Toasted Coconut Chai

I love coconut and I love chai—my search for the perfect combo still continues (and will most likely end with the Yogic coconut chai, which everyone tells me is godly and I FINALLY have a sample of!). Zhena’s is nice but tastes more like coconut water than fresh coconut, so I was excited to try a toasty version.

There is a LOT of coconut in this blend, but it doesn’t really smell anything like coconut, just a strong chai blend. Unfortunately, it kind of tastes the same. The chai aspect is really nice, with bold spices and a strong black base. The coconut is a bit lost, adding a hint of fruitiness but not that big bold coconut taste I was hoping for. I found the coconut a bit weak on their Jasmine Coconut as well (though I did prefer that blend).

So it’s a nice tea and I did enjoy it (definitely look care of my chai craving) but it just didn’t deliver on the coconut front. Maybe I’ll try steeping it for a bit longer, I have enough left to play around with!

Oh man oh man oh man. Since the Zhena’s coconut chai was not very coconut, I had to listen to Brenden and try his version. Following the advice to try it ASAP, I finally cooled off enough to want a hot tea.

I made it on the stove with milk and water so um HOLY CREAMY CHAI. That’s the first thing you notice and then it gets spicy.

I wasn’t doing a great job measuring because I think I ended up more with like 3 1/2 oz of water and 5 1/2 oz of milk, but I did in fact measure 1/2 tbsp of chai. Simmered it for five minutes, added just a touch more milk to cool it enough to drink.

It smells like a coconut macaroon and it tastes like one too, if you added in clove, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger and pepper. I really like that I can taste every single spice in here. I went to double check on the website and I was pleasantly surprised to see I got them all.

I’m going to end up needing more milk quickly because I just want to drink this all day.

Man who knew there are plenty of chais out there I actually like. I also got the mate version of this so I will try that too, and I may have to give this a try without the whole milk method too!

I was a bit skeptical of the five minute infusion time with this one, but went with it… hopefully it won’t bite me! I used ~1.5tsp in ~8oz. water. The aroma is of a light, creamy-ish chai. Of course, I have the second infusion of the potent Coconut Chai from Zhena’s Gypsy Tea sitting next to me, so it’s difficult to say if it’s truly a light aroma, or just comparatively.

First impression is that this is quite a light chai, perhaps ever watery. However, the spices kick in a bit after the initial sip to help things along. I can definitely taste the creaminess in the tea, whether from the coconut or flavouring, and it’s enjoyable. I must say, this tea is growing on me the more I sip it. It definitely doesn’t need milk or sweetener (I don’t think it would hold up to milk, personally), and that’s a big plus in my book.

Overall, it’s a reasonable chai, and I’m happy enough to be drinking it, but especially after the other aforementioned chai incarnation, it probably won’t win a spot in my tea cupboard (and by cupboard we mean assorted collection of cardboard boxes stashed under my desk so the boyfriend doesn’t think I’m a total crazy!)

I’m wishing that I had ordered the mate or rooibos version of this tea, just for curiousity. However, I did not, and I’m on an indefinite tea-purchase hiatus since I have not been drinking much tea at all lately, and may not do so until this darn Masters degree has been completed.

ETA: Drank the rest after it had cooled, and this is not a weak chai, for sure! Not super strong, but definitely has a spicy kick. I read the other reviews, and can see where the coconut isn’t outstandingly obvious, however I do believe that the creaminess in this tea that makes it drinkable without sweetener/milk is in part due to the coconut. I could be wrong, but I don’t drink too many chais straight as I find the spices simply too overwhelming, with a base that’s too astringent. Not a problem, here!

Morning tea!
I really wanted a Coconut Chai! The very idea was a flash of lightening calling me…“Bonnie,…(boom, crash) you must order this Chai because it has coconut which you lurv…!”

Short and sweet of it, no coconut in this Chai sad to say. Wah!
Please, please, nice people at Whispering Pines (and you are nice)
the spices have taken over and get strong as the tea sits (which I think is the issue here…a culinary rule about spice).

The cloves especially formed an alliance with the cinnamon and marched into the coconut camp and obliterated all the object of my desire. Wah! No lurv!

Silliness aside. This needs some reworking or a new label that says
CHAI. Just CHAI.

If I review this as a Just Chai, it tastes good but a bit one note.
Yes I did add milk and sweetening and there is a hefty bite from the
CLOVES who own the Chai. I don’t want all clove though.

Sorry. Let me know if this is reworked and I’d like to try again.

This is the culprit that made my entire order smell like cloves. :)

I don’t smell any coconut at all but the cloves and cinnamon are very present. I steeped this in a bag as the leaves are very, very small.

I tasted it first without sugar or cream to see what difference adding those things would make. It is a pretty light tea, surprisingly. It took adding sugar and cream to bring the spices to the forefront. Very nice. Sadly, I tasted no coconut either before or after the additions.

I shared with a co-worker who was out of tea today and he pronounced it very tasty. :)

Backlog from yesterday.

This is my second tea from whispering pines and it smells delicious. Very chai, very spicy. There is a ton of coconut in it, but I don’t get the smell of coconut.

This steeps up to pure deliciousness. It’s a right in your face chai, the way a chai should be. Unfortunetly I don’t get any coconut. I’m gonna tryththe stove top method with it AMD see if that helps.

Don’t get me wrong, this is fabulous chai. I just want more coconut flavour.

This one was next in my day of tea. I’m sending the rest of it out soon in a trade, so I wanted one last cup, even though I apparently never logged the others.

I have to agree with some of the other reviews I’ve seen that say there isn’t a strong coconut flavor here. It smells very creamy and coconutty, and while the creamy smell is there in the flavor as well, the coconut is difficult to find. The spices are nice, and the chai flavor is good. I feel that adding milk might help bring out that coconut flavor, even though this is creamy enough that milk probably isn’t needed. Unfortunately, there’s never milk in my dorm room, since my roommate doesn’t drink milk at all and I only like it in teas. We can never use it fast enough, so it’s pointless. Also, our fridge is tiny.