Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Southern Boy Teas
Tea Description:
Premium Organic black tea with organic flavors.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn about SBT’s subscriptions here.
Taster’s Review:
Yum! This tastes like a “holiday” tea blend – only iced! It has a great flavor with the warm spices and the burst of orange. It’s a little sweet and a little spicy and I love the way the bright citrus notes perk up the flavors of the spices.
The black tea base is flavorful and has a refreshing yet bold, brisk flavor. This isn’t your average black tea that you’ll find in the yellow, white and red box in the supermarket. (You know which tea I’m talking about, don’t you?) You can taste the quality in this tea.
It isn’t overly spiced. But I can definitely taste clove and cinnamon. The photo above shows star anise but I don’t taste it. I don’t really taste a strong presence of any spice – it’s more like a zesty medley of spices to add some depth to the iced tea.
I like the way the spices accent the vibrant orange taste. Like the spices, the orange isn’t overdone. There is a really good contrast between juicy orange flavor, lively spices, and brisk tea notes.
It may not be as unusual as “cotton candy” or “garlic toast” iced tea but this is a tasty, flavorful, refreshing iced tea that will quench the thirst and it has a certain holiday flair to it, making it seem quite alright to be drinking iced tea when it’s chilly outside! This is something that I’ve started doing over the last few years – keeping a pitcher of iced tea in my fridge even in the cooler months. A few years ago, I limited my iced tea brewing to the warm months when I really needed some cold drink waiting for me in refrigerator, but now I’ve come to embrace drinking both hot and cold teas year ’round.
And this tea would be great any time of year!
Celebration Medley Rooibos Blend from Sloane Tea Company
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Tea Information:
Sweet spice and delightful seasonal aromas! Meet the perfect tea to get you through the cold months. Warm baking spices of cinnamon, clove and nutmeg blend seamlessly with citrus and the natural sweetness of apple and rose petals. This is a unique blend destined to become one of your favourites.
This tea is available from Amoda Tea.
Learn more about subscribing to Amoda Tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I loved how apple-y this smelled when I opened the pouch. And as it steeped, I was treated to more apple notes – it smelled a bit like apple cider! YUM!
The apple notes are well-defined as are the spices. The cinnamon and clove add warmth and I’m getting a hint of “spicy-hot” cinnamon, like someone added a red-hot candy or two to my cup and let it dissolve. It’s not overly ‘hot’ but there’s just a hint of that candy-like cinnamon-clove-y hot-sweet flavor.
The nutmeg adds earthy and nutty flavors that meld nicely with the rooibos. The orange is more of a background note, but it adds a tangy, bright taste that is rather pleasant. The orange note also plays with the red-hot flavor of the cinnamon and clove.
I don’t taste a strong rose note, but every once in a while I get this lovely floral note. It seems to weave its way in and out, not always making itself obvious or apparent, but this blend wouldn’t be the same without that gentle whisper of rose.
To steep, I used my Kati Tumbler and added 1 1/2 bamboo scoops of tisane to the basket and 12 ounces of water heated to 195°F. I steeped it for 10 minutes.
I enjoyed this and would be happy to drink it again! It’s a little spicy-hot, it’s sweet, it’s fruity, and it’s got enough going on with it to keep the palate interested. It’s a fun and tasty blend!
Spicier Chai Blend from 52Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
Looking for a chai with a little extra ZING? You’ve found it! We crafted this warming chai with extra ginger and cinnamon, plenty of anise seed, peppercorns and even a touch of red pepper flakes. It’s not super spicy like they cayenne pepper blends we’ve created, but it will do a great job of warming your bones.
Learn more about this blend here.
Learn more about 52Teas’ subscriptions here.
Taster’s Review:
The name of this chai made me go hmm. – Spicier Chai – Spicier than what? But after I took my first sip, I got it. I understood.
Because…
Wow! “Spicier” is right!
And to answer the question: it’s spicier than your average chai. And it might even be spicier than the average spicy chai. Frank (Chief Zoomdweebie at 52Teas) didn’t skimp on the spices in this chai.
And I’m LOVING it! This is the way chai should be.
Oh sure, I’ve loved many a mild chai. But, in my heart of hearts, I like my spices robust and zesty, and to call this Spicier chai “robust and zesty” would be an understatement. This takes robust and zesty to the extreme! This is sure to warm you up after a day out in the snow. (Or the cold, biting rain like we experience here in the Pacific Northwest.) This will warm you up – starting on the inside and that heat will radiate outward. And I like it like that.
There is a good amount of ginger to this, and that, along with some black pepper and red pepper flake is what is providing the heat. But I’m glad that there is more to this chai than just ginger and pepper! I am getting a nice cinnamon-y backdrop and a pleasant anise flavor. The snappy-sweet licorice flavor from the anise contrasts nicely with the peppery flavors. The cardamom and clove work together with the cinnamon to create a cohesive “chai” flavor rather than something that tastes like it’s all peppery/gingery heat.
I think that’s what I like best about this chai is that it’s not a one-note kind of chai. I am tasting a masala blend here, not just one or two spices.
Yes, I do taste the black tea too. I have to say that it does get a little lost in the spices here, but the black tea is strong enough to offer a background of black tea flavor. I’m not drinking an infusion of spices. I’m drinking black tea and spices and that is evident in the flavor. The nuances of the black tea are difficult to discern. I’m not tasting “delicate floral notes in the background” or “notes of fruit” within the layers of flavor. I taste SPICE and I taste black tea. And really, that’s good enough for me because the spice is bold and strong and that’s what makes this a seriously good chai.
If you’re one who tastes a chai and thinks, “Hey, where is the spice?” or if you’re one who thinks that the average chai is just a little on the tame side, you really should try this chai! This chai has some bite!
