The snow is falling but I have nowhere I need to be so I am at home sipping teas and staying warm. I reached for this chai because nothing says warmth like standing by the stove to warm up a cup full of spices, except for maybe sipping that warm cup of spices wrapped in a fuzzy blanket on the couch but I digress. Anyways, I got my pot and whisk all ready to go so imagine my surprise when I opened this up and there was a powder mix inside. In fact, the hard piece I thought was a stick of cinnamon when I was holding the closed package was actually just a small wooden measuring spoon. Well, that certainly makes things easier. Plus, the package comes with directions so as per the instructions, I got my kettle boiling and topped about 1/2 a teaspoon of the powder mix with 8 oz of water, gave it a stir and filled the rest of my 16 oz mug with milk. I guess I will be getting to that blanket sooner that I expected.
The smell of chai spices is strong but what stands out above all else is the star anise. The scent fills the room, making me a little hesitant since I am not the biggest fan of star anise and my relationship with chais are timid at best. Bringing the mug closer to my mouth, the anise smell only got stronger so I knew that when I took that first sip that an anise punch was coming my way. I braced myself and was pretty surprised when I didn’t hate it. The star anise is certainly the most prominent flavor when you first taste this chai but as you let the flavors roll around you realize this is not a one-note treat. The star anise and milk provide a sweet creaminess that seamlessly blends with the sweetness of the cinnamon. In turn, the cinnamon bridges the gap between sweet and spice and gives way to a ginger kick, boosted by the spice of ground black pepper and the warmth of cloves, that lingers on your tongue long after the sip has finished. Nutmeg floats around the mix giving this just a little more depth while the black tea functions more as a stage on which the spices are the stars.
All in all, I can appreciate this as a pretty good chai. For those that enjoy star anise or licorice-type flavors, this is a great pick. It helps that this is also a quick and easy chai to whip up. However, for those who are more like me and don’t really enjoy that distinct star-anise flavor, this probably isn’t for you. With that in mind, Blue Lotus Chai offers a variety of other chai flavors that might catch your eye.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Masala Chai
Where to Buy: Blue Lotus Chai
Description
Our Star Anise Masala Chai is absolutely delicious! It has all of the signature BLC spices, with star anise contributing deep, but subtle licorice notes.
Ingredients: Naturally brewed and flash-dried black tea powder; 100% Certified Organic powdered spices: ginger, cardamom, nutmeg, black pepper, cinnamon, cloves, star anise.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Organic Masala Chai from Hope and Glory
I still remember my first Chai latte. It was love at first sip. And the spicier the better! Whether at a coffee shop or at home, I never imagined drinking Chai without some sort of plant milk, my favorite is coconut milk.
However, I am also a very impatient person, and I wanted to try this Masala Chai from Hope&Glory, and I have no plant milk. I was kind of scared to try this straight, because some Chai’s I’ve gad in the past are a bit sharp, and need something to tone it down a bit. But it was a cool and crisp morning, the type of morning where I like a cozy Chai.
First of all, the smell of this blend is amazing. I want to live in a field of this blend, and bathe in it. It smells of cinnamon and spice and everything nice that I want in a tea. I put one teaspoon of coconut sugar in my cup, and took my first sip. Smooth, spicy, clean and the perfect amount of everything. It’s spicy without being too sharp, and it tastes like real ingredients, real spices. It tastes like someone whipped it up personally for me.
I’m sad that I have none left. This is the perfect tea for the upcoming cooler months. This is what you want to come home to after a long day, or better yet this is how you want to start your day. This is by far my favorite Chai blend ever.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black Tea
Where to Buy: Hope and Glory
Description
A full-bodied blend of organic Ceylon black tea and spices, Masala Chai derives from the Hindi literally meaning ‘mixed-spice tea’. Spices such as cardamom and cinnamon have been expertly blended to give a warming, rich blend of flavours and a sweet aroma.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
CervanTea’s Tea Blend – Man of La ManChai – DonQuixoTea from Novel Teas
The tea of many names! CervanTea’s Tea Blend – Man of La ManChai – DonQuixoTea from Novel Teas! Novel Teas says this is their delicious and adventurous brew of organic and traditional chai spices including red cinnamon, cardamom, black pepper, and the root of ginger. It is a full bodied tea experience. I would have to agree. This is a solid chai!
It’s not too over the top but it’s not too weak in the spice department either. It’s JUST RIGHT. The cinnamon, cardamom, pepper, and ginger are all equally wonderful. The black tea base was of medium strength and sang in unison with the spices. CervanTea’s Tea Blend – Man of La ManChai – DonQuixoTea from Novel Teas was pretty impressive and a solid chai to have on hand for when you are craving it or to share with friends.
And speaking of sharing with friends there is a matching tea tin from this company! The perfect partner to CervanTea’s Tea Blend – Man of La ManChai – DonQuixoTea from Novel Teas.
Taste and share the great adventure of Miguel de Cervan Teas. NovelTeas’ spicy black chai is an invigorating ode to western literature’s favorite knight errant, Don QuixoTea™ and this tea was inspired by the first modern novel by Spanish author Miguel Cervantes Don Quixote of La Mancha. Their organically-spiced blend makes for a delectable first addition to anyone’s NovelTeas Library. They encourage book-lovers and tea-lovers alike and take up your arms to a cup of their traditional organic chai spices.
