Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: M&K’s Tea Company on Etsy
Tea Description:
Could it be? A perfectly balanced chai tea? Yes, we know chai means tea and we are saying tea tea. But we like tea tea. Anyway. 9 Spice Chai is a smooth, deep, and complex black tea with just enough spiced flavor to penetrate the Indian and Sri Lankan black teas. Finally, a cup of chai that isn’t literally a cup of cloves or a cup of cinnamon nutmeg! Rejoice! This blend is part of the Original 20 M&K’s Blends.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
If you’ve read many of my reviews, you know by now that I love a good chai! So, I looked forward to trying this 9 Spice Chai from M&K’s Tea Company. After reading the description, it would seem that M&K’s is promising me a good chai here, so I am eagerly anticipating that!
And I’d like to take a moment to acknowledge the humor in M&K’s description. I know that ‘Chai’ means tea and when I say “Chai,” I am more often than not – 99 times out of 100 – referring to a spiced tea blend. But I also often find myself worrying about those purists out there that might read one of my post titles that say “chai tea” and they’re snickering about me saying “tea tea.” I like that M&K’s addresses this “confusing” subject with humor. Thank you.
Anyway … let’s move on to the chai tea that sits in front of me, tempting me with it’s lovely aroma. It smells warm and spicy, like the kitchen during the holidays when there are lots of tasty things being baked.
Especially when I was a kid in my gramma’s kitchen … not so much now because if tasty things were being baked in the kitchen, that would mean that I was baking them and doing all the work. Things smell a lot better when I’m not the one doing the work. I think that’s why the childhood memories of pies, cakes, cookies and other yummies “smelled” so much better than when I make those things.
I’m just full of tangent today, aren’t I?
As I was saying, this chai smells good. It has a lovely, warmly spiced fragrance. And, I’m happy to say that it tastes as good as it smells! The spices are nicely balanced (as promised in the above description), I taste gentle notes of cinnamon and cardamom and clove. Hints of nutmeg and vanilla. The pepper and ginger are zesty. The allspice and coriander round out the flavors. The spices have been carefully considered here to create a pleasing, round flavor that warms you from the inside out without coming across as too spicy.
It has a flavor that is reminiscent of a homemade spice cookie. It isn’t too strongly spiced – but it isn’t subtle either. It’s somewhere in between a very strong, spicy chai and a more softly spiced chai. The spices aren’t competing with one another and there isn’t one spice that overpowers the others. This isn’t all about the cinnamon or ginger or clove. I get a little bit of each spice in each sip and that’s what I mean by a nice balance of spice.
The black tea base is a blend of Ceylon and Assam, and these two teas provide a solid background of flavor. It’s robust and holds its own against the strong spices so that I’m not just tasting spices in each sip, I’m also tasting tea. The teas don’t taste bitter but there is some dryness toward the tail – a slightly astringent sensation – but it isn’t unpleasant. I like the way the dryness allows the spice notes (a contrast between spicy and sweet) to come through in the aftertaste.
I really am enjoying this chai. I think if I’m to offer any kind of criticism about it at all, it would be that I think I’d like just a tad more vanilla to this. The vanilla here is rather subdued, perhaps because it’s in the presence of so many other spices but I think I’d like to experience a little more of the sweet, creamy notes of vanilla here. A little more vanilla and you wouldn’t need to add dairy to make this a latte – it would be like a latte in a cup without the dairy!
White Chai from The Persimmon Tree
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where To Buy: The Persimmon Tree
Tea Description:
Our white chai is perfectly blended with white tea, chai spices, lemongrass, coconut, fruit pieces and peppercorn for a delicious bold taste. It comprises sweetness from the fruit pieces fused with a bold kick from chai spices and peppercorn.
Learn more about this chai here.
Taster’s Review:
Wow! OK, so take everything you know about chai and throw it out the window, because this will challenge your thoughts on what chai should be! This is a deliciously different chai!
After reading the above description, my first thought is that this tea has a lot going on. But everything is nicely represented in this cup. I’m not getting too much of anything and it all works together surprisingly well.
Because it’s crafted using a white tea base, the flavors are kept to that level. That is to say that the flavors here are blended skillfully so that the delicate flavors of the white tea are not overpowered. And yes, I can taste the white tea! It’s got a fresh, light, airy taste with hints of a hay-like flavor. It’s subtle, yes, but the other flavors of this cup are also kept on a subtle level so that the white tea doesn’t get lost in the mix.
