73
drank Kashmir Tchai by Kusmi Tea
362 tasting notes

Warning: brewed this up in milk, with brown sugar, simmering for about 8 minutes or so. Done with water the “proper” way it will probably be different.

I am rather on a quest for chai, more chai – I should probably just bite the bullet and go buy some more Chandernagor while I can find it. Chandernagor has been so far my one perfect chai: just 4 spices cinnamon cardamom cloves and pepper and it seems to work oh so well for me.

But I had a chance to get 50 grams of Kashmir Tchai for a not too pricey amount and had to try it. It´s not bad, I think it might be one of my favorite Kusmi blends so far, but it´s not quite up to being my ideal chai.

On individual taste notes – there is fennel or anise or liquorice or something in here. I don´t quite hate it at these concentrations but it´s there and making me notice it at every sip. I don´t like anise-liquorice so not actually sure how strong it is, or it is just me focusing immediately on something I do not like.

And there is a lot of green cardamom. Cinnamon is there as well but not too noticeable, I think I would have preferred if the roles of cinnamon and cardamom where reversed. The bay leaf is very noticeable in the dry mix, and adds something interesting in my opinion. The other two spices I can not identify on their own – googling they are ginger and cloves.

There is also no heat to this mix, no pepper or chillies or anything of the sort.

The tea base is a bit weaker than usual for a chai – it´s strangely enough for a chai and one called after Kashmir, a chinese black tea base. If there is a place for Assam, it´s on chai mixes with spices! But I think this is meant to be a pretty mild innocuous chai. Not bad, but not awesome.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 8 min or more

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Inconstant tea drinker – I mostly drink tea when not too hot. I hang around steepster much more frequently in (northern hemisphere) cold season. Experimenting with cold steeping, for summer.

- Teas -

I like all sorts of tea, flavoured and unflavoured, though I am picky.

I am one of those people who actually loves Lapsang Souchong. I am not crazy about Earl Grey, in general. I don´t quite get Darjeeling teas, but I am exploring.

I like rooibos, though not all bases. I loathe hibiscus. I do not like fennel/liquorice/anise in blends or teas with chicory. I am picky about what I consider true cinnamon.

As you can probably tell from my cupboard, the brands I find more interesting right now are Mariage Fréres and Thé-o-Dor.

I am always willing to try anything new. I am now particularly interested in single origins.

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Portugal

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