Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Ovation Teas
Tea Description:
Black tea blended with cinnamon chips, cloves, ginger, cardamom, almonds, nutmeg, black pepper, and safflowers with chai flavoring and almond & vanilla extract.
Taster’s Review:
I debated with myself whether or not I should write this review, because I recently learned that Ovation Teas is closing their business. I am very saddened by this news for several reasons. The first, and most obvious to many of you, I’m sure, is the fact that they’re a tea business and I don’t want tea businesses to go out of business! They are a local company, and I love to support the local businesses. But one of the main reasons I’m sad is that Ovation Teas had some pretty spectacular blends … and I barely scratched the surface at trying them all (and yes, I wanted to do that!)
I ordered this particular custom blend just before Christmas as a gift for a recipient in a gift swap in which I was participating. My recipient liked chai, vanilla flavored teas and almond flavored teas, so I asked Ovation teas if they could combine all of the above in one amazing blend! And they did … AND in addition to the full-sized portion that I ordered for my recipient, they were nice enough to send me some of the tea to try too!
It brews up dark and fragrant, smelling of alluring spices with hints of almond and vanilla with a rich backdrop of earthy black tea. And that’s what I taste, too. The black tea has a strong presence here, and I appreciate that because often with chai blends, the black tea tends to take a back seat and is often overwhelmed by the spices. That didn’t happen here, and I’m glad. The spices are very harmonious … the cloves do stand out a bit which kind of surprised me, because usually with chai blends it’s either the cinnamon or the ginger that is prominent. Here, the other spices seem pretty evenly matched, with the cloves coming out as the prominent flavor.
And these flavors are nicely accentuated by the flavors of vanilla and almond which offers a sweet, creamy, nutty note. I like that the nutty tones of the almond are further highlighted by the nutmeg in the chai … a really nice touch (I think that this might have been an addition that I requested, and I think I did right to request it, this blend would not be the same without the nutmeg).
This is a really delicious chai that I’m enjoying served straight with just a little bit of turbinado sugar to emphasize the spices a bit. It doesn’t need a lot of sweetening though, because the sweetness of the vanilla and almond are very satisfying. And because of the creaminess of these two flavors, it doesn’t need milk to make it taste creamy … although this would be very tasty with a drop or two of milk just to enhance the creamy tones.
To Ovation Teas, I lift my tea mug up and toast you, I will miss you!
Tiger Chai from Kally Tea
Chai Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Kally Tea
Chai Description:
Traditionally Chai is brewed by adding milk/cream and a sweetener. The spicy complexity of this libation is just as delicious brewed as a regular beverage without any dairy or sweetener. Try it both ways to discover your favorite way to enjoy.
Learn more about this masala chai blend here.
Taster’s Review:
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
And what better way to ring in this chilly, wintery New Year’s Day than with a warm, rich, delicious spiced Chai tea? I absolutely love a good, spiced Chai blend. This is definitely a yummy Chai, and nothing seems to warm me up from the inside out quite as effectively as a warm spiced tea like this one.
The black tea base is rich and slightly caramel-y with notes of malt, which leads me to believe that it is either an Assam or an blend of teas that includes an Assam. It has a very full-flavor, and it is a substantial enough tea to be able to stand up on its own while it is surrounded by the flavors of robust spices.
The spices are sensational! Warm and spicy, but not so spicy that I’d consider this to be spicy-hot. It is what I’d call “spicy” … but it isn’t so much so that I feel the need to temper the spices with the addition of milk – and even though this Chai does make an incredible latte – I rather like it when brewed simply in boiling water for four minutes with no other additions except a half a teaspoon of turbinado sugar to help enhance the spices.
It’s rich and warm and satisfying, and very comforting too, with a smooth creaminess thanks to the little touch of vanilla in the blend. And I think that it is the touch of vanilla in this blend that makes it so comforting and smooth … without the addition of milk.
