As we endure the last cold nights of the season, it seemed the perfect time to brew up a cup of Smoky Spice from 52Teas. This blend combines two of my favorite cold-weather sensations: woodsmoke and cardamom. Nothing quite makes me feel as cozy and nostalgic as holding a hot cup of spicy tea, with the smell your neighbor’s wood stove on the wind.
Growing up in New England in a family with an Eastern European heritage, it seemed like we were always having winter bonfires and mulled cider or tea, celebrating some equinox or natural deity. These winter memories hit hard when I stuck my nose in the bag of these tea leaves, and I was caught up in the heat of the fire and the warmth of the spices.
52Teas does a great job with their smoky blends, the smoke is not too savory or bacon-like, just the perfect charcoal-nutty waft of roasting logs on the fire. The smoke is this blend is balanced, with a solid black tea base and a generous scoop of cardamom pods and vanilla beans, with no one flavor coming on too strong.
Drinking this tea is like sitting next to the fireplace and eating snappy spice cookies, or sipping on a spiced tea from your thermos out in the snow, watching a bonfire crackle away. I know I’ll be keeping an eye out for this blend when the weather turns again in the fall and you smell that first wisp of wood smoke on a crisp, cool day.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description:
This tea actually began as my Masterpiece Chai. While I was blending the spices, I toasted my cumin and I think either the cumin was especially fresh (not a bad thing at all) or I used too much cumin (much more likely) but the resulting blend ended up tasting strongly of smoky cumin. So I decided to add some Lapsang Souchong to amplify the smoky notes and create a Smoky Spice blend. This is a chai with a pleasant smoky tone – it’s not overly smoky – which is fine with me because I’m not a huge fan of a strong smoky essence. This has just the right level of smoke with a pleasant spicy note that isn’t too spicy, and it’s a little sweet and a little savory. It’s really nice.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Winter Cabin Chai from 52Teas. . . . .
Ahhhhh! A Black Tea/Honeybush Blend from 52 Teas? HECK YEAH – I’m excited!
I’m excited for Winter Cabin Chai from 52 Tea for many reasons…one…because I was getting low on spicy black teas…two…because it’s a blended black tea and honeybush base…three…it’s a flavored chai…and four…it contains marshmallow root! The marshmallow root is GLORIOUS! It’s a natural, vegan ingredient that gives it the delicious marshmallow aroma and taste without the gelatin based junk food that you buy in stores!
It’s spicy because of the traditional chai-like spices but it also has a sweetness to it, too! The vanilla provides a creamy-smooth end note and walks hand-in-hand with the spices for the perfect yin and yang.
This was so nicely done and so impressive that I was able to get 2 solid infusions out of it. The spices are strong and the vanilla and marshmallow are sweet and smooth. The honeybush helps sweeten it too. The black tea is a medium strength black tea and it’s tasty!
I’m liking everything about this flavored chai! The only thing I won’t like is when my stash is gone.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black Tea
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description
I’m not exactly sure how to explain my inspiration behind this tea except to say that I wanted to create something that evoked thoughts of a little cabin out in the woods during a winter snowstorm. Inside the cabin, it’s warm and toasty, there’s a fire cracking in the fireplace and you’re – yes you! Not me, I’d prefer no snowstorm please. Since I’m the one writing the story, you’ll be the character in the story, m-kay? You’re curled up in front of the fireplace, wrapped in a warm, fuzzy blanket and you’re roasting marshmallows. I wanted a chai that captured that story.
I wanted something warm and spicy but also sweet and toasty. Something that hints of slightly charred marshmallows while still letting you know that it’s a chai you’re sipping. I wanted the spices to be in the forefront but not so aggressive that the delightful roasted marshmallow flavor is overpowered.
And I think I’ve accomplished what I set out to do – try it yourself and see if you agree!
Large size is approximately 50g
organic ingredients: black teas, honeybush, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, clove, black pepper, nutmeg, marshmallow root, vanilla bean and natural flavors.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Rose Chai from Tea Dude. . . . . .
