Bengal Spice

Celestial Seasonings suggested this to me as a replacement for my beloved Cinnamon Rose tea. I looked at the box and thought “What the hey, Tiger” and then “Nope, looks like a chai.” However, I was at the grocery store with a coupon and celestial seasonings on sale, so I thought “why not? I like chai and this tea gets pretty good ratings.” Well, I tried it, and this is no not a chai. Maybe a cinnamon chai, but the cloves are playing a supporting role, and the cardamon has run off to hide from the wrath of all that cinnamon!

The tea is a typical celestial seasonings package – I like their dedication to minimal packaging. And I will say, they don’t skimp on the leaves. I was able to use only one bag in my large (14 oz) mug and it was plenty strong. The leaves smell dusty and strongly of cloves, which worried me – there are whole cloves in the bag that you can see when you take it out. I had a bad experience with Tazo Sweet Cinnamon Infusion, which was all cloves and licorice, so I am wary of spicy teas! I steeped it for 7 minutes in boiling water.

I took a sip of the unadulterated tea and immediately thought “Hot Cinnamon Spice.” The flavor is really similar to the Harney and Sons tea – it’s all cinnamon, so spicy that it has a little burn, with a great natural sweetness. It doesn’t have black tea, of course, which for me is an advantage, as I want spicy teas at night. I haven’t tried the herbal HCS, so I can’t say if this is similar, but I’d imagine it is after having both the black and green. There is more clove in Bengal Spice, but it’s nice – gives you a break from the cinnamon!

In the interest of comparison, I added 1/4 cup steamed milk and 2 packets of sweet and low. Here is where I was surprised – where HCS doesn’t take milk well (it kills the spiciness for me) this is great – it’s still spicy! My husband went out for Indian today, and came back asking me to make stovetop chai – I think he would like this one!

I’m really pleased to have made this supermarket discovery. This is the second Celestial Seasonings tea I’ve liked lately (I’m also loving Morning Thunder.) My Mom always had red zinger and Sleepytime in our cupboards, so I feel nostalgic when I see those cardboard boxes stacked up.

I was out of this.. Used the last of it I’m not sure when and with the cooler temperatures I was longing for something spicy yet w/o caffeine. I grabbed some at the grocery and looked forward to getting it home and making up a cup.

Steeped in my normal fashion, letting the tea bag linger in the cup longer than for most teas and adding my touch of sugar and milk, this time it was a bit lacking in flavor. I don’t think I added more water than the last time I had this :/ Not sure why it wasn’t the same. Hoping it was me and not the tea! I really was looking forward to the spicy notes I normally find.

I’ll keep my rating for now and give it another try .. hoping for better next time.

I don’t drink much bagged tea anymore, and this is one of the few. I love spices, and I especially love them in teas. I’ve loved this tea for at least 6 years now.
I’m a chai lover, but in the evening, I’m not much of a caffeine lover. This is a good alternative. I like steeping this tea a little bit longer – usually 5-6 minutes, because when it comes to spices, I like them to “bite”. I love the “bitey” cinnamon and “bitey” cloves. I haven’t found a better caffeine free alternative, and find that the rooibis, teas are too weak.

I used to love this tea, many years ago. Then I couldn’t find it any more, and knowing some of the ingredients were similar to Chai, that got me to try Chai, and it led me down the path of trying loose leaf teas. So this tea has a little tiny corner of fondness in my heart for pointing me to good teas.

So I was in a store one day, and had a gift certificate to use, and pretty much nothing in the store I wanted. So I picked up a box of this for old times sake.

I tried to brew some for drinking, and it was just completely awful. I dumped it down the sink.

I did find something useful to do with the rest of the box though. It’s simmering on the stove right now to scent the house. Smells nice. You won’t find me drinking it though.

I like this tea. Has a great spicy bite to it. Doesn’t fool around and play with your tastebuds but says CHAI TEA and then whispers….a sweet honey note on the end that I love. I drink without milk but would be fine either way. Not an iced tea candidate. Drink steeped for about 4 minutes.

This tea is mind-blowing. I just cannae get my heid roon’ it. The flavour is full, the colour is rich; it is smooth, refined and delicious. I enjoy anything that will take me away from myself, and this does exactly that with zero health risks. The clove is so potent it numbs the tongue, like thon red and white clove rock bits your gran used to give you on those long coach-trips. Cinnamon always goes well with me, and the natural sweetness (nae sugar in this mind) hits the spot. As a sage once said, ‘winter in a cup’. Great with or without milk, better with friends.

Y’know, for bagged herbal, it’s really not that bad. Because it’s so rich, I can’t drink too much at a time, but it’s not too bad. The in-laws bought me an entire case for some reason, and I’m slowly but surely working my way through it. Since I have yet to just give up and throw it all out, clearly they got something right.

Since it’s cheap and easy, it’s my go-to blend if I want to drink a tea/herbal in the shower. No, really. Drinking tea in the shower is THE BEST.

This has become one of my all time favorite hot drinks. I’d call it tea, but it really isn’t. It’s a cinnamon-spicy drink that has a lot of bite to it, and makes your house smell awesome as well. I don’t bother taking the tea bag out, by the time you get to the bottom, you can literally feel the hot tingle of cinnamon on your tongue. I know there are plenty that are too snobby for tea bags, especially inexpensive ones, but this is such a fun drink. It starts out sweet and spicy (this tea already tastes very sweet, I see no reason to add sweetener) and ends with a spicy punch. After drinking it in the morning, I can feel the spice all the way to work. I absolutely love it.

Ahh, the scent of Zen!

At the Zendo where I sit on Tuesdays, this tea is always served after the zazen session, in small cups, while we sit in a circle for the informal part. To make it REALLY good, they steep it for well over an hour while we do our zazen, and THEN serve it to us. Unfortunately for me, I’m very sensitive to tannic acid, and it drives me bonkers. However, I also do really enjoy the flavour of it, so I can tolerate it quite well.

When Venerable Eshu (our abbot!) was explaining the steeping process, he mentioned that “And if you steep it for 12 hours, it makes your tongue go numb!” He seemed to think of this as a positive trait, but I"m not sure I’ve been meditating long enough to appreciate that.

YUCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bought a box – what was I thinking??

Never again. It tasted like what would happen if you licked the shelf in a spice closet and chased it with hot water.