Chai Spice

Definitely one of those american version of indian chai(which itself mean “tea”). It seem pretty simple one to me, might be cause I am used to a lot of spices and was kind of expecting it. While a real chai must have milk(not cream) and sugar(not honey), this is one which you can take as it is. Just make sure that you do not over brew it. My real complaint with the tea is that its predominantly Cinnamon-ised. While in real chai the two main spices are Ginger & Cardamom(which seem to have been lost in cauldrom of spices this tea have). In reality you just need some Ginger & Dried Cardamom as spices to make a great cup of chai.

Below is how to make your own good chai at home(skip it you do not care for it) :)
Water – one cup
Milk(whole) – 3/4 cup (depends on taste, so be careful)
Sugar – 2 teaspoon (agan depends on taste)
Ginger – 1/2 inch (mash it up)
Green Cardamom – 2-3 (just crush it, whole – do not leave the covers)
Good Assam/Darjeeling Tea – Tata Tea Gold(blend of CTC & Long leaf tea) – 1.5 teaspoon
1. Heat up the water, DO NOT let it come to a rolling boil.
2. Once you see the bubbles forming up, put in the tea & ginger.
3. Most Important – Let it remain in low heat itself for about 8-10 minutes. If you heat it up a lot then the tea will become bitter, but less heat and long time imparts all the flavour.
4. Add Milk & Sugar, push up the heat to Medium and let it come to boil for once.
5. Add Cardamon – Let it Boil for a second time, a take it off the stove top.
6. Wait for couple of minutes before you filter it out. Do not sqeeze the filter at all.
Use more Cardamom in Summer time, and more of Ginger in winter. The dominant spice normally vary according to the season. Also cardamom oil is not a substitute for real cardamom in this tea.

Now its time to enjoy a real cup of Chai. :)

Drinking at the salon with vanilla creamer. Hot tea under the dryer was a bad idea, but it is very yummy!

Pretty tasty! I wasn’t sure about this tea when I bought it last night. But it does have a little kick to it to get my morning off and running. I like the blend of spice too…really smooth.

This tea is spicy as hell. After trying Bigelow’s Vanilla Chai sampler and being absolutely delighted with it, I chose to get this chai tea because I couldn’t find Bigelow at my local supermarket. This tea denied all the expectations I had, as I hoped for a toasty mellow tea with just enough spice to add a new dimension to it. What I tasted was a tea that was very heavy on the spice (particularly ginger?), and in this case more was definitely not better. I even felt that the spices tasted like some artificial chemical, and I couldn’t take that off my mind throughout the cup. Also, the tea flavor was definitely lacking, just like the other Stash tea I tried.

EDIT: No wonder I found this tea spicy. I bought the double spice instead of the normal one!!!

I really like this, especially the cloves and nutmeg. The ginger is a wee bit strong for me, but that’s me, I don’t like a lot of ginger. A surprisingly smooth tea for a spicy blend.

I love this tea! It’s wonderful for soothing a sore throat, and great for just something to drink. Adding only two teaspoons of sugar and a little bit of cinnamon, and a splash of milk really brings out the flavour of it. I highly recommend it to everyone who enjoys a nice warm cup of chai spice :)

Feeling better today, though a little more sleep would not be unwelcome. So, feeling lazy, I decided to use one of the bags I have a work.

Not a bad tea, but with this brand, there’s always been this oily taste that I’m not fond of. I’m not sure if it’s the cinnamon or the clove. It’s not there in other chais that I have tasted. So I’m not sure what it is that’s not to my taste. I just know that I’m unlikely to purchase this particular flavor for myself, though I generally do like Stash teas.

I love the ginger and cardamom notes in this tasty tea. It’s one of my favorites and very affordable for those on a budget.

Opened the bag expecting brilliance (or as much as one can get from a bagged tea) and instead got a nose-full of Big Red. Funny…the smell didn’t translate over into the taste as this basically tasted like plain black tea. I mean, there is a sense that cinnamon might be present in the tea, but it really doesn’t show its face unless you keep the bag brewing throughout the drinking process (and it’s effing annoying to get teabagged everytime you take a sip). Also, there was a lot of dust from this bag, not a fan of that. At least it got me caffeinated enough to find a better tea.

