Organic Masala Chai Black Tea

Holy spices! This has to be one of the most potent smelling chais I have come across! VERY SPICY! VERY!

Now…most of you know I never add anything to my teas – even chai…but…you know what they say…never say never, eh!?

Here’s a first – Mark it on your calendars!

I added chocolate milk to this today…just a little…

I was actually looking for my peppermint stick soy milk – it’s seasonal – but I couldn’t find it at my local herb store…bummer…

Even with the chocolate milk this is pretty spicy but it’s also nice this time of year, I suppose. I really can’t add milk to regular tea…it grosses me out…but this worked. I’m not saying I will do it often but I did it today.

Stand alone this was very spicy – mostly pepper, cardamom, and ginger. With adding milk it was nice a smooth with a nice amount of spice…it was hard to pick out the chocolate in the actually chocolate milk part but I suppose it helped sweeten and even it out a bit and it all worked out in the end. This is alright!

Steep Information:
Amount: 2 tsp
Water: boiling, 12oz
Tool: kati loose tea system
Steep Time: a little over 2 minutes (http://steep.it)
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes:
Dry Leaf Smell: Cardamom, clove, POW!
Steeped Tea Smell: cinnamon, peppercorn
Flavor: bake-y, cinnamon, cardamom
Body: Full
Aftertaste: ginger
Liquor: barely translucent dark brown

You can see all the spices, whole cardamom pods, whole cloves, it looks lovely.

I wish I had soy milk at work to make a latte with this.

When I received this with some other packages for review it came with a handwritten note. I love that i got a hand written note! It makes me smile when people include notes in packages. The note gave a little information on the Arbor Teas commitment to the environment – including information about their 100% backyard compostable packaging. The note was printed with vegetable-based ink on FSC-certified paper containing 100% post-consumer waste and processed chlorine-free.

This tea is organic and Fair Trade Certified. That would be worthless if the tea was not good, but this tea is delicious so it’s an added bonus for everyone. It is a lovely tea and only missed out on a 100% rating because it’s not something I MUST keep stocked at all times.

Post-Steep Additives: +2 honey sticks

Cha/chai is/means tea to most of the world, so I’ll say spiced teas are my favorite, I have one at Starbucks every day

Pictures: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/12/arbor-teas-loose-leaf-black-tea-masala.html

This is a chai that I’ve been wanting to try for a long time now. Yay!

It has a very good level of spices – but if you’re a spice wimp this is not the tea for you! Those spices stand up well to the addition of steamed milk… YUM! This is a delightful chai latte that isn’t overly sweet (the way they do at the coffee shop). Yummy yummy!

Very good.

Made a huge mug of this with soymilk and vanilla sugar this morning. There is a very noticeable spice left in my mouth after every sip, which I absolutely adore. The spicier, the better.

Oh. I think I’m in love.

This is my first hardcore, loose leaf chai. I’ve only had it in matcha form or bagged up until now. I am most definitely going to buy this! I think I should maybe brew it for a minute longer, but it’s just… it’s a symphony of spices. The mixture looks so cool while it steeps… like a mix of bark, crushed leaves, and seeds.

I did it in half 2% milk, half water and added sugar. I wish I had half and half, as that would make this epic. Someone stop me from buying the pound, please. <3

It’s amazing! Great taste, fresh spices, the balance between the spices are excellent. Used 2 tsp, steeped in half water, added the other half of boiled whole milk {served lifting the milk way up while serving it in an attempt to froth the milk as a latte} & added honey. Such a treat, made my day. I sometimes worry about the strength of the clove & peppercorns but they blend perfectly.