Masala Chai

1/23/22
This was one of those little portions packs from a sampler. I enjoyed this tea greatly. I don’t know how log this actually steeped because i forgot to actually turn the timer on, so at least 12 minutes. Good solid spice blend without overpowering the tea leaves. Recommended with sugar. Not sure i would buy this in the future as I have a huge collection of spiced chai that i’m working through, but it is enjoyable.

Steep Information:
Hot, 500ml water, 3 minutes, 212F, 2 heaping tsp in kati loose tea system 12oz

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: skipped
Steeped Tea Smell: bakey, hint of cinnamon
Flavor: bakey, clove, cinnamon, hints of pepper
Body: Medium
Aftertaste: astringent
Liquor: dark orange brown, mostly translucent

Post-Steep Additives: honey and milk, brought out the ginger

Resteep: weak, trashed it

https://amazonv.blogspot.com/2021/01/company-packaging-type-name-tea.html

This sample came in a little week long countdown with my tea order! The instructions say to steep for 7 minutes! I only did 3 and got a flavorful cup. It seems like a pretty good chai. Heavy on the cardamom in the front of the sip, which I like. It reminds me of David’s Kashmiri Chai, but that one is on a green base and this is black. The clove comes out strong towards the back of the sip. I like this. I don’t know that I’d buy it as I already have several favorite chai’s, but it would be a decent back up if the others were not available.

Decent staple would repurchase.

Just a real quick update. I am trying this one again, but lengthened the steep time to the full 10 minutes it recommends on the package. (The package says 7-10 minutes.) Great improvement. I’m getting a ton more of that yummy spice flavor. It isn’t bitter at all which is always a concern when oversteeping. Then again I did put two splendas in it like last time (along with almond milk) so as to be consistant. Bottom line is steeped for 10 minutes this is a much better tea than at 8 minutes.

From the TTB 2018

This is a lovely chai heavy on the cardamom and clove. Some spicy ginger and cinnamon are also present. The tea base is unremarkable. Not a lot to comment on since this is just your straight forward, everyday chai.

Has a lot of flavor going on, but doesn’t taste very much like tea. An herbal brew, maybe. Probably good if you want a break from traditional black-tea flavored teas.

This brought back memories – I haven’t had Adagio teas in a long time, but they were one of the companies that got me into loose leaf teas ~10 years ago. This one holds up pretty well! Some of it is “natural flavors”, which don’t hold up as well on re-steeping, but there’s a good portion of real spices too. Strong, spicy, flavorful!

I did a sipdown of this 12g bag that came with my Adagio ingenuiTEA Bottom-Dispensing Teapot. I think I got four servings out of it. The packaging says to steep for 7-10 minutes! So I did 7 minutes for the first steep and 8 for the second.

First steep is very cardamom-heavy, while it’s more balanced with a second steep. I hot-steeped using my IngenuiTEA and then added a little almond milk for flavor and to get it down to my usual drinking temperature. I’m a little wimpy with drinks that are too hot for me.

It’s odd for me with a chai to prefer the second steep, but there you go. It’s unbalanced, but it was free, and drinkable. I tried it without almond milk too (brewed it yesterday and forgot I was out of milk), but prefer it with. This last time I used Almond Breeze “Hint of Honey,” but I can’t taste the hint through all the spices.

Sipping down another sample.
So this is a good chai. A bit heavy on the cloves. Base is decent. I keep thinking it needs something. I may try adding a pinch of brown sugar or a squeeze of fresh orange. Overall, a decent chai- not too spicy.