Masala Chai

This is spicy and awesome~ !

I’ll admit, that the only other type of Chai I’ve ever tasted was Tazo’s bagged Chai tea and Chai Lattes at Starbucks, but this blows both of those out of the water for me.

Firstly the scent of this thing is tremendous. It cleared my sinuses right out. I would sell my left leg for a chai scented Vicks Vapor patch.

I might be using just a little too much tea, but this is crazy spicy and strong (even for a two minute steep). It’s okay though, I like that. A lot.

This is flavorful enough to be had without milk, which is how I usually like to take this particular tea. Milk and perhaps some honey would probably suit this tea, when it’s preferred. I also agree, I can’t really taste the black tea base at all over the spices, but I prefer the taste of the spices anyway.

All in all, my experience in Chai isn’t very diverse or extensive, but I really like this one.

A milder chai. Not bad though.

The IDEA behind Adagio’s interpretation of this tea isn’t completely irrational.
Masala Chai is, afterall, generally made with very low quality tea, but then again – that’s the point. You don’t need to add sugar, spice and everything nice to GOOD tea. Masala Chai plays off its own unsophistication by making all the add-ins part of its personality. The tea is really just a base for the other ingredients to play out on your taste buds. It’s harsh and bitter enough that it gives even tea purists an excuse to throw in some milk (or, in my case, soymilk) and sugar (again, in my case, vegan sugar) so mellow it out, making it more of a fun treat than just a tea.
In that sense, making the tea with anything other than CTC Assam, promising a bold, straight forward flavor, is nothing but a novel experiment. Maybe I would be giving this tea a higher rating if I hadn’t had the following experience with it:

I wanted to make some Masala Chai for my girlfriend and her mom. They’ve both done a great deal of cooking for me over the months, and as I can’t make much more than a sandwich (and even then, not a good one) I wanted to repay the effort with something I CAN cook. My sister and I used to make MC in the kitchen almost every night, with a pan, a simple syrup, the tea, and some milk.
So I tried doing the same thing at my girlfriend’s place, with high expectations from all.
The first thing I noticed, as I neared what should have been the end of the process, was that the tea’s flavor was completely nonexistent amongst the soymilk and spices – what I didn’t know, was that the tea I was brewing was MUCH weaker than what should be used in a Masala Chai. So I brewed it longer, and eventually added more tea. I spent probably half an hour in the kitchen, trying my hardest to salvage something about of the mess. The end result, which I begrudgingly and with a great amount of chagrin served, was only drinkable because of the vast amounts of sugar I had to pour in. The ginger was absolutely overpowering, and the only flavor this “higher quality” product contributed was the unpleasantness of an over-stewed tea.

There’s definitely room in the world of tea to experiment, but when you undermine the driving concept behind a certain tea, maybe you should second-guess yourself. Maybe it’s my fault for not paying attention to the specifics of what I was buying, but when it goes to something like Masala Chai, the only variance I should be seeing is in the ratio of spices, not the tea itself.

This was my first “real” chai. All the others I’ve had were the powdered, syrupy sweet, instant varieties. Wow! What a difference! I love this stuff. I hit it with some hazelnut coffee creamer and Splenda. Can’t wait to try Adagio’s other chai varieties. They all sound great.

Over the last few years, I’ve been relatively against chai, as I am most “trendy” things. But since this summer (when my tea obsession started), I’ve tried so many new things that I figured I had to try some chai. I went with the highest rated one on Adagio, the Masala Chai.

Since I am generally unfamiliar with chai, I asked my wife how much milk and sugar I should use. We agreed that I should try it “black” the first time, and then try a couple of combinations after I know the taste.

I opened the tin and was greeted by an overwhelming spicy scent, with plenty of cinnamon. I used my new UtiliTEA kettle to heat up some water and steeped at 212º for five minutes.

In short, the tea is delicious, even without milk and sugar. The cinnamon and ginger and other spices are strong, so I wouldn’t drink this straight (or with milk/sugar) when I wanted to taste the Ceylon, but only when I wanted something different or a “treat” of sorts.

backlogging this mornings tea. Finished off my Masala Chai sample. I only had 1/2 a teaspoon left, so mixed equal parts Chai and Assam Melody as before. Love it!

Out of the four teas in the chai sampler, this was the one I was the most excited for, but I don’t think it quite delivered. It’s tasty, there’s really nothing wrong with the flavor…except that there’s not enough of it! I like my chai SPICY, and this seemed mild no matter how long I steeped it for. I have to say, the vanilla rooibos chai wins over this one.

On a kinder note, my four year old niece tried a sip of this prepared with cream and sugar and absolutely loved it. Everytime she comes over now, she asks me to make her a cup of my “spicy tea” and I make her an iced masala chai :)

I find this makes a good latte. I have not tried it any other way as I’m quite happy with latte goodness.

I love this tea. Is not an everyday tea for me, but when I need to feel the warmth of the spices I brew up a cup. Honestly at work everyone loves when I prepare it, just for the smell.

Well, this is the last chai to taste in the sample box. I was not very impressed. All I tasted was cloves, and no other spices. Vey mild other then that. There was no spice to it….sadly. I was really looking forward to this.