Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Teas and Botanicals
Tea Description:
Chai tea is an aromatic spiced tea originally from India. Our Real Chai Tea is a blend of two loose leaf black teas and a variety of spices, which brews a delicious and satisfying beverage.
Learn more about this chai here.
Taster’s Review:
This Real Chai Tea Blend from Teas and Botanicals is a really flavorful chai. As far as spices go, it’s a relatively basic masala blend – possessing the usual suspects: cardamom, cinnamon, ginger and cloves … with pepper which is not as often utilized in spiced chais but I am encountering more and more chai blends that do include black pepper (and that’s a good thing as far as I’m concerned!)
The black tea is a solid black tea, chopped very fine (This is a very fine CTC) but, don’t let that detract you from trying this blend … I’ve tasted many CTC teas that are remarkably flavorful. The key is knowing that you shouldn’t brew them quite as long as you would full or broken leaf tea, because there is more surface area. A longer brew time may result in a bitter tea with a CTC tea. I brewed this in boiling water for just three minutes and I was treated to a very flavorful, strong tea without bitterness.
The spices are bold and delicious! I enjoyed this chai served without milk and just a little bit of turbinado sugar to enhance the spices … and then I tried it with a splash of warmed, frothed milk and what a TREAT! Yummy! This makes a fantastic chai latte!
A really good chai – I love chai and this one is delicious!
Honeybush Spice from Bird’s Eye Tea
Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Honeybush
Where to Buy: Bird’s Eye Tea
Tisane Description:
Ingredients: honeybush, ginger, cardamom, cinnamon, orange zest, star anise, pink peppercorns, and licorice root.
Learn more about this tisane here.
Learn more about subscribing to Bird’s Eye Tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Oh! This Honeybush Spice tisane from Bird’s Eye Tea is delightful. I was very excited to try this when I read the ingredient list (above) because I love star anise and licorice … and I don’t often find them in blends together. I usually find either star anise or licorice root, but because they do possess similar characteristics, they aren’t usually combined. But I like them combined … it really pushes the sweet, sassy flavor of licorice into focus.
But, what I am really liking is that the licorice-y flavor isn’t all that I taste. There is warm cinnamon and cardamom, plus the zesty flavor of ginger. And the orange brightens the whole cup.
The honeybush is sweet, a little bit nutty, and very smooth. I like how the earthy flavors of the spices really come through to enhance the dimension of the honeybush – sometimes honeybush can taste a little on the thin side, but that’s not the case with this cup. The spices give not just the cup depth, but also lets me really enjoy the taste of the honeybush as well.
This tisane was one of Bird’s Eye Tea’s February 2012 tea selections that they sent me to sample, and I’m really glad I got a chance to try it. The warmth of this tisane is perfect for this time of year – it’s so naturally warming and comforting, something that you want to curl up with on a cold winter’s day like this. This is wonderful!
Oriental Beauty Cake from The Mountain Tea Company
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: The Mountain Tea Company
Tea Description:
It’s no wonder this tea is also called Champagne Oolong. This Oriental Beauty in compressed cake form tastes of apricots, thick with honeyed spice. Simply break off a piece and enjoy. 3.8 oz
Other names: Champagne Oolong, Formosa Fancy Oolong, Braggart’s Tea – Peng Feng Cha – 椪風茶, White Tip Oolong – Bai Hao Oolong – 白毫乌龙, Dong Fang Mei Ren – 东方美人
Water: 85°C
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Oriental Beauty Cake from The Mountain Tea Company is one of the prettiest teas I have ever seen, let alone the pretties cake I have ever seen! There is also a lovely story about this tea’s creation and discovery here.
Well to begin this is an organic tea so points for that! Furthermore it is a pressed oolong yet has a distinctive pu’er flavor profile. Perhaps the pressing of this tea into a cake is only for presentation and novelty but I swear that in doing so it has manifested itself into a more earthy tea like a pu’er. Whatever the case may be – my imagination or reality, this is such a wonderful cup.
I will confess, I am getting a bit of a tea high while sipping on it. Either that or I just need a nap but I am feeling quite laid back and cozy in this sipping moment.
The aroma is a sensory explosion! Sweetly floral, and fruity, peppery notes, and the aroma of a wooded place. The aftertaste is so very familiar – what IS that flavor? Savory, vegetal, something buttered perhaps, GAH what is it? … Squash, Zucchini perhaps. I will come back to that another time it may drive me batty. It is delicious regardless!
