Chaï Impérial

I recently tried Chaï Impérial, a masala chai blend from Palais des Thés. Here’s my detailed review of the experience:

Preparation:

- Temperature: 212°F / 100°C
- Time: 3 min, 0 sec
- Tea Amount: 7 g
- Water Volume: 14 oz / 400 ml

What a great Masala Chai, paired with milk (50:50 ratio) this is definitely one of the best ones out there.

Nothing much to add, the cardamom and ginger overpower the pink pepper, but that is to be expected from a Masala chai. I made myself some Karak Chai with it too using concentrated milk.

Flavors: Cardamom, Ginger

- Flavor Complexity: 25/30 – Rich and well-balanced spices, although cardamom and ginger dominate.
- Brewing Forgiveness: 18/20 – Performs well even with minor adjustments in preparation.
- Consistency Across Infusions: 20/20 – Maintains strong flavor profile throughout.
- Overall Enjoyment: 19/30 – Highly enjoyable, particularly with milk.

- yaro

2022 Palais des Thés Advent Calendar

Palais Des Thes Advent Calendar Day 9:
I honestly wasn’t gonna make a note for this one but I might as well write what I thought of it. This is a nice enough cup of Chai but nothing special or that I would seek out to purchase. The quality of these teas though is very nice so far with the exception of the one that tasted like Cherry Benadryl(The Des Gourmets)

Palais des Thés Advent Calendar – Day 9 (from November backlog)

Hmm, so the wrapper for this lists “black tea, cardamom, and pink pepper”. I’m going to assume that’s an oversimplification since the sachet smells strongly of sweet cinnamon…

This is very Constant Comment-esque. The strongest note is sweet candylike cinnamon, though not sugary sweet à la Hot Cinnamon Spice. There’s also clove, happily not overpowering, and a nice mild orange flavor. I’m not sure whether I get cardamom here, so there must not be much as it tends to be a strong spice. Definitely not peppercorn either. It’s funny that the spices mentioned on the wrapper aren’t even the strongest ones here. The base tea is very light, so is not contributing much at all other than a bit of body. But it’s also smooth without bitterness after a 4-minute steep.

Overall, this is very pleasant to sip on, and has a nice, festive orange spice sort of flavor. It’s likely not something I would feel compelled to order, but I certainly wouldn’t turn down a cup if offered!

I got a bag of this as a free sample with an order (quite) a while ago. I’m keeping it in the cup while drinking and I’ve added plenty of milk.

It just strikes me as a bit thin. I’m getting mostly hot water and milk and ginger. And I honestly don’t much care for ginger. It burns in the throat much the same way strong alcohol does, and while I do enjoy the occasional G&T I don’t generally make them very strong.

All I’m getting is ginger. It’s not very satisfactory. I think there’s a bit of cardamom somewhere in there, but it’s not very convincing. I think I’ll just have to give up on this one. I want a proper cup of tea.

This is another very smooth tea. The orange peel is present but not overwhelming, and there is kind of a generic spiciness to it. It reminds me of what good old Constant Comment should be. (It’s an old favorite of mine, I used to drink it with my grandma. :) ) I wish it had a more present spiciness – I wouldn’t call this one chai (I know the word just means tea, but we have coopted it to mean a spicy flavor). It’s still enjoyable, though.

Oh so good with milk!