Ceylon Black Tea Chai Spice

Alright, so I had my biggest tea fail ever with this tea yesterday morning.

But I learned a valuable lesson. Milk cannot go in the utiliTea. Nor can half-milk, half-water mixtures. But, as things usually go with me, I learned the hard way. Not two minutes after I put it on to boil, I heard a strange hissing and bubbling. Suddenly foam began pouring out of my kettle and onto everything on the counters like a frothy volcano. Keep in mind that the white fluff was BOILING HOT, thus difficult to clean up.

I panicked and unplugged the kettle, holding it over the sink as it cooled enough to stop erupting. I actually used the remaining liquid and made the chai anyway, and luckily the cleanup didn’t make me late for work.

Gave this a good long steep this morning while I was getting ready for work. Let me tell you, I did it up RIGHT.

I used about six teaspoons in my 16 oz. ingenuiTea, which made it a little scary to look at, but after milk and sugar, it was delicious. I was so happy to have it in a to-go cup on my way to work, zooming down Ponce De Leon with A Place To Bury Strangers blasting. Screw spending $4 on a cup from Starbucks, especially when I can make it better than they do. <3

Four teaspoons in like 8 ounces of water with a splash of 2% milk. A little more than a teaspoon of sugar as well, to combat the black tea’s sharp bitterness. This is pale in comparison to the cup of Masala chai I had the other night. But it would make a good standby in lean times.

Made a strong cup today with about four teaspoons of leaf. I added sugar and 2% milk after a long steep and enjoyed it in my new glass mug.

I’m mostly trying to get through it now because I have an unopened bag of Arbor Teas’ Masala Chai sitting in my cupboard begging me to open it, thanks to Kaliska. Although I like this chai blend, the Arbor Teas one is superior.

I think the black tea/spices ratio is just a little off. When I measure it out into my infuser, sometimes I get a scoop that is almost entirely spices and only a little actual black tea leaf, even when I give the container a good shake.