Full review here: http://theteablag.blogspot.com/2011/01/between-devil-and-deep-black-tea.html

It tastes like wood pulp and sand. Literally undrinkable. I had to return it and ask the cafe to please give me anything else.

I don’t know what they’re putting in there, but this thing tastes like neither tea nor spice. I’m used to brewing chai at home with black tea, ginger, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, black pepper, fennel and nutmeg if it helps to know where I am coming from.

If I were trapped in a cave-in and my choices were down to this and brackish rusty mine-water, I might go for a 50/50 split of the two.

Having worked at Borders (pre-Seattle’s Best), Starbucks, and Barnes & Noble I’ve tried their chai drinks and didn’t care for any of them. I likened the tastes to liquified servings of cinnamon & sugar toast. Granted, I never did try the Tazo tea bag version of this during my tenure at Starbucks, so I decided “what the hey” this morning and gave this free sample a go.

While I waited for the tea bag to steep I took a sniff of the packet and my head involuntarily shot back. The spice smell was so intense that my sinuses actually cursed at me in several languages. I quickly tossed the packet in the trash and tried to get myself back into a zen-like state of open-mindedness regarding this tea.

The smell reminds me a lot of the Extra Cinnamon gum that I had to stop chewing because it irritated my mouth so much. And here I must note that I’m a straight-up-no-additive tea drinker. I could imagine this tea being benefitted by some sugar and milk (but then I think that it’d be back to the liquified cinnamon & sugar toast taste). I actually preferred this black version over the other chais I’ve tried. The smell is a lot more intense than the taste. Someone mentioned that this tea reminds them of Christmas – I can see that, but Harney and Sons’ Holiday tea has already taken that spot for me.

Overall, I wouldn’t turn down this tea if it were offered to me, but I will not be purchasing this one. I am now very curious about their Double Spice Chai (with which I will NOT do the pre-steep packet sniff). M

Not bad for bagged. The spice aroma is definitely there, although it takes 2-3 teabags per cup to get the real strength of a chai. I also end up using about 4-6 of those little creamer cups we have at work since I don’t keep milk in the work fridge. Some sugar, maybe put it over some ice… It’s not the best chai I’ve ever had, but it suffices as a nice change from the cheap black tea during the workday without sacrificing my caffeine.

Yes, I know that Chai tea is a spice tea served with milk (like a latte) or not. Maybe I am not a spicy type of guy. This tea has the black tea as a base with spices. In my opinion it is strong on the spice. As the liquor touch my pallet I was instantly struck with cinnamon (and maybe ginger) that overwhelmed me.

I have tried other Chais, but this one wouldn’t find a place in my cupboard.

My friends always seem to have this on hand at their house. It’s usually the only alternative to their other staple which is something like Lipton. So I always opt for Chai Spice. With a little milk and sugar, it’s not too shabby.

I absolutely love this tea. I have only really been a tea drinker for about three months (a youngling, I know), so I need some help from some of the veterans on this site to help me know what is the best tea to drink. I love this new realm of taste that I have been exposed to and look forward to trying as many teas as I am capable of.

I always brew this very strong, and have it with milk and a bit of honey instead of sugar. One of my favourite chais.

I prefer the stronger Double Spice Chai, but I like this for an everyday, cinnamon-heavy chai. It is not the cardamom-heavy masala chai you would get at an Indian restaurant.

I’ve tried this out with varying amounts of milk and sugar and it just doesn’t taste very good to me. I has a bland, kind of bitter taste to it, in my opinion.

It smells great in the bag and in the cup. Almost flavorless on its own and is still pretty bland with dairy and sweetener. It does leave a nice spicy aftertaste though.

Hey guys, just bought this tea.
I usually HATE ALL CHAIS.
Except this one.
There is something to it…
I dont know..
I steeped for 5 min with boiling water,
8 oz, one tea bag.
Added a teaspoon of sugar, and 1/4 cup of vanilla soymilk
ITS SO DELICIOUS :D
It is late though, so yay to no sleep!
I wish steepster had a chatting function, I would talk to everyone :)