Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Simpson & Vail
Tea Description:
Chai Masala (Spiced Tea) is a tea blend with origins in India. It is traditionally a mix of black tea and spices that is steeped in milk with sweeteners added to it. For this blend, we’ve taken our popular Chai tea blend and added the subtle, creamy flavor of French Vanilla. This tea brews to an amber cup with a spicy aroma and a taste that is creamy with spice notes. Rich and delicious tasting!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Spiced Chai blends are among my favorite … especially this time of year when it’s cold and wet outside. There’s nothing quite as comforting as a nice, warm, chai latte. So cozy and yummy! And I’m absolutely loving this Chai French Vanilla Black Tea from Simpson & Vail!
The black tea base offers a solid background of flavor … it is delicious and strong, with a hint of malt to it (which melds quite nicely with the French Vanilla flavor!)
The spices are very nicely balanced … the cinnamon has that sweet yet spicy taste to it. The cloves and cardamom add a lovely warmth to the cup, and I’m loving the anise in this. It adds just a hint of snappy taste to the cup without tasting too licorice-y. Don’t get me wrong, licorice is one of my favorite flavors and I love it when a tea goes a little overboard with its licorice-y flavor … but here, I wanted to really enjoy the French Vanilla flavor … and this blend allows me to do just that!
The French Vanilla is the main event … but that doesn’t mean that it overwhelms the cup. This is still a chai and it still has the warm, robust flavors of the spices … but the vanilla is front and center. It is sweet and creamy and adds a really nice dimension to the cup. If you didn’t want to go latte with this, you wouldn’t need to, because the vanilla gives it enough creaminess to taste latte without the dairy. However, I was in the mood for a cozy chai latte, so I added some milk … and this really UPPED the creaminess immensely. So decadent … such a cozy, comforting treat.
A wonderful chai from our friends at Simpson & Vail. This is a great company run by some really terrific people. I have had some really great dealings with them and they are very responsive to their customers (and they go out of their way to accommodate special requests too, like if you want to create a special gift bag for someone!) Excellent teas … and an excellent tea company!