Pumpkin Spice Chai from The Tea Spot
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: The Tea Spot
Tea Description:
Our NEW seasonal Pumpkin Spice Chai may soon become your favorite tea to look forward to each Fall! This chai blend boasts a perfectly-balanced full leaf Assam black tea base with cinnamon, clove, cardamom, allspice, and pumpkin flavor to get you warmed up for Fall. This tea makes an amazing pumpkin latte with the simple addition of steamed milk. This seasonal treat will have you jumping in piles of rainbow-colored leaves in no time!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This year (at least this time of the year this year) seems like it’s been the year of the pumpkin chai! I’ve reviewed quite a few different pumpkin chai teas this year! I’ve enjoyed most of what I’ve tried (nothing comes to mind immediately that I did not enjoy, but some I definitely enjoyed more than others), but I think I’m saving the best for last! This one – this! This is one of the very best pumpkin chai teas that I’ve ever tasted.
The first thing that really impressed me when I opened the pouch of this tea is the aroma! Wow! I can really smell the pumpkin! It is a distinct pumpkin-y fragrance. It smells like the kitchen on Thanksgiving morning when the pies are baking! I smell notes of spice and black tea too, but the pumpkin notes are prominent!
The aromatic pumpkin notes are there in the brewed tea too. The fragrance wafting out of my teacup right now are scrumptious! To brew this, I used my Kati Tumbler and measured 1 heaping bamboo scoop of tea into the basket. I like to use just a little more leaf when I’m brewing a chai! This is especially important if you plan on going latte, because you want to accommodate for the heavier flavor of the dairy – or whatever product you’re using to make it a latte.
I brought 12 ounces of water to boiling and poured it into the tumbler and let this tea steep for 3 1/2 minutes. I usually stop at 3 minutes with a black tea (and especially an Assam, which this is!) but because of the spices, I wanted to give them a little more time to develop so I crossed my fingers and hoped that the Assam would let me steep it a little longer!
Fortunately, the Assam didn’t seem to mind the slightly longer steep.
This is a really delicious pumpkin chai. The pumpkin notes are distinct. They are THERE. There’s no mistaking the pumpkin here! This isn’t a pumpkin pie spice type chai where you’re tasting the spices of a pumpkin pie but no pumpkin flavor. This is PUMPKIN!
And even though the pumpkin flavor is strong, it is a true-to-the-squash type of flavor. It doesn’t taste artificial. It tastes like someone liquefied pumpkin puree and added it to my teacup.
The spices are nice. They’re good and strong – flavorful – without pushing it to the spicy level! It’s a distinct, spiced blend. Not just warmly spiced, but not quite “spicy” either. It’s somewhere between. Consider the amount of spice that you’d find in the typical pumpkin pie. Let’s call that mild spice. And then there’s the super zesty, spicy level … this is somewhere in between. This tastes like a chai that is also a pumpkin tea.
And I like that the spices are so thoughtfully balanced. I like that this tastes like a chai! I taste each of the spices: cinnamon, cardamom, clove, ginger. I am also tasting the allspice which is nice (and not always something that’s added to chai!) It’s warm, it’s cozy, but it’s also got a certain zippy invigorating quality that I get from a well-spiced chai.
You might think that with all that pumpkin and spice, that the tea winds up on the short end of the stick. But no! This is an Assam tea and it’s got some gusto! It is a rich, malty tea and the sweet, caramel-y notes together with the malt really play nicely with the flavors of pumpkin and spice.
For the purposes of this review, I didn’t go latte with this chai. I wanted to experience the tea straight up, with just a little bit of raw sugar added to enhance the spices a little. (This would also be amazing with honey!) After I finished writing my thoughts about the non-latte chai, I decided to add some steamed milk and it’s awesome like that too! So rich and creamy and yum! Better than what you’d find in the local coffee stop!
This is a very clever, well-crafted pumpkin chai. This is the best of the pumpkin patch!
Mint-Chilla Chai-Nilla Tea from The Spice and Tea Exchange
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Pu-erh
Where to Buy: The Spice and Tea Exchange
Tea Description:
A pu-erh chai tea with creamy vanilla, bright peppermint, and a touch of cinnamon. A rich smooth tea that adds a refreshing minty twist to the traditional chai tea flavors. Contains: organic green pu-erh tea, organic peppermint, organic cinnamon, organic vanilla bean, organic licorice root.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This is an enjoyable pu-erh blend but I don’t know if I’d call it a “chai.” The only ingredient in this blend that is common in a masala chai blend is cinnamon. There is no ginger, no clove, no cardamom … none of the other “usual” ingredients in this “chai.”
Oh, sure, there’s licorice root and I’m enjoying the sassy flavor that it adds to the cup, but licorice root is not a common ingredient in a chai blend.
But whether or not I’d consider it a chai, it is a tasty blend.
To brew it, I used my Kati tumbler and heated the water to 190°F. I added a heaping bamboo scoop of loose leaf tea to the basket of the tumbler and then I added 12 ounces of heated water. I waited for 15 seconds and then drained off the liquid, discarding it (the rinse). Then I filled the tumbler again with another 12 ounces of heated water and steeped it for 3 minutes.
The pu-erh base is earthy and smooth. No bitterness or astringency to speak of. Just smooth, mellow flavor. The earthiness is complemented by the cinnamon and licorice root. The peppermint adds a burst of fresh flavor while the vanilla adds a hint of creaminess. (No need for dairy to make this a latte! It’s a little bit like a latte without the addition.)
An enjoyable tea that tastes just like the holidays! A great tea for this time of year!