Jade Oolong Chai (organic)

This tea is stuck in some bizarre liminal, separated state; it’s not a full chai but isn’t 100% green oolong either. Both of these things are delicious separately (for me) but I can’t help but think they sell each other short when together, although this may be a more successful oolong then it is a chai.

The chai component, which is very similar to David’s Saigon Chai, may have worked better if this was a darker, roasted oolong. As it is the floral, buttery jade tie guan yin is too light to add milk, which for me is a key factor when drinking chai. The flavour is that of a cardamom and cinnamon sweetened green oolong, with a good dose of stevia, and a smidgen of peppercorn.

It’s a bit watery, and the flavours do not taste as if they always mingle, but it can also be a nice cuppa buttery spices. My main issue with this one is I really don’t like stevia. I didn’t like it in banana oolong and don’t care for it here. Freeze-dried bananas and cardamom have enough sweetness to them for me. I wish David’s Tea gave you the option to add stevia instead of assuming everyone wants a sweetener boost and dumping it right in the dry blend.

The concept of an oolong chai intrigues me, but I’m a bit apprehensive of whether or not I’ll enjoy it. I love straight tieguanyins, and I love chai (craving 52teas Mayan Chocolate Chai right now), but together? I’m not so sure. And the first sip does nothing to figure that out. It’s sweet, sweeter than I anticipated, and I think there’s a bit of oolong aftertaste. The smell is quite strongly of cinnamon/ginger, and it carries over into the flavour. But, something doesn’t seem quite right. The chai spicing isn’t quite right for me, I don’t think, and the oolong isn’t giving the tea enough body. Maybe I should have steeped it longer? The sweetness is also throwing me a bit – it’s a little too close to the sweet aftertaste of licorice, which I dislike. Maybe if I added some milk it would turn into something tastier?’

Bleh, worth the experiment for curiousity’s sake, but not a tea I really want to drink again. There are many, many other chais out there (a bunch of which are in my cupboard) that I greatly prefer, and although an oolong instead of black base sounded kind of neat, it ended up being so weak in the background that it’s almost like spiced water, if you understand what I’m saying, which is… weird.

Another tea that’s gonna be up for swapsies as soon as I get my act together and compile a list. I’m sure someone’s curious to try it :D And hey – they may even like it!

Tried this in store. I love our local DT. The associates all recognise us, call us by name, almost know our tea stash by its name (Stashy, Devourer of Worlds), etc. I just wish they wore nametags so we could stop calling them Really Hipster Girl, Less Hipster Girl, That Nice One, Hipster Asian Boy, Hipster White Boy, and the manager.

Anyway.

I liked this tea to start, very sweet and spicy, but there was a cloying aftertaste that snuck up on me and stuck in the back of my throat. Actually made me a little ill. I think it might be the stevia? I’m not sure. Anyway, won’t be repeating the experience.

This was a free sample from a DAVID’s order a month or so ago.

I’d forgotten about it really, but I’ve had a lot of tea already today and figured I should stick to something not black this late in the day.

The dry leaf smelled like oatmeal to me. I think because it had a strong cinnamon note and then was kind of appley too? And when I think apple cinnamon, oatmeal tends to be the main food type thing with that flavoring. Smells kind of good, actually, but I’m ambivalent about apple cinnamon flavored anything so I’m not particularly riveted here.

I’ve never had stevia before and I’m kind of nervous because I HATE the taste of any sweetener that isn’t honey or sugar. Agave is too thin for my tastes, and even Splenda has something off about it that doesn’t work. So I’m assuming stevia will stick out like a sore thumb.

Now that it’s steeped something smells medicinal. Boo – I want the apple cinnamon back. I can’t taste any added sweetness from the stevia – but maybe it’s the culprit for the fakey taste? Blech. I’m only getting cinnamon flavored water – this doesn’t even have any oolong flavor to it. In fact, if I hadn’t seen the leaves I’d have though it was an herbal.

Nope, this doesn’t work for me at all – I’m pretty sure I won’t be able to finish this.

Oh boy, two very delicious worlds are colliding here!

I was so excited to see this one pop up on the David’s roster, that I immediately ordered a tin of it. Call it a premonition, because I knew this one would be a hit with me.

I love black-based chais, but since I like to add milk to them, sometimes I find them a bit thin on the body-side. Like if I were to add milk, they might dissolve into milky nothing. But having an oolong base changes this game entirely. No milk required or desired! The floral/ vegetal quality of the tea totally supports the spices, and the flavour is green and sweet and spicy. It doesn’t need anything added, naked is perfectly delicious.

It’s a great afternoon tea, when you don’t want anything too rich, but could use a bit of a perk up.

Yep, this one’s a keeper!

Mmmmmm chai!!! Okay so yeah I didnt get this tea mostly because I love a guy named Jade * cough cough * nope thats not the main reason at all… (;
I find that with any sort of chai tea, the dry leaves smell so weird. And yes this tea has that weird dry leaf smell too, but I got it anyways because I loooooove chai and Jade
Anyways, once it brews it has such a pretty floral-like smell to it. And the leaves, do they ever expand! Mmm this tea has such a nice taste, sweet and spicy. Really nice flavour! After I drank half of the cup I put milk in the rest to see how it tastes, everyone reccomends it with milk! Yeah no, I had to pour the rest down the sink, sad, what a waste. I am just not a milk in the tea kind of person, I just dont enjoy it. Anyways, I will be drinking this tea straight for now on, and will probably stalk up, I only bought 50g of it. Blue oolong tin, here I come!

