Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Culinary Teas
Tea Description:
Genmaicha Chai has delicious toasty rice notes dappled with green tea and a lively spice finish. It is a ceremonial tea union of Japan and India.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I love spiced chai, and I adore Genmaicha … so it doesn’t surprise me at all that I am loving this tea.
The Genmaicha is sweet and toasty, and the roasty-toasty taste of the genmaicha works so deliciously well with the warm chai spices. The spices are not overpowering or even what I’d call spicy, at least not spicy-hot. They are warm and comforting and well-balanced. I taste notes of ginger and pepper – I find that these two spices in particular work in unison, providing a gentle, peppery heat. I also taste the warm, sassy notes of cinnamon as well as the cloves and cardamom. A hint of coriander ties all the flavors together in a very pleasing way.
And even though the spices are strong, they do not overwhelm the soft sweetness of the Genmaicha. The roasted rice adds a satisfying level of sweetness to the cup so if you like a semi-sweet cup of chai but don’t like to add sugar to your tea, this chai may be just the ticket for you. The buttery tones of the green tea add a hint of creaminess to this as well, providing a smooth quality without adding milk – which I typically do not add to green teas. I suppose this blend would be quite good with milk, although I’d recommend steeping it at double or even triple strength before adding the milk to avoid overthrowing the delicious flavors of this cup.
Culinary Teas never ceases to impress me with their high quality teas, not to mention their reasonable prices. Their products are fresh and delicious, and they are a really nice company too – I like that they have an online presence.
When I drink tea from Culinary Teas, it’s is like enjoying tea with dear friends!
Patisserie from Tealish
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Tealish
Tea Description:
A sinfully aromatic black tea blend which captivates the senses. Exquisite, sweet nut flavours from almond and pistachio pieces are balanced with spice notes from peppercorns, cumin and coriander. Like walking in to a bakery in Paris.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This tea received mixed reviews on Steepster, but I’m really enjoying it.
It is sweet, nutty, warmly spiced, and has a delicious buttery-pastry note that develops as I continue to sip it. Yum! I don’t know that I’ve ever had a pastry with cumin in it, but, I like the hint of smoky spice it adds to the cup.
The black tea offers a delicious background, although sometimes I think it’s a little overwhelmed by the spices in this blend. Every once in a while, I notice it peeking through, but, for the most part, it seems content to play in the background and let the other flavors be the focus of the cup.
The contrast of spice and sweet nutty, buttery flavors seems to be in balance, making for a rich, satisfying cup of sweet and savory flavors. Nice!
Butter Truffle Black Tea Blend from ESP Emporium
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: ESP Emporium
Tea Description:
A tea creation for all “sweet teeth”. Just like licking out a dish with freshly made huller cookie dough with hints of freshly grated orange peel… it must be scooped out to the last drop. Not even adults can say no to this indescribable taste. The unusual, colorful and abundant decoration of savory and spicy ingredients makes your mouth water just by looking at it.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Unexpected! That’s the word for this tea. I must admit that when this tea was ordered it was because of the name: Butter Truffle. It sounds amazing. I didn’t really even read the description or check the ingredients. My sweet tooth did all the decision making when it comes to this tea, and when I read “Butter Truffle” that sweet tooth of mine said: YES!
So, I guess I need not explain that I had expected something sweeter than what I’m tasting at the moment. But that is not to say that I dislike what I taste. This is really delicious – it’s just not quite what I had anticipated. I like when a tea surprises me this way.
The sweetness is there from the almonds and pistachios as well as a hint of citrus. It has a very biscuit-y kind of note to it, reminiscent of freshly baked cookies or possibly freshly baked scones. But this tea also has a savory tone to it, a delightfully savory quality from the spices. I taste a touch of smokiness from the cumin and a kiss of pepper. It tastes warm and spicy, but the spices are not overwhelming. It all works together very harmoniously.
The black tea base is fairly mellow and unassuming, completing the flavor of the cup without overwhelming it. There is a pleasing balance of tea flavors and spice, while teasing this drinker with hints of sweetness.
A very surprising and rewarding tea from ESP Emporium.
White Chocolate Spice Chai Tea from Culinary Teas
Tea Type: Chai (Black Tea Base)
Where To Buy: Culinary Teas
Product Description:
This Spiced Chai has seasonal Malabar Coast spices, the sweet caramel comes to the fore front with a sensuous Belgian White Chocolate finish. Spices include Ginger, Cardamom, Coriander, Cinnamon, Cloves and Black Pepper.
Tasters Review:
I often have word association with many teas. This is one of them. White Chocolate. I remember my mother making Regular Chocolate, White Chocolate, and Orange Chocolate around the holidays. Many of you have read about my ramblings on Orange Chocolate before and didn’t realize until a few years ago that it wasn’t very popular outside of the Buffalo area. It’s a shame because Orange Chocolate is awesome. Anyhow…back to white chocolate. White Chocolate DOES have a different taste to milk chocolate. It’s more milky, creamy, not really like a pure chocolate but certainly creamy.
I can taste the white chocolate in this tea but it’s not over the top and I can taste most if not all of the spices! It’s milky smooth but with spice! So, as I really sat down and thought about this tea it did make sense and it did fit the description…milky-smooth fit the White Chocolate to a T and the spices were in line with what you would expect from a chai! All-together this was right-up there with the delightful flavored chais I have tried! NICE!
Vanilla Chai from Culinary Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Culinary Teas
Product Description:
A traditional chai tea with the addition of creamy vanilla.
Taster’s Review:
YUM! I know I’ve said it often, but I do love a good chai. I fell in love with Chai well before I really discovered loose leaf tea, as it was my favorite beverage at the cafe in Borders Bookstore (I miss Borders!) Shortly after that, I started discovering loose leaf tea, and the rest is history … but my love of chai continues even though I’ve fallen in love with other teas too. (I hope chai isn’t the jealous type!)
What is nice about this particular Chai blend is the addition of vanilla, which gives it a chai latte taste even without the addition of milk (although, I’m sure a splash of steamed milk wouldn’t hurt). It tastes creamy, rich and sweet – DELICIOUS!
The black tea base is a blend – I suspect there is some Assam in there, although I don’t know that it is an all Assam base. Perhaps a blend of Ceylon and Assam? It has a bold taste to it and hints of malt in the background. Very rich and solid background of flavor from this black tea blend.
The blend of spices used in this blend includes ginger, cardamom, coriander, cinnamon, cloves and black pepper. It is very well balanced. No one spice overpowers the others – it is a very cohesive combination of flavors that creates an overall flavor of warm spice rather than strong individual spice notes.
It is the vanilla in this particular blend that offers a stand-out performance, and I think that’s appropriate. This chai delivers what it promises. Smooth, creamy vanilla and deliciously warm chai – and it is a perfect cuppa for this chilly autumn afternoon.