Organic Masala Chai

I heart autumn. Cooler weather, colorful leaves, and chai! Chai tea and autumn are a harmonious pair. There is a warming nature to chai that helps counteract the colder weather and darker days. I love chai straight: no milk, no sweetener. American Tea Room’s Organic Masala Chai has been a favorite chai of mine this season.

Sticking my nose in the bag, you get a whole array of flavors typical with chai. But the one that pops the most is the ginger. This can be a little concerning. If the ginger is too spicy and strong, it can overwhelm the rest of the flavors. But rest assured, in both the wet leaf and liquor scents, the ginger mellows out and the cinnamon/vanilla/cardamom take a front seat. I love the sweet cinnamon scent of this chai’s liquor! It’s extremely enticing. Sipping this chai, it’s a tea in very good balance. The spices from the ginger are evened out nicely by the cinnamon, vanilla and cardamom. While it’s hard to judge the black tea base with all the surrounding flavors, it’s good to my taste. Following the sip, I get some spicy ginger lingering in the back of the mouth and some cinnamon sitting near the tip of the tongue.

A good chai needs to find an equilibrium amongst the collection of flavors. This tea succeeds in finding that delicious harmony.

I’ve been going through a masala chai phase. Seems like some just have too much clove or not enough cardamon or ginger. I really like this one. It’s pretty light on the clove and heavy on the rest of the spices including cinnamon, but not in a overly spiced way. In fact I could almost take a little more pepper of some kind, but all in all, it’s my go to chai right now.