And that’s not to say that the “chai” here is a mild chai, either. This chai has some kick to it! The ginger is zesty, the cinnamon is well-defined but not overdone. The cardamom and clove and pink peppercorn offer warmth. The “usual chai ingredients” have been utilized here (along with pink peppercorn which is not what I’d classify as a “usual ingredient.”)
With another tea type used as a base, the level of spices used this blend would probably seem a bit on the mellow side, but when combined with a white tea, it becomes rather invigorating and bold!
Then you get the fruit flavors: coconut, pineapple, apple and lemongrass. Yeah, I know lemongrass isn’t technically a “fruit,” but because it adds a nice, lemon-lime-ish flavor to a tea, I’m calling it a ‘fruit flavor’ for the purposes of this review. These sweet fruity notes add a touch of tropical flavor to the cup which is quite enjoyable.
I find myself especially appreciating the coconut because it adds a touch of “creamy” to the cup and because this is a white tea, I didn’t want to go latte with this chai. But I do still like a touch of creamy to most chai blends, it just seems to make it taste a little more indulgent. I like that the coconut adds a little bit of that “latte” creaminess to the cup without overwhelming the blend.
It’s a very unique spin on the traditional chai, one that I enjoyed quite a bit!
To brew: I used my Kati Tumbler (I prefer not to steep chai blends in my Breville because the spices impart their essence in the tea maker that are difficult to remove without soaking in baking soda) and put 1 1/2 bamboo scoops into the basket (remember, I like to use a little extra leaf with a chai as well as with a white tea!) and added 12 ounces of water heated to 170°F. I steeped it for 3 1/2 minutes. Perfection!
Apple Spice Tea from Culinary Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Culinary Teas
Tea Description:
Our Apple Spice Tea takes our apple tea and add a dollop of cinnamon – excellent fireside tea.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
What a lovely autumnal tea, this Apple Spice tea from Culinary Teas. It’s got a rich and flavorful black tea base, deliciously sweet apple notes and warm cinnamon tones. Culinary Teas has captured the essence of autumn in a teacup!
To brew this tea, I used 1 bamboo scoop to 12 ounces of boiling water and I let it steep for 3 minutes. This produced a coppery colored liquid that smells as good as it tastes. The aroma of cinnamon is so cozy and delicious and just beneath the cinnamon I can pick up on notes of apple. Mmm!
The sip starts out sweet and immediately I start picking up on the cinnamon notes. It’s a warm cinnamon. This tastes like the kind of cinnamon that’s in your spice cabinet, not the kind of cinnamon that you’ll find in the candy aisle. You know, those spicy cinnamon gummy bears? Yeah, this doesn’t taste like that kind of cinnamon.
This cinnamon warmly accents the apple, bringing the sweet, juicy flavors of the fruit forward. There are hints of tart to the apple too. It’s more sweet than tart, but there is just enough tartness to offer contrast.
The black Ceylon base is bright and brisk. It’s got a smooth, crisp character. It’s moderately astringent. The aftertaste is clean with mere traces of the cinnamon that had been there during the sip.
This is delicious served hot – it’s a comforting, soothing drink. I drank it straight up, but I think it would take the additions of honey well, and it might be quite delightful with a splash of milk. (A La Mode!) But, I found this tea to be quite nice served iced as well. It would make a refreshing alternative for your holiday beverage.
Caramel Chai Pu-Erh Tea from Inspired Leaf
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Pu-erh
Where to Buy: Inspired Leaf
Tea Description:
Bold spices and aged tea are mellowed to perfection with smooth caramel.
Inspiration#79 “Age is a state of mind. What’s yours?”
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Yummy! I like this way better than I expected to.
I mean … let’s look at the name of the tea, shall we: Caramel – yep, love the stuff. Chai? Oh yeah, one of my favorite teas. Pu-erh? Um … not so much.
OK, so, I will be the first to admit that over the past few years, I’ve discovered that I actually like Pu-erh. Most Pu-erh, that is. But there is always still that lingering doubt. My first few experiences with Pu-erh really tainted my brain and turned me against Pu-erh, even though most (I’d say at least 96%!) of my Pu-erh experiences since those first few have been positive experiences. But those first few have set some sort of unbreakable alarm that sounds off every time I see the word Pu-erh (or any variation on the spelling).
