Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: Blue Lotus Chai
Tea Description:
100% Certified organic and caffeine-free, our new Rooibos Masala Chai is appealing to a broad cross-section of customers. It has a similar taste profile to our Traditional Masala Chai, but with the delightful base of naturally sweet and nutty rooibos. Those who cannot or wish to not drink a caffeinated chai, can now freely indulge in their favorite BLC drink.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I was a little skeptical … but Blue Lotus Chai has made a believer out of me with this Rooibos Masala Chai! It’s yummy!
As one who tends to be a bit leery of rooibos anyway, I was really kind of freaked out about trying a finely ground chai powder made with rooibos. But, this is really quite delicious. The flavor is warm and spicy, with a lovely nutty flavor. The natural nutty flavor of the rooibos accentuates the nutmeg in this masala blend, and since nutmeg is one of my favorite spices, I really like how the rooibos and nutmeg work together in this cup.
The other spices are spicy, but not over the top. I get a nice amount of peppery kick to it, a warm, delicious note of cinnamon and notes of clove and cardamom. The rooibos is not a strong, prominent flavor in this, but it does add the aforementioned nutty flavor.
I think … if I were to offer one criticism with this chai it would be that some body is lacking in it … it just … kind of falls flat there. I think that by following the suggested recipe on the package, the milk kind of overwhelms the overall flavor, so I would recommend instead using about half as much milk as suggested and replacing the omitted milk with water. It makes a little bit of a thinner chai but because the rooibos tends to be thinner anyway, it works out. And the thing I like about Blue Lotus Chai’s blends is that you can customize it to taste the way you want it to. I also did notice that this blend was a little harder to incorporate than the other two blends from Blue Lotus Chai … this blend requires some extra stirring and some extra frothing with the hand held frother. But, the results are worth that little extra work!
Warm, soothing and comforting … a perfect chai treat any time of day or night, because it’s naturally caffeine free!