Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Teabox
Tea Description:
Our Assam Masala Chai blend is made with premium Assam CTC black tea mixed with dry spices that include cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, cloves and black pepper corns.
This spiced chai blend has been expertly put together by our in-house tea masters for a flavorful cup that envelopes the decadent flavor of Assam tea in the warmth of exotic spices.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
A new to me company that I had been hearing about on Steepster, I was in the mood for some new chai and I saw that Teabox had a really nice selection.
My first impression of the company following my order? I’m impressed: I placed this order five days ago. Five days after I placed the order, my tea has been delivered! From India! (I’m in the US!) I don’t think I’ve ever had an international order arrive so swiftly.
The packaging was nice too. It arrived via DHL, so the outer package was nothing spectacular, just a DHL poly envelope. But inside was a box. The inside of the box was lined with tissue paper that was adorned with a sticker, and my teas were tucked a bag. It’s a nice presentation. It looks like someone took a few minutes to prepare this package instead of having everything thrown into a box or an envelope and shipped out. It was packaged with some care and this shows me that this vendor cares about the product that they’re sending out.
Unfortunately, there was a little problem with what I received from them. I received two pouches of tea that are called “Assam Masala Chai” – actually, one is labeled “Masala Chai” but on the label, it lists these ingredients:
Cinnamon, Cardamom, Clove, Assam Tea
The second pouch is labeled Assam Masala Chai and lists the following ingredients:
Cinnamon, Cardamom, Clove, Ginger, Black Pepper.
Since it’s called “Assam Masala Chai, I guess it’s also fair to assume that Assam Tea is part of this blend.
When I brought this issue to the attention of Teabox, I was sent some very prompt replies to get the issue resolved. They informed me that the first tea that I tried (which included the first set of ingredients) was their Masala Indian Chai Tea, but it isn’t. Even though the SKU matches, the Masala Indian Chai Tea has green tea and Tulsi, and this tea was a black tea with no tulsi. It had Cinnamon, clove, and cardamom. And Black tea.
Teabox asked me to send them a photo of the tea and the label, but, I’m not going to do that because the battery in my camera isn’t working at the moment and the camera in my phone is pretty much worthless. I love my phone, it’s great for texting and phone calls and that’s what I use it for. I haven’t gotten on the smart phone train yet. I’m still pretty old school with my LG enV3. Love it. Not ready to ditch it yet.
So, I’m still pretty impressed with this company, because I’m not going to let something like this product mislabeling get me down. I still got six chai teas for a low price and with very speedy shipping. And their customer service IS responsive. I just wasn’t so concerned about the tea that I was going to worry about sending them photos. I’ll just let the issue be. I decided to ditch the review of the “Masala Chai” and go with the “Assam Masala Chai.”
The spices are very fragrant. The tea is a fine CTC (as is in the picture) but the spices are much larger in the photo than in the actual tea. And the photo shows ginger and there was no sign of ginger in this blend. Everything has been chopped pretty finely.
And what that says to me is to reduce the steep time. A smaller cut to the leaves means more surface area exposed which means it steeps faster, releasing its flavor faster, but it also means that the tea can become bitter faster so take care to not oversteep. With a chai like this one, I steeped the tea for 2 1/2 minutes. (1 heaping bamboo scoop in the basket of my Kati Tumbler along with 12 ounces of water heated to 205°.)
Mmm! Nice. It’s a good, flavorful chai with a warm, zesty kick of spice. The Assam is a robust black tea with notes of malt. This is a tea that I strongly recommend not oversteeping. It’s a very finely chopped CTC and I think that for my palate, I wouldn’t steep longer than 2 1/2 minutes. I might even go for 2 minutes if I were steeping this for someone else because while I’m not getting a strong bitter note, I do detect some bitterness.
But it does have a very lovely malty flavor and a pleasant richness to it. It’s a hearty, full-flavored Assam.
The spices are strong but well-balanced. I get a spicy, peppery note from the ginger and black pepper, but this flavor doesn’t overpower the cinnamon, cloves and cardamom. It’s warm and spicy, but it’s not what I’d call spicy-hot. It doesn’t have my throat or mouth feeling as though I need a fire extinguisher, but it does offer a soothing warmth that is perfect on this cold afternoon.
If you love a sweet, creamy chai latte, brew this tea a little stronger than you would for a straight up cup by adding a little extra leaf. (Don’t steep it longer, it will be stronger but it will also be bitter!) Then warm up some milk (or almond milk!) in the microwave for about 45 seconds and add a splash of the milk (to your taste) to the brewed chai. If you have a frother, use it on the milk before you add it to the tea, this will make it frothy and fluffy. Add a little bit of honey or turbinado sugar if you like your chai sweet. (A little bit of sugar will enhance the spices too!)
