Woodland Chai

The Inspiration
Our goal for this blend was to create a unique synthesis of complex flavors reminiscent of all the hidden wonders in the deep forest — a chai for all the wonderers, adventurers, and naturalists!

Woodland Chai has layers upon layers of complexity created with a fantastic malty blend of premium black and oolong base teas. This flavor fusion is achieved with creamy, cocoa, and sugarcane notes from our Yunnan Bi Luo Chun Black Tea, spun together with our dark chocolaty Fujian Black Tea before finally being completed with a brandy oolong carrying barley and heavy apple notes. Steeped, this tea has the aroma of fresh baked apple pie and spiced hot chocolate! The base tea takes the stage as the perfect blend of organic spices form a beautiful background nuanced with warm peppercorn, sweet safflower, and earthy spicy holy basil.

This chai is best in its natural state — enjoyed plain without milk or sweetener. I would recommend enjoying this chai inside on a cold winter day or sipping it from a thermos on an early morning springtime walk through a deep deciduous forest.

Notes
Apple
Fruity
Malt
Cocoa
Creamy
Sugarcane
Earthy Sweetness
Floral Warmth
Balanced Spice

How to brew the perfect cup:
Steep 1 tablespoon of leaves
in 8 ounces of boiling water
for 5 minutes.

2nd infusion: 5 minutes
3rd infusion: 7 minutes
4th infusion: 10 minutes

Ingredients
Black Tea
Oolong Tea
Organic Ginger
Organic Cardamom
Organic Cinnamon
Black Peppercorn
Organic Cloves
Organic Holy Basil
Safflower

Caffeine Content
Medium

http://whisperingpinestea.com/woodlandchai.html

I can’t believe no-one else has tried/reviewed this tea before now! I picked it up a while ago and have been saving it for the winter, and today seemed like the perfect day to finally give it a chance. It’s a cold, crisp, chai day!

The dry leaf is really interesting to look at. The three varieties of tea are easily discernable, from the golden, slightly downy Bi Luo Chun, to the wiry black Fujian, through to the rolled, slightly greenish pearls of Brandy Oolong. Then there are the cloves – so many cloves! – and the red streaks of safflower. It really is a beauty. The scent dry, and while brewing, is very chai-like. Spicy, with hints of ginger and orange, and the slight dankness of clove. I used 2 tsp of leaf, and gave it 5 minutes in boiling water. No additions.

Brewed, the liquor isn’t as dark as I was expecting — it’s actually a red-brown, and the scent is both spicy and chocolatey. It really is reminiscent of spiced hot chocolate! It actually reminds me in scent along of both Bluebird’s Dark Choc Chilli Chai, and 52 Teas Mayan Chocolate Chai. I didn’t really care for either of those, but perhaps this will be an exception. I’ve not had a bad experience with Whispering Pines yet, after all.

The first thing that struck me about this tea is how smooth it is. It tastes almost glossy. It’s also deliciously chocolatey, and it’s pleasant to know that this flavour is a natural aspect of tea varieties used, rather than an artificial addition. It’s a dark chocolate flavour, and slightly dry in the way of cocoa nibs, beautifully complemented by the spice notes (which are actually second to emerge in the flavour). I can pick out cinnamon, ginger, cardamon and clove, with maybe a touch of orange zest right in the background. At the end of the sip, there’s a definite baked apple note, and just a touch of vanilla sweetness. As this one cools, it develops a distinctive barely or grain flavour, but retains a sweet cocoa-tinged maltiness.

This is a perfect cold-weather tea – beautifully warming and comforting! I can imagine taking this one with me on a long walk – it may become a future timolino companion!