Vanilla Chai (Organic)

Nom nom nom. A little heavy on the clove. Rice milk mellows it out and highlights the vanilla. I think the rice milk is also smoothing out the artificialness that others have noticed, because it’s not bugging me here. Thanks to EmilyGee for the swap!

There is a chemical taste in the mix that spoils the spicy flavour.

I had this as a soy latte chai. I think my refusal to try any of the chai tea as just teas and needing them as lattes skew my perception. I love the way the smells pops out of my kitchen and the aroma fills the breathing air with the aroma that speaks to me that this is a place that tea, coffee, and book lovers worship.

The books recommended for this tea are: I Know Why The Cage Bird Sings by Maya Angelou, The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein

I wanted to like this so badly. Vanilla and chai? Sounds like a dream team, except theres this weird artificial vanilla taste and no spiciness of the chai like you’d hope. Tried this like I normally drink chai – milk and sugar – maybe if I try something different it would be better? Hopefully, since I bought 40g of it expecting it’d be great (and because it was 40% off)!

I… actually like this. The vanilla adds a creaminess, and there’s a liquorice/ginger sweetness that lingers if you sip. Oddly, taking a gulp makes it far less appealing, but in sipping and savouring, a nicer flavour seems to emerge. The vanilla disappears and the liquorice gets stronger with milk and sugar added. To be honest, I actually prefer it without.
I’m not sure how chai-y this tea actually is, but it’s interesting and not bad. Definitely worth the try at least, and I’ll enjoy finishing up the sample I have.

Continuing on catching up with my DavidsTea advent calendar. When I saw this I was excited, I’m a big chai fan.

Dry – Mix of black tea and various chunks of spices. Has a sweet almost bourbon smell to it.

Steeped – Dark brown liquid but for a black tea, I can still see the bottom of the cup! Has a sweet spicy smell.

Taste – Licorice and some chai spices, very little vanilla. It was surprisingly sweet. The spices lingered in the back of my throat. It was a bit bitter even though I did the minimum brewing time. After my initial tasting I added unsweetened almond milk which did cut the sweetness and bitter aftertaste. This makes a much better latte.

Too much licorice, not enough vanilla and far too sweet. Definitely not for me.

This tea is not well balanced at all. I couldn’t taste any vanilla, or any of the more traditional masala chai spices. It just tasted overpoweringly like liquorice root. I could not finish my cup of this, and I’m glad I only had a sample. I would not purchase this tea.

This doesn’t read as a ‘chai’ tea for me, and the licorice root leaves a strong bitter aftertaste I am not at all fond of. I like to leave my tea bag in when I drink tea, but this brew will definitely turn bitter with that method, so its a quick steep (4-7 minute suggestion is too long). The vanilla is nice, but I was expecting more creaminess with my spice. Meh.

#24DaysofTea

Day 2 of David’s Tea advent calendar. Not a fan of this one I’m afraid. Maybe I’m biased because I don’t like chai but not only that, this one also has licorice in it and I really detest licorice in teas. I couldn’t taste much of the vanilla which was disappointing. I mostly got the chai flavour and licorice. This tea wasn’t disgusting, it just wasn’t for me. It was drinkable but I’d never buy it for myself. A fan of chai and licorice may feel differently about it.

Sad to report that I’m still not a fan of Chai when it’s not in latte format…

I think I’ve been in denial about this for a while now, but I’m finally prepared to come to terms with it. On paper and in theory I should love Chai teas, they possess the flavor palette that I usually love in most black teas. Sad to say, sometimes the heart disagrees with the head.

For sometime now, when I’ve come across a Chai, I’ve thought, “this one sound different, new and interesting. I think I’ll really like it. This one will be different.” Alas, t’is never the case! Such was the thought I had when I discovered that this was slated as Day Two of David’s 24 Days of Tea advent calendar.

At first, I continued to try to like it. However, by mid-mug I found myself simultaneously trying to down it, so that I could move onto something I found more enjoyable, and keep it down as it was quite simply just not my cup of tea!

I won’t rate it, nor not recommend, as I’m sure Chai fans will find it enjoyable, this is just not my bag. However, I do appreciate all it has done, for at long last I have come to terms with not liking Chai tea. I no longer feel the need to live a lie! My name is Jenny and I don’t like Chai teas, and I don’t care who knows it!