This tea is named for Marilyn Monroe’s use of the perfume, Chanel No. 5, but I can’t help but think of the pop song that involves No. 5 instead (if it is stuck in your head now, you’re welcome). The blend suits both sassy scenarios. With a bold assam base it is full of life and flavor. Added heat from ginger and peppercorns keep things spicy without being too fiery. Earthy cardamom adds a little maturity and depth to the chai flavors. Last but not least, coconut, the “coco” part of the namesake, adds its trademark buttery creaminess to make the blend feel extra decadent.
I love chai teas on their own without milk and sugar, and this one is perfect in that style. The fattiness from the coconut makes it feel lush even without milk. If you really want to treat yourself, brew this as a latte for that perfect mix of soft foam and warming spices.
This is also a tea that looks pretty in the loose leaf, so be sure to snap a picture as you scoop it into your cup. There are golden nibs of ginger root, vibrant red peppercorns, boxy light green cardamom pods, and dark russet arcs of cloves. For a blend with plenty of style, personality, and flavor, brew up Coco Chai No. 5 from Bird and Blend Tea.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Bird and Blend
Description:
When asked what she wore to bed, Marilyn Monroe famously replied ‘five drops of Chanel No.5.’ We’re not sure about getting you into bed with blonde bombshells, but five drops of Coco Chai No.5 will definitely satisfy your taste buds with its delicious loose leaf blend of spices and smooth coconut.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Green Cinnamon Spice from Fava Tea
Holy hot tamale, Green Cinnamon Spice from Fava Tea is a sweet and fiery brew! The description of the tea says there are three different types of cinnamon in this blend and you can feel the heat and herbal intensity from all three.
I believe Fava Tea also has a version of this blend with a black tea base. I find the green tea base appealing. The cinnamon is so powerful on its own, you don’t need the astringency of a black tea to compete with it. The green tea provides a suitable, subtle background to let the herbs and spices dance center stage.
Beyond the cinnamon, this tea features orange peels and cloves which pair seamlessly with the cinnamon and make the brew naturally full and sweet. This tea is perfect for lovers of cinnamon candies, or for those who like an extra sensory experience with their tea. Drank hot, the cinnamon spice feels hot and tingly all the way down your throat, providing a comforting warming feeling from within.
I know there are lots of specialty tea brews that come out in the fall and winter, but this delicious brew is available year round. It is the perfect heat to help with a stuffy nose or sore throat. It is the most intense cinnamon brew to accompany your season dessert, like apple pie. Feel festive, berry, and bright with a cup of Green Cinnamon Spice.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Fava Tea
Description:
This green tea contains THREE types of cinnamon, sweet cloves, and orange peel. There’s no added sweetener in this tea, but you’d swear there is! The natural sweetness of the cinnamon really shines through!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Wildest Mints from Story of My Tea. . . .
Sometimes I can’t believe I haven’t tried a combination of some simple, favorite ingredients. Wildest Mints from the Story of My Tea blends peppermint, clove, and licorice into an herbal brew. Three simple, flavorful ingredients, no added flavoring, no caffeine. Wildest Mints is a great herbal blend to keep in your cabinet for soothing mint with little something extra.
Story of My Tea recommends this brew be iced. Drinking it cold enhances the already refreshing rush of brewed peppermint and is just the right flavor for an especially hot day. The licorice and cloves add some herbal sweetness and bring more texture to the feeling of this tea on your tongue and throat.
I also like this as a hot brew, maybe as an after dinner cup with plenty of peppermint to help with digestion. When warm, the peppermint brings a little creaminess to the cup along with its familiar cool, crispness. The cloves are more prominent in a warm brew, and I adore their dark and spicy aftertaste and buzzy mouthfeel. As always, the licorice is sweet and soothing.
Who knew there could be so much going on with just three classic ingredients? Story of My Tea clearly did!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Story of My Tea
Description:
The main ingredient of this calming blend is peppermint, this herb has several millennia of history. There are records that show Peppermint was used by the ancient Egyptians around 1,000 B.C. The Romans grew peppermint gardens for its use as a digestive aid they also used it as a grown cover between the stepping stone pathways. The Japanese valued it so highly that they carried peppermint in small silver boxes that hung from their belt. Peppermint was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1753 as a hybrid between water mint and spearmint. Today this plant is cultivated in many regions of the world.
The second ingredient is licorice root, a plant native to southeast Europe and southwest Asia. It brings a natural sweetness to this blend and is valued by both eastern and western medicine for its anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory and “harmonizing” properties.
