Organic Decaf Masala Chai

It always surprises me when I say this about decaffeinated tea, but I’m LOVING this! I have had more than my share of decaffeinated teas that are thin and chemical tasting, but this is NOT one of those. This has such a beautiful, unified flavor … the spices and tea are so well-rounded. Spicy and very comforting! If I had brewed this “blindly” without the knowledge that it is decaffeinated, I would not have been able to tell. It is really, REALLY good.

Thanks Liberteas!!!!

This does NOT taste like a DECAF Tea! Excellent!

This is a mighty strong Masala Chai and decaf but doesn’t taste like decaf! YAY!!! Full flavor!

Getting caught up on reviews. I consider this my 50th review since 2 of my 52 notes are still backlogged.

Decaff for my reflux and just to have more tea drinking options later in the day.

I agree with the other review-this seems like just a regular caffeinated tea. Actually, every quality tea I’ve had decaffeinated by the carbon dioxide process has tasted normal to me. I love that it’s organic. I also like that all the spices have purported health benefits.

I brewed this by adding boiling water from my tea boiler into a pre-warmed cup with an infuser basket in it. Almond milk was added after steeping. I know it’s not “proper”, but I did buy a boiler for convenience-not to always be “proper”.

So, this cupping is tasting a little different than last time. Previously, I used soy milk and sugar. Tonight I am using vanilla almond milk with sugar. Not normally a huge vanilla fan but it is working very well here. The spices seem to be drawing out the vanilla. This is supposed to have extra pepper, but I don’t taste an inordinate amount-perhaps because of the vanilla. This is really good with the vanilla almond, but it does change the character of the tea-so I’ll probably have to review it using unflavored soy next time.

Otherwise, it’s a pretty standard quality masala chai. Like the addition of cloves though, as that is not always in masala chais. I can add this to Upton’s Rooibos Chai as another very good dessert/evening tea option.

It’s late so I didn’t want caffeine and remembered I had this tucked away. Arbor Teas has a handy guide with instructions on how to prepare chai latte. Following their advice, I used 3 tsp of the tea, added 1/3 cup boiling water, and steeped for 5 min. Meanwhile I steamed 2/3 cup almond milk and mixed it with the steeped tea along with sweetener. Next time I’ll use my frother for the milk, but I was feeling a little lazy. So today, being off from work, I have managed to work my way through a Golden Monkey tea chilled, 2 chilled Macadamia Nut Matcha lattes, a freebie fruit tisane mixed with Dragonwell and serve hot, and then this Chai Latte. A satisfying tea day. I don’t usually drink decaf teas, but I thought this was quite good and will be something I’ll keep in mind for a late bedtime snack.