s warm and you’re drinking it from a wine glass (it makes you feel classy).

This is my second masala chai. My first was from Samovar and I loved it. But Samovar is a bit too pricey on a college student’s budget so I decided to order a 4oz tin of masala chai from Adagio instead. And you know what? It’s pretty darn good.

I love chais. It’s just something I have had to accept about myself. I adore the mixture of comforting milk, the sweetness of boiling it with sugar or honey, and the complex spiciness of the resulting tea. That being said, I like interesting chais, and am not a fan of the repetitive spice chai formula that seems to be done by various companies all over the place. So, when I brewed up a bit of the Masala Chai sample I had been given by Adagio, I hoped it would be different from some of the others I’ve tried. Very much like Good Earth chai that I used to drink as a young teen; also similar (though, obviously, not as sickly sweet) to Oregon Chai.

Yes, this formulation is traditional and a standby, and it certainly holds up, but it’s boring having the same ratio all. the. time.

So, Masala is nice and spicy. I love cloves, and you can definitely taste them in this blend. Cloves and cinnamon are the two big flavors in here, and ginger adds some good heat. Cardemom makes an appearance, but is mostly clouded out by the other strong spices.

I would drink again, but not necessarily buy this from Adagio. There are bagged chais that are cheaper and compare to this.

3 teaspoons tea, 12 oz. water and milk in a 1:1, 1 teaspoon sugar.

I decided to try making myself an iced chai for my dinner drink tonight, and ended up making it for both me and the hubs when he decided that it sounded good. Brewed stronger than normal in my ingenuiTea. Frothed some half & half and added agave nectar for sweetening. Poured together. But when I added the ice to chill it, it watered it down too much. I’ll have to experiment again with making it stronger, or figure out a way to chill it quickly without watering it down.