Chai

I’ve uploaded a photo of my box of this tea because the British packaging for it is different from the US version (and maybe the ingredients are too, looking at others’ tasting notes for this).

I bought it because it was cheap and cheerful, and sometimes I fancy a spicy tea in the morning; I had a small stash of a chai a couple of years ago that was utterly stunning, but I didn’t keep track of my teas back then, so I have no idea what it was, or even who sold it.

In the UK version of this, the only ingredients listed on the box are tea, cinnamon, ginger, and ‘flavourings’, so most of the spices that should be there are missing. I can taste a hint of cloves, but no cardamom or black pepper. It tastes mostly of cinnamon, and doesn’t have the warmth of a good chai, or the nice little sting on the tongue that the black peppercorns should give it.

It’s not a terrible tea; I don’t take sugar so maybe adding a bit would bring out some of the flavours more, but to me this tastes a bit insipid. I’m going to rate it at about 65, because it’s convenient when I’m stumbling around first thing in the morning and can’t get myself together enough to throw some spices and black tea in a pan and boil them up, and also because it’s a pleasant enough drink, even with it’s shortcomings.

Holy cinnamon, Batman.

I can’t. Just no. It was like doing the cinnamon challenge in my cubicle. The other spices were completely overtaken by the cinnamon.

Blechhhh.

It was… ok.
Tazo has a fuller better flavor, this was kind of flat.

This is a tea bag. Meh, it’s okay. Something about it is “off” to me. It has to be loaded up with sugar to make it palate-able.

back to the tea bags again, alas. i prefer to make this by steaming it with milk in a pot on the stove. i’ve tried to do it in the microwave but it just isn’t as tasty. so i boil a cup of milk & a bit of water with the chai tea bag. for this brand of chai, i need only one tea bag. another brand, President’s Choice (Loblaws) requires two, while a chai from Starbucks is ridiculously peppery to the point where it’s too much to handle. after the milk boils, i simmer for five minutes, stirring occasionally. i add honey to my cup & strain the grotty skin off the concoction. this is tasty, perhaps could be simmered for a few minutes longer to be as strong as i normally enjoy.

quintessential tea for me. perfect milky with sugar and honey.

I’ve had trouble getting this tea to taste right. My mom was successful but only by using a buttload of milk and sugar, but I don’t prefer to add sweeteners to most teas (although milk/cream is okay in certain chai situations).

I adore this tea! It took me several tries to get it right. I’ve been drinking it in a 16-ish oz mug with 1/3 milk and two big teaspoons of sugar. It’s nice for in the mornings when it’s cold out.

This was alright, but I think I’ll steep it longer next time because it was a little weaker than I was hoping. The taste is nice, but I’d like it to be stronger.

Not bad for a bagged chai, but not exceptional, either – I think I prefer the Ultra version, in this case, as it brews much truer to the traditional spice flavor palette I’m used to.