I’ll give this the highest praise I’ve ever given any chai blend: Not disappointing.

Ever since warming up with “real” chai on a cold rainy day in Ithaca, NY during a road-trip to Albany, I’ve never found one that comes close to what I had at that Indian restaurant. I think it’s my preparation, I’m told that infusing the milk with the spices for a long time (~1 hour) before adding the tea is the secret to chai success. As soon as I can remember to buy all of the whole spices, I’ll try it ;-) I don’t think I’ll ever find a chai blend that can reproduce that taste without the extra hassle.

I tried this without milk, not my usual method for making chai. This tea tastes sweet and spicy, and the cinnamon is not overpowering (Like teavana’s chai…stay away, just trust me!). It needs to cool off a bit before everything levels out, it’s rather misleadingly musky out of the pot. The oolong is barely noticable to me on the first steep, but there is a solid base behind the sweetness and spice.

Maybe a second steep will tone down the spices and let more of the oolong through?

So following the lead of…someone, I forget who, I steeped this in apple juice on the stovetop. Well, I used some apple cider that I had picked up recently that was way too sweet. This cut down on the sweetness nicely, and added a whole new layer of flavors, it was very yummy! Definitely going to steep longer next time.

I think I am easy to please when it comes to Chai tea. And I really under appreciate/neglect them, so if anyone has any excellent chais they want to recommend I would be a happy panda :)

Got this one as a sample with my online order. I haven’t tried many of Davids chais outside of the seasonal ones. But this makes me want to try more, I just love the spice so much. It is a great thing to have on a winter’s night, and since it just snowed here I wish I had more.

{backlogged review}

Tried this one as a cup in-store, sweetened with agave. I definitely wasn’t disappointed. The chai flavour is unique in this one to any chais I have tried before. It isn’t my favourite chai, but I did love how the oolong blended with the spices, making it a more mellow cup than most chais are. I suspect this one is a perfect ‘cottage on a rainy day’ tea!

So the Dobe needed to go out for some fun… turned out we finaly got some snow today and my 100 pound Doberman is on a high! We just came back inside and I’m freezing!

I’m in the mood for something hot & spicy…let’s see…perfect moment to try this newbee in my collection.

I just had my first sip…it’s lovely! Of course, It is not as bold as some black chai, but to pair up with the delicate taste of Oolong, it shouldn’t be. The spices are definitely there, but not in a screaming way. I steeped in a not so hot temperature for about 4.5 min., probably below the recommended. 94 C. I’m always careful not to burn the oolong, so this temparature works best for my taste.

If you never tried chai, I’d say it’s better to start slowly, and I think this one would perfect to begin with.

A little intense on the first steep. I think the water may have been still too hot

When I opened the packet, I was really scared. The smell was a cross between an Indian grocery store and a Chinese herbal shop. It was strong, spicy medicinal, and pungent. I only steeped it 5 mins for fear that the flavor would be as strong as its scent. Surprisingly, the brew had a very light aroma of spice. The pungency is barely there. The taste is nice and light. I get the tiniest bit of heat from the peppercorns with each sip. This is a very delicate chai. It’s pleasant but not something I’d run out and buy.

Not too spicy, just right.

I received this tea as a gift. I love oolong teas and I love chai teas. At first, I wasn’t sure if it would taste good, but I had a really good surprise. It tasted like heaven, as written in the description. The combination is unusual but it is totally delightful!

The smell of this delicate infusion reminds me of my grandmother’s home growing up – that sweet hit of cardamom…mmmm.

As a non-black tea drinker, and not that fussy, I generally like all non-black teas. So it’s hard for me to discern specifically the taste of oolong from brews of green and white with which I am familiar.

I like to brew my teas strong, often leaving the steeped tea in my mug while sipping on it.

Having said that, I found this tea to be light on the tastebuds and softly fragrant. I did break open the cardamom pod to release its tiny seeds before steeping (traditionally, we munch on cardamom pods like one would on chewing gum; it is used in just about every dessert), so this taste came through stronger than the rest.

Overall, a very warming, light, fragrant tea.

Wow. I like my Oolongs, and I like my Chais. So this is my kind of tea! I used 3 tsp of leaves for my 18 oz. mug. Beautiful golden/green liquor, with cinnamon first to hit the tongue, then the light Oolong flavour, moving into the cardamom and slight peppercorn to finish. And all these flavours so very light on the tongue. A perfectly blended tea. I can’t wait to resteep this one and see how it tastes.

So sweet and warm, no bitterness – I love it! Not a big fan of green tea, usually, but this one is sweet and spicy enough to make a delightful dessert tea, or a nice afternoon pick-me up. Definitely going to become a permanant tea in my cupboard.

First, I must say I think I have a problem with oolong. My stomach often feel weird after half of a cup… That’s why I can’t give a better rating to this tea, even if the spices are well balanced (in fact, it seems to me like the exact same spices blend than Organic Saigon Chai – which is one of my favorite), even if the oolong brings a lightness totally appropriate for an afternoon tea, even if I don’t mind the stevia at all…

Second brew, with a splash of honey : As good as the firts one :)

Just prepared a cup of it now….smell is strong but nice…will give tasting notice later.