I taste the black pepper and the ginger here, and these are the two “stand out” spices in the masala blend, but I wouldn’t say that this is a peppery chai, really. The other spices are strong enough to mellow the peppery notes out a little, and give the overall cup some balance. I taste the cinnamon, I taste the clove, and I taste the cardamom. It is a warming, delicious blend that I think everyone can enjoy – it is spicy enough for those who like a warm, spicy chai, but, it isn’t so spicy that those who tend to shy away from spicy-hot drinks would not be able to enjoy it.
A very lovely chai – from one of my favorite tea companies! I wish everyone a very happy and wonderful new year!
Traditional Marsala Chai from Blue Lotus Chai
Chai Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Blue Lotus Chai
Chai Description:
With its deep and truly authentic flavor and amazing ease of preparation, our flagship product has become part of the daily rhythm of many homes. Tasting is believing!
Learn more about this chai here.
Taster’s Review:
I am totally and completely in LOVE with this chai! There have been a few chai products that I’ve felt this way for, but, I think that this one may just replace them as my favorite, or at the very least, be a contender for that spot.
This is amazing. I love it not just because it tastes amazing, but also because it’s a local product and I love supporting my local community. But, I think I’d be head over heels for this even if it wasn’t local. Because it is really good.
It is a concentrated spiced powder, so, it’s very much like some of the instant chai products that are out there. But this differs in a couple of ways. First, there’s no milk products in the mix, so if you want to control the amount of milk that goes in to your chai – or the type of milk that goes in to your chai – you can do that. Second, there is no sweetener in this chai, so you can decide if you want it sweet (or not!) and what kind of sweetener you want to use. I love it for these reasons alone, because I find that so many of the chai preparations out there tend to be overly sweetened and I like being able to have the freedom to choose how much milk I want … sometimes those other prepared chai mixes have too much milk product in them and they end up tasting too creamy for my liking.
I mean, I like a decadent, creamy beverage, but, I don’t like it to be so heavily laden with cream that I feel like I need to scrape the residue off my tongue, you know? I like that this product offers me the freedom to choose just how much milk goes in to my chai latte!
The first time I prepared this, I prepared it according to the suggested preparation instructions, which suggests 4 oz. of boiling water, 1 rounded scoop of chai powder (each package comes with the most adorable little bamboo scoop that measures out 1/4 teaspoon of chai powder), and 4 oz. of milk. Add sweetener of choice if desired (I added about 1/4 teaspoon of turbinado sugar). After you stir to combine the ingredients, heat it up a bit (to replace the heat taken by the chill of the milk), and enjoy. It was delicious, but I found that I wanted the flavors to be a little stronger, so I added another half a scoop – yet another reason I love this chai, I can add more to the cup if I want to! – and found the beverage to be perfect chai JOY!
The cup was rich, spicy, and creamy. Decadent! I can taste the richness and hint of malty notes from the black tea, and I love that I can taste the nutmeg here! This chai blend has all the “usual” suspects: cinnamon, clove, cardamom and ginger … plus some black pepper to spice it up (which I can taste too!) and then the aforementioned nutmeg. It is spicy but not overwhelmingly so. Blue Lotus Chai has achieved a really nice balance. (However, if they’re looking for suggestions for blend #4, might I suggest one with Anise and/or fennel? I do love a licorice note in my chai!)
I love this chai latte that I made thanks to the ease of Blue Lotus Chai! This blend has everything I want from a chai latte, and I loved that I could very easily customize it to make it that way. You can’t get that from your local coffee shop! This is the way chai SHOULD be!
White Sage and Wild Mint from Juniper Ridge
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal Tisane
Where to Buy: Juniper Ridge
Tea Description:
White Sage has a rich, earthy, minty flavor that made it a favorite tea for many of the Native American tribes and early settlers of the Southwest. I like to sip this tea during the wet winters here in Northern California and let my mind drift off to the hot desert country where White Sage grows. So many backpacking trips over the years in that beautiful, sunbaked country—maybe I’ll just sit here in the shade of this Palo Verde tree and let some of the afternoon heat pass while I nod off to sleep with the smell of Wild Sage in the air . . . Now you can enjoy this classic Southwestern tea and dream your own daydreams of the big rock, White Sage desert country.