Finally, the cloves. These aromatic dried flower buds used in Asian, African, Mexican, Near and Middle East cuisine add just the right spice balance to this blend.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Chinese Five Spice from 52Teas. . . . .
I love spicy teas, so when I saw that 52Teas has a special spiced blend for the Chinese New year, I had to try it. Chinese Five Spice from 52Teas is one of my favorite chai blends I’ve tried in a while. In the dry leaf, you can smell the Szechwan peppercorns, adding a little heat and a little tingly, earthy ground pepper scent.
The peppercorns are well-balanced with the sweeter spices like anise and ginger. The orange peels are specifically mandarin oranges, and there’s something distinct in the citrus flavor that makes it feel different than the usual orange notes. Finally, there are also plenty of cloves that add their own sweet-spice, almost making the dry tea leaves have a fragrance like Dr. Pepper or Moxie soda.
Brewed, the black tea really shines and shows off its quality, tippy tea leaf origins. Somehow both smooth and tart, it makes the pepper and orange pop on my tongue but without any spicy after-burn on my throat. There is still a very full-flavored scent in my mug with cloves and ginger, but it’s not sweat-inducing spicy in taste, very drinkable. No honey or milk needed (though you can always add them if you love it), the blend is well-balanced right out of the bag.
I ordered the sample size but I’ve already finished it, so I’ll have to put the full size bag in my shopping cart soon. This is a tasty, unique chai for spicy tea lovers everywhere.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description:
Since China is a very important part of what I do (since most of my tea comes from China!), I decided it was important to do something to celebrate the ringing in of the Chinese New Year this year (The Year of the Dog)! I started with two black Yunnan teas – a Yunnan Black Gold and a tippy Assamica grown in the Yunnan Province – and added dried mandarin wedges and the whole spices of a Chinese 5 Spice blend: Cinnamon, Cloves, Star Anise, Fennel and Szechwan peppercorns. Then I added just a wee bit of ginger to enhance the peppery notes just a little. The result is a cuppa that is a little bit sweet, a little bit savory and a little bit spicy! It’s a really nice, round flavor! The mandarin orange flavor is bright and adds a nice touch to the spices here. It’s kind of like an orange flavored chai – Chinese style! I’m really happy with how this one came out – the spices are strong enough to be inviting but don’t blow out the taste buds with the spice – and the mandarin is really lovely: sweet and juicy!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Green Tea Chai by Vahdam Teas
Steeped with a heaping tablespoon of leaves at 175 degrees in about 1 cup of water.
This tea was a new experience for me! I’ve tried lots of flavored green teas, but never one where the green tea was a substitute for black tea in a chai blend. As a result of this tea, I’ve realized how different these spices are outside of a conventional chai context and how much I take the black tea base for granted in chai blends!
As it steeps, I can detect a fragrance of spices; it smells like cinnamon and possibly cloves. The tea liquid isn’t very dark. In fact it’s only achieved a pale honeylike color after it’s finished steeping; it’s a little viscous, with nearly invisible flecks (of cinnamon, perhaps?) swimming in it.
The flavor is very different from any chai I’ve ever tried. The spices, instead of melding with a malty black tea flavor to form a rounded flavor profile, are instead mingling with the bright astringent green tea notes (grassy almost, but not much on the floral side that I can detect). This makes for a very focused flavor overall. It’s highly concentrated in the bright and forward flavor notes and not so much rounded out with the deeper tones that a black tea normally imparts to a chai (in my experience). It’s almost bitter, but then again, I may have oversteeped it a bit–I like my chais strong.
With milk, it’s suddenly not very strong at all. It still has spice flavors, but I’m really missing the black tea base here. And I know you aren’t really “supposed” to put milk in green tea, but that’s what I normally do with chai so I figured why not?
So to sum up, don’t expect this to taste like a more conventional chai! Instead, expect a bright, spicy, focused flavor that’s intended to be enjoyed alone or with a little sweetener; I recommend trying it without milk. In fact, I bet this would make a great iced tea!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Vahdam Teas
Description
A superior blend of fresh green tea from Darjeeling blended with choicest Indian spices like Cardamom, Cinnamon, Clove & Black Peppercorns. Discover a smooth fulfilling aroma of fresh greens with delicious undertones of raw spices in every sip. The liquor is bright green with an energizing aroma. A unique chai tea which can be served with or without milk.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