This is a tasty chai, but I can’t taste the rose.
Which totally stresses me out, guys.
I want to be like “the rose notes are a pink rose, first bloom of spring, a tender, easy rose, like the kind you buy for a fresh love.”
Or perhaps “this rose is a sultry red, the color of midnight kisses and lipstick on the collar. It’s the last wisp of your lover’s perfume on your clothes as you drive away into the shuddering rain, alone.”
But I can’t taste that.
I’m getting a lot of spices. Which is totally what a chai should be — a violent slam to the face of cinnamon and its squad. So crazy-spiced that you’ve gotta cut it with vanilla almond milk to handle it.
A rugged, full-throttle, roadrunner-speed lightning-streak from your tongue to your stomach. Boom.
Your eyes widen a little wider and you realize that you had been tired all day — and now you’re awake.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black Tea
Where to Buy: Tea Dude
Description
Chai with a hint of Rose Hip. Nicely balanced flavor. Great hot or cold. Use approximately 1 tsp. per cup. Steep until desired strength.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
I’m CooCoo for White Coco Choco Chai from Nelson’s Tea
When I’m trying to cut caffeine, but still want some chai spice, I often drink nutty rooibos chais or lemony herbal chais. Depending on the blend and my mood, these alternatives can be tasty, but sometimes I find myself wanting more. White Coco Choco Chai from Nelson’s Tea is the perfect solution.
This tea has a white tea base along with the usual suspects of chai spice: cinnamon, ginger, cardamom. But it also has the addition of allspice, black pepper, coconut and chocolate chips. There’s the same heat I know and love from black tea chais, the kick of ginger and pepper, but there’s also a creaminess from the coconut and chocolate that gives decadence and body where the black tea is absent. The white tea base is light on the caffeine and astringency, making for a spice-driven cup that’s okay to drink just about any time of day.
This tea is like an x-ray, just the white bones of a chai; spice, distilled. Even in the bag, it’s lovely to look at with big cardamom clusters, allspice pods, cinnamon bark, and the white curls of coconut shavings. The tea leaves seem so few in proportion! The smell of this blend in the bag and while brewing is strong and cozy, filling my kitchen with its spicy scent. This tea has all the comfort of a delicious baked good, livened up with the zing of allspice and pepper.
I got to taste just a few cups from a small tea sample, but I will definitely be stocking up on White Coco Choco Chai from Nelson’s Tea as soon as I can!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Nelson’s Tea
Description:
Spicy chai blend in a warm and sweet white tea base with succulent chocolate and coconut. It’s dessert in a cup.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Spiced Apple Chai from Adagio Tea
This tastes spot-on like spiced apple cider. It tastes precisely like something one would buy at a farmer’s market from an Amish person. You could imagine them hand-mashing it, mulling it, and dropping in a dallop of cinnamon. Totally real ingredients, all the indulgence, with none (or almost none) of the calories.
You’d then carry your cup of this cider into a pumpkin patch, with your partner, who wants to “share” it with you. But really, s/he wants to drink 75% and not hold their own cup. Then, when it’s drunk down, you didn’t get enough (there is NEVER ENOUGH of something so tasty). AND you’re left holding an empty cup in your hand and no trash can.
In vengeance, you make them carry the pumpkin in line to the weighing station, and then make them pull the goop out of the pumpkin’s head at home while you drink wine and watch reality TV.
You insist on a “cute” pumpkin this year instead of an “elaborate” pumpkin.
You get your way. Because you gave them some of your cider (or tea that tastes like cider, in this instance), and it was the bomb.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black Tea
Where to Buy: Adagio Teas
Description
Our Spiced Apple Chai features the timeless, comforting combination of apples and spice. A lively blend of black tea, classic spices from Indian Masala Chai and bright notes of crisp apple. Juicy and pleasantly sweet, like warm applesauce, with a clean, refreshing texture. We suggest two heaping teaspoons per 8 oz cup. Sugar, cream or soy if desired
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
