Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Vintage TeaWorks
Tea Description:
Inspired by the rich flavors of Kentucky Bourbon, this chai tea is blended using a beautiful Sri Lankan black tea, organic cinnamon and star anise. We then wrap our blend in honey creating sweet and spicy treat.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Yeah, I know I’ve said it quite a few times: I’m not much of a drinker of alcohol. I prefer tea. (That might appear obvious!) So, I’m not sure what it was about this Bourbon Chai from Vintage TeaWorks that prompted me to order it as soon as I could when I heard about it. Maybe it was because I’ve tried the other blends from this company and I was very impressed with them, and so when this tea was announced, it was one that I added to my must try list immediately!
The first thing I noticed about this new blend from Vintage TeaWorks is that they’ve changed their packaging (or at least, they have different packaging for this chai). The wine-inspired teas from this company that I’ve tried came in tubes that resembled wine bottle tubes. This chai is packaged in a shiny gold tin that was wrapped with a removable paper label that has been wax sealed in place. Cool!
When I opened the tin and the inner cellophane packaging, I could see that the tea was kind of wet-looking and sticky, as though the tea had been marinated with soaked in honey! The tea smelled of bourbon and spice with a distinct sweet note. As the tea brewed, I could smell more of the spice notes developing. The brewed tea smells lightly of bourbon and strongly of spice.
This tastes amazing! It tastes spicy, but not in a hot sort of way. It’s more like a spicy-sweet kind of taste. It tastes warm and cozy, with a strong spice note. The spices offer a very harmonious flavor. I don’t notice one spice attempting to compete with others. I taste notes of each spice, but one note doesn’t attempt to overpower others. It’s a very congruous tasting tea.
The black tea is also easy to distinguish in the sip, and it tastes rich and satisfying. And what I like about these teas from Vintage TeaWorks is that they’re incredibly creative. They “recreate” the flavors by which they’re inspired, rather than being an ‘alcohol’ infused tea. Here, Vintage TeaWorks has recreated the flavor of bourbon using spice and honey, and this tastes what I’d imagine a bourbon that has been infused with a chai tea might taste like. This is a very comforting cuppa!
As I sip … I can feel the warmth of the bourbon and the spice tickling the back of my throat. It reminds me a bit of when I used to drink whisky (I liked Jack Daniels and Pepsi, although I usually went heavier on the Pepsi than the JD) – the warmth here reminds me of that slight “burn” that I’d feel at the back of my throat from the whisky, although this is a gentler heat than that burn ever was. I think I like this better than the JD and Pepsi … not just because of that gentle heat but because this IS tea and I can taste the tea and spices too.
A really wonderful cup of chai! I drank it with a half a teaspoon of turbinado sugar to accentuate the spices. I didn’t add milk or cream though … and I think that this tastes lovely as a non-latte chai. I think it would also be tasty as a chai, although the dairy might soften the bourbon-like flavors a bit.