Rather than go latte with this tea, I decided to not add the milk but I did add about half a teaspoon of turbinado sugar to the cup. As I said above, I find that this brings out the flavor of the spices just a little more.
This is a delightful chai for these chilly winter afternoons (or morning!) A great tea to curl up to while reading a good book.
Cinnamon Chai Iced Honeybush Tea from Southern Boy Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Honeybush
Where to Buy: Zoomdweebies
Tea Description:
If you’ve never had an iced chai, you’re missing out. And this one, with it’s organic honeybush base, is exceptional. I think we found just the right balance of chai spice flavors to add to this one–some cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, black pepper and a touch of clove.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn about SBT’s subscriptions here.
Taster’s Review:
I personally prefer my chai hot, but, it’s really nice to drink an iced chai now and then. This is really refreshing and flavorful.
If you’ve read any of my other SBT reviews, you’re probably familiar with how I brew these teas. The tea comes in a big sachet which is really convenient for iced tea brewing. You can cold brew it or hot brew it and because it’s in a sachet, you can stash the brewed sachet in the fridge to resteep it for a second pitcher of tea if you’re so inclined.
I don’t usually resteep honeybush teas because I find that they lose flavor quicker than say, a white or green tea. But I highly recommend resteeping the white and green tea varieties of Southern Boy Teas!
I heated 1 quart of water to 195°F and then I added the sachet to the pitcher and let it steep for 9 minutes (because it’s a honeybush base, there are no tannins – this won’t become bitter if you ‘oversteep’ it – so keep it steeping for maximum flavor!) Then I poured the tea into my favorite tea pitcher and I repeated the process with a second quart of water, resteeping the sachet for 12 minutes. This produced a full 1/2 gallon pitcher of iced tea. (Well, you gotta let it cool first! I usually brew the tea at night and in the morning, I have a pitcher full of refreshing iced tea.)
I like the honeyed sweetness from the honeybush. It’s a light, nutty taste that melds well with the chai spices. The spices are zesty but not overly spicy. The name of this chai is “Cinnamon Chai” so I expected a big burst of cinnamon flavor but that didn’t happen. It’s got the cinnamon flavor there, to be sure, but it’s not super cinnamon-y. It’s a gentle warmth and I’m getting that not just from the cinnamon but also the ginger, cardamom, pepper, and cloves.
It’s warm and zesty, but not what I’d call ‘spicy.’ Just a pleasant, warmly spiced tea. I like this one – it’s one I wouldn’t mind having on hand to enjoy regularly. It’s tasty!
Please don’t forget about Southern Boy Teas’ Indiegogo Fundraiser! Help this small business grow! As little as $4 can help further their dream and you’ll get some really tasty tea in return!
Chai Tea from Tealated
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Tealated
Tea Description:
This spicy Chai delights the senses with its blend of cardamom, cinnamon, and cloves with organic Assam tea. Try it with milk and sugar for a culinary treat!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Yeah! I’m liking this chai!
I worried that I might have oversteeped it, because I absent-mindedly set the timer for 3 minutes without taking into consideration that this is a) an Assam and b) a CTC Assam at that!
But I’m not experiencing any bitterness. I don’t know if that’s because the spices are overpowering any bitter tones or if it’s because this Assam is a bit more forgiving than others that I’ve had. I just know that I’m tasting a really enjoyable cup of Chai that isn’t bitter. It’s smooth, rich and flavorful and jam-packed with masala spice – just the way I like my chai blends to be!
I like that this is warm and zesty – and yeah, I’d even go so far as to say it’s spicy! But it isn’t a ‘too much’ kind of spicy. It’s just right. This is the spice levels that I prefer my chai blends to have. I like a good bit of spice to the cup but I don’t want it to be so overwhelmed with spice that I can’t taste that rich, delicious black tea base.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve enjoyed many a chai that didn’t meet these specifications. But as far as the kind of chai that I would go back to … this is the kind of chai that I’d be happy to drink again and again.
There’s even the faintest hint of creaminess to the cup which I’m not quite sure where it comes from except that perhaps it’s from the malty notes of the Assam – but it tastes really good served without the dairy. It’s certainly not “latte” like without the dairy, but there is enough of a creamy hint to it that I find enjoyable enough without the dairy.
I think I might serve this to my husband when he gets home. He has recently ‘discovered’ the joy of chai and I think he’ll really enjoy this one.
Hawaiian Ginger Jasmine from Swan Sisters
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Tea Information:
The word exotic comes to mind when we sip this tea. Naturally sweet, exquisite and mellow Jasmine pearls livened up with spicy ginger and zesty citrus. The ginger is grown on an organic farm in Maui. The Dragon Pearls are infused with jasmine flowers six times when the jasmine pearls are made. This tea is a permanent favourite.
This tea is available from Amoda Tea.
