Hubby is coming down with a mean cold, so I figured some chai-like spicy tea might halp me keep it away.
I have been given the afternoon Kusmi set at Christmas, which I probably never would have bought on my own. I usually do not really enjoy drinking spice-flavored tea. However I’ve got a small tin and those will be perfect to store nice teas at my desk in the office. So better try to drink it fast;)
The flavors when opening the tin are really nice and seem strong on chocolate, plus spices, but not curry-like flavors.
Once brewed, I was wondering how it would come out, as I had been a bit light in my serving. It was actually strong enough (and I managed to resteep it twice with no problem, which proves the leaves are rather good quality). The color is a bit dark but very clear.
The taste is slightly disappointing as I looked, searched and wandered around for the chocolate, but it was not very obvious and not as strong flavored as I expected; I was searching for a very dark chocolate, with a very high concentration in cocoa and could only come with the flavors of an industrial average-supermarket brand which would lower the cocoa content to optimize the price of the product. Not so appealing!
Then the spices: not so unpleasant as I was afraid of, with two popping up to mind: cinnamon first and then underlying it all and lasting so long after, clove. This last flavor is a bit overwhelming (and it can easily be so). After drinking it, I really felt the same taste on my lips I had after smoking kretek (Indonesian clove-flavored cigarettes) when I was much younger, without the cold ashtray feeling inside my mouth.
I will not buy it again, but should able to reasonably finish the tin, especially convincing myself that the clove inside the blend will help improve my gums…