I have been seeing Vahdam Tea in the news lately and thought a spicy cup of chai would settle me right in for the night.
This isn’t your traditional black tea boiled with water and milk and heavily sugared. This is a fine darjeeling green with cardamom (YUM!), cinnamon, and clove. When I pour the dry leaves out to investigate them, it LOOKS like black tea, but don’t be fooled. Darjeeling tastes best to me prepared with slightly lower temperature water and a short steep to keep astringency low. If you like very brisk tea, increase your temp and time.
The green darjeeling is a tad brisk. The long boiling time of traditional chai makes the tea strong and bitter or astringent, and that is why milk and sugar are added, and a good dollop of milk, too! I am not adding anything to this, though, and it is enjoyable just as it is. The spices are at a great level for me. I have never been a fan of chai made with tons of black peppercorns, and I really feel that the cardamom and cinnamon lead the spices in this one. The scent of the dry leaves and the steeped tea is scrumptious.
And it is working! The strong flavors of the tea are keeping my cravings at bay and I don’t feel deprived at all.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Vahdam Teas
Description
A superior green tea blend with the finest, aromatic Indian spices for a unique Chai experience!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Saffron Kahwa from Tea Trunk . . .
A saffron tea had me intrigued. This is not an ingredient usually used in tea blends so I was interested to see what it contributed. I had no idea what to expect but there is a creaminess here that I am at a loss for where it is coming from (would saffron add creaminess? I think that seems off. Maybe it is the almonds?).
In addition to the saffron and the almonds noted above, this tea boasts a chai tea profile with rose petals. All on a green tea base.
Tea Trunk recommends this as a detox tea, one to be had to cleanse the palate after a heavy meal and I can see why. For a tea composed of so many chai spices usually associated with warmth and fall/winter tea drinking this tea is surprisingly light. Though still spicy and warm. It is an interesting combination.
So this is creamy and spicy but also quite sweet. I’m thinking the almonds are playing a big role here contributing both the creamy and sweet notes and helping support the warmer notes of the spices atop a nutty foundation. In that regard, it probably also creates a bridge between the green base and the other ingredients.
The rose, on the other hand, is pretty hidden in the mix. Perhaps it adds sweetness but there is no floral component here that I can detect.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green Tea
Where to Buy: Tea Trunk
Description
Green tea is infused with saffron strands, cinnamon bark, cloves, ginger, cardamom pods, rose petals and sweet almonds. This luxurious blend is known for it’s detoxfying properties and is rich in antioxidants and nutrients. Wear your invisible tiara/ crown, and sip with regal grace.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Chai Houjicha from 52Teas . . . . .
I was so excited to try this tea. I love love love Chai tea. I love Chai green tea especially since I’m working on cutting back on caffeine.
And doing some Googling I discovered that Houjicha is green tea that has been roasted. The roasting process cuts down on the earthiness of green tea, making it more caramel like in flavor, and also cuts down on the caffeine. This makes it a nice tea to serve in the evening.
Bonus!!
As soon as I opened the packet, I could smell cardamom, which excited me because with a lot of Chai tea the cinnamon and nutmeg kind of take center stage, which is fine but it’s nice to let other flavors play a role.
This blend also has pepper and long pepper, so it is nice and warming. I wouldn’t say spicy, but it is nice and zesty and flavorful. It has a perfect balance of flavors. As I read the ingredients, I noticed that I could taste every single ingredient, including ginger which often gets lost in the mix.
This is one of the best Chai teas I’ve had, and at this point I’ve had a lot. I really enjoy the flavor of roasted green tea, it goes very well with all the Chai spices. I had mine with a little bit of raw sugar and a splash of coconut milk. It was a wonderful thing to have first thing in the morning, especially on this grey winter day. It made me feel warm and cozy.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green Tea
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description
As I sit here, tasting this, it’s just a couple of days past the first day of FALL – my favorite time of year! There are a couple of reasons why it’s my favorite time of year. First, I love the change in temperature. The change of color outside with all the beautiful orange, red and yellow leaves is wonderfully inspiring but the main reason fall is my favorite season is the change in temperature. That cool, crisp air of autumn is certainly a welcome respite from the heat of summer (and in August around here, it usually gets down-right unbearable!) And the cooler temperatures not only mean it’s time to start wearing warm, fluffy sweaters and cozy wool socks but hot tea is much more enjoyable this time of year – and especially “chai” teas. (Yes, I know that “chai” translates simply to “tea” and means all tea types but around here when I think “chai” I think of a nicely spiced tea.)
If I had to narrow my ‘flavored’ tea choices to just three or four favorites, chai would certainly make that list (as well as Earl Grey and probably chocolate – or possibly vanilla?) Fortunately, here at 52Teas – we don’t have to narrow our choices when it comes to tea! We’re all about celebration of flavor here! But that doesn’t diminish my adoration for a well-spiced chai!
I decided for my first ‘official’ chai of this fall season, I’d make a Houjicha based chai! I started with an organic, roasted green tea (aka Houjicha) and added cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, cardamom, black pepper and a little bit of long pepper.
Mmm! The toasty flavor of the Houjicha adds a delightfully warm, nutty flavor to the cup and it is beautifully matched with the warmth of the spices. Not a hot spice – but comfortably warm. The kind of tea you want to curl up with while cuddling up under a a soft blanket and a good book.
Large size is approximately 50g.
organic ingredients: roasted green tea, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, cardamom, nutmeg, black pepper, long pepper and natural flavors.
