Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: Amoda Tea
Tisane Description:
What happens when you add a banana to your chai? You get this! Kind of. A spicy cup with a cocoa, banana, and cinnamon edge and a creamy coconut feel. Sweeten it up to take the edge off the spice.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about subscribing to Amoda’s Monthly Tea Tasting Box here.
Taster’s Review:
Yes, August has come and gone, and I’m now reviewing my first of the August teas from my Amoda Box. That’s because Amoda updated their website (and it looks fabulous, might I add!) and I wanted to wait until the new website was up and running before I started reviewing the teas from August.
It’s a rare thing when the first tea that I try from my monthly Amoda Tea Tasting Box is a tisane! But, this Jungle Monkey Chai Rooibos blend from Tea Xotics just sounded too yummy to not try immediately: a rooibos based masala spice blend, combined with chocolate, banana and coconut? Oh YUM!
And it is indeed yum!
The aroma of the blend is spicy … the cinnamon really pops out and grabs me. The chai is definitely a cinnamon-y chai, with the cinnamon serving as the strongest flavor in the masala blend. I also taste peppery notes, and hints of clove.
The coconut is the next flavor I notice … it adds a creamy texture and taste to the cup. The banana comes through next, and it’s a subtle banana note. The chocolate is there too, and I taste it … I just wish … I was tasting MORE chocolate. (Remember this chocoholic’s chocolate rule of thumb: some chocolate = good, more chocolate = better.)
The flavor of the rooibos comes through here too, which I found kind of surprising given all that’s going on in this chai blend. I expected the flavor of the rooibos to be buried beneath all the other flavor components. But, I taste the woody notes of the rooibos, and even that funky note of rooibos that I usually don’t really care for … but somehow … it works in this blend. I guess with the tropical notes of banana and coconut … that funkiness just sort of works.
Overall: this is a really tasty blend. I like the chocolate but I wish there was more of it. I like the banana and the coconut … and the spices. It just really … works together really very well.
This is the first tea that I’ve tried from Tea Xotics … and I’m really glad that Amoda Tea decided to make them their feature blender for the month of August, because I am really looking forward to what the other blends have in store for me!