WILDCRAFTED FROM THE MOUNTAINS AND DESERTS OF THE WEST · 10% OF PROFITS DONATED TO DEFENDING WESTERN WILDERNESS
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I grow sage in my garden – tons of it, so I could easily say it is one of my favorite herbs. This tea has such a perfect aroma and I know they are using quality sage in this blend.
Normally I would not be that excited to try a bagged tea, but anything that says SAGE on it is something that peeks my interest! I had never heard of this tea company before but thanks to Anne, my SoroiTEA Sister, I was lucky to try this tea! Thank you Anne!
When I visted the Juniper Ridge website I was delighted to see they sell other items as well. I love essential oils, hand crafted soaps, colognes, and such, so I spent some time really pouring over their site. I love their devotion to wilderness see more info here.
For a bagged tea, this bag packs quite a punch! It has a lovely, delightful, sage flavor, and a minty, but not overpoweringly mint taste. Now keep in mind I do love mint, almost as much as sage, so its not like my taste buds are delicate to a mint flavor, this may be far more minty to you than it is to me, but what really speaks to me is that the mint, being somewhat of a strong flavor element, does not take away from the excellent sage in this tea.
There is also a nice spiciness to this tea as well but not like a chai, more like a black pepper note, and it also tastes like the sage may have been roasted a little.
This tea is quite relaxing. I mean really very soothing, centering, grounding, a perfect tea for meditation or before bedtime. There is something about drinking a tisane from nature, that is pure and unadulterated.
I love how this tisane makes me feel, warm, cozy, light hearted, relaxed, and happy.
An experience everyone should have.
Zulu Chai from Assam Tea Company
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos
As Sold By: Amoda Tea
Also Available At: Assam Tea Company
Tisane Description:
This is a fantastic chai blend, a bit on the spicy side (black pepper!), but nice and full-flavoured. The spices are well-balanced though. There’s a cinnamon blast on the nose, enhanced by the natural cinnamon qualities of the rooibos. For us here at Amoda, a chai blend is taken to the next level when orange peels are thrown into the mix.
Learn more about the Monthly Tea Tasting Box from Amoda Tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This is my third and final from “The Last Days of Autumn” tea tasting box from Amoda Tea. While I was excited to try a tea from this company (I don’t think I’ve tried one from them yet), I wasn’t overly excited about yet another rooibos chai blend (it seems like EVERYBODY’S got one!) But, I have to admit that after trying it, I can see why Amoda Tea decided to include this tea in this Autumn themed box. Chai blends tend to be rather autumnal, but something about this rooibos chai speaks of autumn in a very special way.
Dry, this is a beautifully fragrant chai. That shouldn’t be surprising, as most chai blends tend to be wonderfully aromatic. The spices that stood out to me most when I smelled the dry leaf was the anise and the cardamom, and given my love for anise (and cardamom!) it was a very rewarding scent, indeed!
Once brewed, my olfactory nerves are treated to the aroma of cinnamon and clove, with background notes of orange and ginger, and just a hint of anise in the distance.
This is a warm and tasty chai. It is not what I’d call a “spicy” (as in spicy-hot) chai, instead, I find the spices to be more soothing and mild. The spices are strong enough to be felt in the nasal cavity (this is one of those chai blends that is GREAT for when you’re feeling under the weather and need something to help clear that passage way!) and it gets to work to gently warm and soothe the throat and back of the palate.
The rooibos here can be tasted, but, it isn’t a strong flavor. Instead, I taste a hint of nutty flavor that sort of mingles with the notes of orange in the background. I expected the orange to actually be much stronger than it is here, as there are lots of little chunks of orange peel in the blend. Instead, the orange acts as an accent note, adding a touch of brightness to the cup and highlighting the spices in a very appealing way.
The anise is my favorite part of this chai, it gives an exotic sweetness to the cup and I love the way this spice melds with the others in the blend. They all seem to work together very harmoniously to create a delicious taste that is spicy without being hot, and very comforting. A perfect cup for these last days of autumn.