So, I’m always just a wee bit hesitant when it comes to trying Pu-erh.
So, I didn’t expect to love this Caramel Chai Pu-erh the way that I’m loving it.
Since this is a blend rather than a pure leaf Pu-erh, I used my Kati Tumbler to brew it. I added about 1 ½ bamboo scoops of leaf to the basket of the tumbler and filled the tumbler with water heated to 190°F. I then waited 20 seconds and tossed out the liquid (a rinse!) and then I filled the tumbler with another 12 ounces of 190°F water and steeped it for 1 minute. The result is a lovely caramel-y chai!
The base tea is a Pu-erh, but I’m not getting any brine-y, fishy or overly earthy notes from it. I taste lovely spice notes from the ‘chai’ – notes of cinnamon and clove and ginger! The nutmeg is a little less obvious but I don’t think this blend would taste the same without it. The spices aren’t “spicy” but warm and comforting. The earthiness of these spices melds with the earthy notes of the Pu-erh and the result is a very smooth flavor that you’ll want to curl up to.
The Pu-erh is very rich and mellow. The sweet caramel tones of the Pu-erh accent the caramel flavoring to make a really lusciously sweet, dessert-y kind of flavor.
This is a very autumnal taste: cozy, rich, warm and decadent.
I’d recommend this to anyone who doesn’t like pu-erh because of the strong earthy tones or that fishy-briny taste. This tea doesn’t taste like that at all! I believe you’ll be very pleased with the flavors!
Pu’erh Spice Tea from Simple Loose Leaf
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Pu-erh
Learn more about Simple Loose Leaf here.
Tea Description:
Pleasantly perky spices add warmth and sweetness to the mellow mineral notes of Pu Erh. Sweet cinnamon and anise with tingly ginger liven up the palate while soothing the soul. A great companion for a chilly day.
P u’erh Tea, Cinnamon Bark, Natural Spice Flavor, Orange peels, Ginger Root, Aniseed and Safflower
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about Simple Loose Leaf’s Co-Op program here.
Taster’s Review:
To brew: I used my gaiwan and after a 15 second rinse, I steeped the leaves for 45 seconds in water heated to 190°F. I added 15 seconds onto each subsequent infusion.
My first infusion had a nice balance of sweet and spicy. The cinnamon, ginger and aniseed offer an intriguing “chai like” flavor which is why I decided to categorize this as not just a Pu-erh tea but also a Chai. The pu-erh is a deep, mellow flavor that is very smooth. It’s a little earthy but I find that the earthiness works to this blend’s benefit. The natural earthy tones of the spices complement the earthy notes of the tea. I didn’t pick up a lot of orange flavor at first, but as I neared the bottom of my first cup, I started to notice more orange notes, hinting at what is to come with further infusion.
The second infusion allowed me to explore some of the characteristics of the tea a bit more. It’s earthy, but more like a mushroom-y earthiness. It doesn’t taste brine-y or fishy. It has a soft texture that reminds me of silky cream and the creaminess seems to translate to the flavor too. As I mentioned previously, there is a good balance of spicy and sweet. It’s not overly spicy, it reminds me a bit of pumpkin pie spice with brown sugar … warm and gentle and pleasantly sweet.
With the third infusion, I noticed a much darker color liquid. The flavor was deeper and smoother this time. I was getting a profound flavor of the rich, aged tea. It wasn’t so earthy anymore. Just deep, molasses-y, with hints of warm spice. The spice notes are much softer now, but still identifiable. A very smooth, mellow flavor.
I found that with each subsequent infusion, this tea just became even more delightful to drink. By the fourth infusion, the spice notes and the tea had become a nearly seamless flavor. The warm notes of spice were still present; they just seemed to taste like they were part of the tea rather than individual spice notes. I managed eight lovely infusions from this tea and enjoyed every one of them.
It’s a perfect autumnal tea. So warm and comforting. It tastes like autumn.
This is one of the best Pu-erh blends I’ve yet to sample. I found my experience with this tea to be very enjoyable – this is a really lovely tea. I’d recommend this to anyone who is looking to expand their tea horizons into the world of Pu-erh. This tea would be a wonderful “gateway” tea to explore the wonders of a Pu-erh.