Learn more about subscribing to Amoda Tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Oh wow! This is really nice!
The ginger hits the palate first. The first few sips are really all about ginger with a light note of green tea in the background. But it isn’t an overly spicy or zesty ginger flavor. It doesn’t bite you, it’s a gentle, peppery warmth from the ginger.
After the first couple of sips, I pick up on the jasmine. Sweet and soft jasmine notes that offer a really lovely contrast to the heat of the ginger.
The green tea is a soft background note. It’s light and sweet with hints of creaminess. Not exactly ‘buttery’ but more of a soft, creamy texture that also translates to a slightly creamy taste. It’s not an overly grassy or herbaceous green tea flavor. It’s delicate and light, the same type of green tea taste you’d experience from a top quality jasmine pearl tea.
Which is what this appears to be – it’s a jasmine pearl tea that’s been blended with some of the most beautiful pieces of dried ginger I’ve seen. A lot of times, ginger looks sort of ragged and root-y (especially that which you’d find in a typical chai or other tea blend) but this ginger looks like it was prepared with care and love.
To brew this, I suppose I could have used my gaiwan with great results, but I decided to try brewing it in my Kati Tumbler and this worked just as well too. I measured out a little less than a bamboo scoop of tea and put that in the basket of the Kati. I heated the water to 180°F, poured the water over the leaves and let it steep for 2 minutes.
Overall, I’m thrilled with this tea. I usually associate a jasmine tea with ‘springtime’ but the addition of the ginger make this a really nice cooler weather drink. This would also be really good iced, I think!
Gingerbread Flavored Iced Honeybush Tea from Southern Boy Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Honeybush
Where to Buy: Zoomdweebies
Tea Description:
This is a crowd pleaser. Order this today and offer your Thanksgiving dinner guests an awesome caffeine-free treat with organic flavors of gingerbread and a hint of cream cheese frosting. This is a real treat and likely to go fast. Do not miss out on this one.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn about SBT’s subscriptions here.
Taster’s Review:
Gingerbread is not something I eat often. I like some gingerbread, but most that I find tends to be a little on the wimpy side with no real ginger flavor. An exception to that is the gingerbread that I’ve tasted from Nikki’s Cookies. Good stuff.
But a lot of the gingerbread that you can buy in the grocery stores (about a month ago, you couldn’t walk into a grocery store without seeing a “gingerbread house kit.” And most of that stuff tastes like it was made from cardboard. No real ginger flavor – it’s as if the ginger that they use in the recipe is ground ginger that had been sitting on the shelf since Christmas in 1990. Boring flavor with no ginger kick.
So I’m hoping this tea will give me the kind of gingerbread flavor I want!
I hot-brewed this tea. I brought a quart of water to 195°F and dropped the sachet into the kettle and let it steep for 9 minutes. Then I strained the liquid into my favorite half gallon iced tea pitcher and repeated the process: heated a quart of water – 195°F – and put the same sachet into the kettle. This time, I let it steep for 11 minutes. Then I let the pitcher come to room temperature before I stashed it in the refrigerator to cool overnight.
Today, I have a pitcher full of gingerbread tea! Well, I guess I should say, I did have a pitcher full of gingerbread tea. Now I have about 1 glassful of tea remaining at the bottom of the pitcher and that glassful will be consumed soon!
This has a nice ginger flavor. The ginger is subtle but present in every sip. It doesn’t have a strong, peppery zing from the ginger, but there’s enough ginger in there to know that you’re tasting ginger. And there’s a pleasant sweetness, almost molasses-y, and that’s something I want to taste with gingerbread too.
This is sweet and enjoyable without being cloying. The ginger cuts through enough of the sweetness to keep it from tasting too sweet. The honeybush is a good base for the gingerbread flavors because the nutty and honey-esque flavors of the honeybush really tie in well with the overall gingerbread concept.
If I’m to offer any “complaint” about this tea, it would be that I want a little more “buttery/pastry” like flavor. That – it would seem – has become a common complaint of mine about some of the baked good flavor teas that 52Teas/Southern Boy Teas/Zoomdweebies has been producing as of late. I’m just not getting the buttery/pastry-like flavor that I’ve come to love from some of 52Teas’ classic flavors like their Pancake Breakfast tea. I think that would make this taste more like a gingerbread cookie.
That said, I found this iced tisane to be enjoyable. I like the flavor of the ginger and the molasses notes are quite delightful. It’s not my favorite iced tea selection from Southern Boy Teas, but it’s tasty and refreshing. The fact that the half gallon pitcher is nearly empty after it being in the refrigerator for less than a day should be testament to the fact that I enjoyed the flavor and it is very easy to drink.
Please take a moment to check out Frank’s Kickstarter campaign! He’s looking to take Southern Boy Teas to new heights and the fundraising effort will help get him started in the right direction! Please help this small business!