Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Tiger Spring Tea
Tea Description:
Our Spice Blend is a blend of ceylon tea, orange peel, cloves, cinnamon bark, ginger and fennel seeds. It is a spicy, comforting brew with or without milk, and can be sweetened with sugar or honey if preferred.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Even though Tiger Spring Tea did not indicate this as a “chai” on their website, the ingredients are very chai-like, which is why I categorized it as a chai. As I taste it, though, I find it to be a little less like a chai and a bit more like a Christmas Spice tea. The spices are warm and soothing, but they maintain a nice balance with the black tea base – in this case, a strong Ceylon tea – and the orange notes from the orange peel. It’s very holiday-ish, and it has me looking forward to the upcoming holiday season.
The overall cup is pleasantly spiced. Not what I’d call hot or spicy, but, it is zesty and warm, like a good mulled cider. The orange brightens up the cup considerably, and the Ceylon here is a very good quality Ceylon that is on the stronger side (no wimpy Ceylon here!) and holds its own in the midst of the spices. Of the spices, I find my palate focusing primarily on the clove – with the cinnamon and ginger playing more of a background note and the fennel offering more of an accent note.
And even though it is a bit more holiday-ish than chai-ish, it does still strike a familiar “chai” chord too. It’s very warming, very comforting, just like a good, well-spiced chai, and it would make a nice latte if you happen to be in the mood for a chai latte!
As for me, I find this to be delicious without the milk … and while it doesn’t really NEED it, the spices really perked up when I added about a half a teaspoon of turbinado sugar to my cup. It tastes good straight up, but the spices really seem to SING with the little bit of sugar that I added to the cup, so I would recommend adding just a little bit of sweetener to this to enhance the flavor of the spices.
A really warm, pleasant Spice Blend from Tiger Spring Tea. It is a wonderful way to welcome autumn – my favorite time of year.