The tea tin itself measures9.4IN X 6.3IN X 2.4IN and makes a great gift for any tea lover or any book lover.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black Tea
Where to Buy: Novel Teas
Description
This is our delicious and adventurous brew of organic and traditional chai spices: red cinnamon, cardamom, black pepper, and the root of ginger. It is a full bodied experience, one ideally served with cream, exceedingly so with sugar.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Mountain Chai from BlendBee
I am an incredibly finicky chai drinker. I’ve never been a huge fan of cardamom or cloves and have always found chai spices to be overpowering. Here and there I have found chai blends that I’ve enjoyed and typically I can always make a chai into a latte where the spices are mellowed by the addition of a frothed milk topping- making them more to my tastes.
So when I received the email from BlendBee asking me what blends I wanted this month, I noticed that Mountain Chai was one of their newer blends. One of the wonderful attributes to BlendBee is that if there is an ingredient in a blend that you may not care for, they do their best to accommodate. So I simply responded back to their email with a note asking for the cardamom and cloves to be removed and they happily obliged. Not only that, but they responded back with a few more questions, helping to customize this blend just to my taste. You can’t get better customer service than that.
About a week later, my monthly box arrived with Mountain Chai and one other blend. I prepped my water, grabbed my new squirrel infuser and brewed myself up a cuppa. I could’t wait to try this new customized chai.
Without the heavier spices I was a bit worried that the ginger would take over. But that isn’t the case at all. Each sip starts off with a lovely cinnamon and brown sugar sweetness with a slight ginger twist. The green tea base is the perfect background for this tea, adding a note of buttery smoothness. Each sips ends with that familiar marshmallow root flavor that I adore.
I didn’t even pick up the licorice root that was in the mix, which is unusual for me. I asked my hubby to try the tea and he really liked this blend as well. I see us buying more of this tea soon. We are going to go thru this bag fast! Just the perfect amount of sweetness and spice. I can’t get over how much I’m loving the brown sugar and the additional marshmallow root that was added in for me. This may just be the most perfect chai for my taste buds.
If you haven’t checked out BlendBee, I encourage you to do so. With their fabulous customer service and the ability to custom blend to your own tastes, you really can’t go wrong!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: BlendBee
Description
A mountain of green tea spiced to perfection.
Aromatic Organic Green Tea Chai, inspired by our stunning Sierra Mountains. Designed to warm you up on a crisp day. Perfect brewed with warm milk & honey.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Chocolate Marshmallow Spicier Chai from 52Teas
I was super excited to see a spicier Chai! I love Chai, and I love spice too. This chai is different in that there is no anise, but there is crushed red pepper! It also has vegan white chocolate chips, and vegan dark chocolate! It’s a beautiful tea just to look at really. I enjoyed a cup of this Chai this morning with a touch of coconut sugar, and a little coconut milk. Wow, I know I keep saying it but this might be my favorite Chai ever! Don’t worry about the crushed red pepper, it only adds a little spice, it won’t burn any throats! This Chai is creamy, and sweet and just totally something different from the usual Chai. I didn’t immediately think marshmallow when I tatsed this tea, but I did detect the white chocolate right away. As a vegan I really appreciate that they used vegan chocolate so everyone can enjoy this!
If you enjoy mellower, sweeter Chai’s with a little kick, this will blow your mind. This is my new winter beverage!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black Tea
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description
This is actually a reblend of sorts – let’s call it a reinterpreted blend since I did take some artistic freedom with this blend because while I did very much enjoy the original, I thought that it could have been spicier. And, I must confess that up until this evening, I had it in my head that the name of this tea was Chocolate Marshmallow Spicier Chai, but I realized as I posted my thoughts about this tea on Steepster that it was actually Chocolate Marshmallow Spicy Chai. Not Spicier – just Spicy.
So when I blended this, I thought I was blending Chocolate Marshmallow Spicier Chai and my memory of the original was that it wasn’t spicy enough to be a “spicier” chai and I added more spices to make it spicier. First, I added some chili pepper flake. Not a lot – but enough to give this a nice, spicy kick – or should I say Spicier kick! There’s a good amount of heat from the chili pepper but not so much that it’s sending me running to the kitchen for a drink of water to extinguish the heat.
And since I am a chocoholic, I added more chocolate flavor with the addition of cacao shells, mini vegan chocolate chips and vegan white chocolate chips. I like the addition of the white chocolate especially, I think that it enhances the marshmallow flavor just a bit. Another change: I didn’t add anise to this blend. Now, I love anise. LOVE it! But I wanted to try it first without the anise because anise can add a rather strong, distinctive licorice-y flavor and I didn’t think I wanted a licorice-y note to this. Maybe at some point, I’ll do a chocolate anise blend or something, but for now, I’m quite happy with this just the way it is!
If you enjoyed the original but thought it needed more spice – you should definitely try this!
organic ingredients: black teas, secret blend of spices, marshmallow root, cacao nibs, cacao shells, mini vegan chocolate chips, vegan white chocolate chips and natural flavors.