I am surprised at just how bold this cup is. There is only a slight touch of astringency to it, but I like it as it has this slight bite then changes into that mystery flavor I was trying to pin point above.
I do also pick out notes of fruits, honey, and spices. It is in a way reminiscent of spending a day at the farmers market or maybe something a little more extravagant like a Moroccan market perhaps.
Ah the second infusion really brings forth the fruit notes! Now I get that raisin note that another reviewer had mentioned on Steepster!
I had got distracted while doing this review and came back to a very cold cup of tea and you know what. Its really good!
This really is not what I generally gravitate toward in an oolong but when I don’t think of it as an oolong I love it. Okay I love it even when trying to see it as an oolong. I think the point I am trying to make is, is that if someone handed me a cup of this I would think it either a black tea with some excellent layers in the flavor notes or perhaps a pu’er. I would be very confused.
I am also pretty sure this is the type of oolong served at a couple of the local Asian buffets here local to me. Now granted I do not think they are near this level of quality of an Oriental Beauty Oolong but hey at least its not Liptons!
So in closing I must say I am excited, surprised, confused, intoxicated, and wooed by this tea. I look forward to many many more steepings and sessions to come with this beautiful cake!
Kudos to The Mountain Tea Company for always having some of the best teas!
Oh and if you order from The Mountain Tea Company be sure to look for the button on their item pages that says “Tweet for Discount” if you have a twitter account you can get a code for 5% off your purchase.
Mint Masala Chai from Blue Lotus Chai
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Blue Lotus Chai
Tea Description:
Our new variety is a taste sensation! Exhilarating and surprising, it rises to the same standard of excellence that defines Blue Lotus Chai, and that our fans have come to expect.
Ingredients: Naturally brewed and flash-dried black tea powder; 100% Certified Organic powdered spices: ginger, cardamom, nutmeg, black pepper, cinnamon, cloves, peppermint from extract.
Learn more about this chai here.
Taster’s Review:
I was thrilled when I found this Mint Masala Chai from Blue Lotus Chai (as well as their other varieties) available at my local Chuck’s Produce Market! I just love Blue Lotus Chai!
And this Mint Masala Chai is awesome. It tastes very much like the Original Masala Chai, but with a big burst of refreshing mint flavor! The mint adds such a nice dimension of flavor – it’s so cool and crisp and invigorating!
I prepared this according to package directions, using 4 ounces of freshly boiled water, 4 ounces of milk, and a heaping scoop (the bamboo scoop that is included with the package of chai is just the right size!) of powdered chai. Remembering last time that I like this to be a little spicier, I added another half a scoop, and this produces the perfect cup of chai for me.
The mint adds a nice sweetness to the cup, so no additional sweetener is needed, but, I did find that if I added a little less than half a teaspoon of turbinado sugar, this brought out the spices a little more, and when I drink chai, it’s usually all about the spice for me! But I love that Blue Lotus Chai lets you decide whether or not to add sweetener rather than going ahead and adding it to the mix. I find that too often with these types of chai mixes, the sugar is just too overwhelming … I like that I control the amount of sweetener I put in … not to mention that I can control whether I add milk and how much strong I want the chai to be!
The smooth flavor of black tea hits the palate first, and then the spices come on strong! I taste pepper and ginger almost immediately, and these flavors linger, but they aren’t so strong that I need to search for the other spices. I taste cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and the delicious taste of nutmeg too. I love that Blue Lotus Chai includes nutmeg in their chai blends!
And then the mint comes forward and it is so fresh tasting – ZESTY! I love the way the mint adds such a cool, bright flavor to the cup. It’s a really nice change from the usual chai blends!
Even if you can’t find Blue Lotus Chai in your local retail store, if you like chai … YOU’VE got to try this! I highly recommend visiting their online store and getting yourself some of this amazing chai – you won’t regret it!
Holiday Crumb Cake Tea from The Tea and Spice Exchange
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where To Buy: The Tea and Spice Exchange
Tea Description:
Come home to the Holidays! Indulge and wrap your senses around this cozy cup of tea. Orange,raspberry, ginger, and cinnamon combined with black tea creates a flavor worth celebrating! Contains Black Tea, Orange Peels, Ginger, Cinnamon, Raspberry Leaves,Cranberries, Safflowers, Natural Cranberry and Chestnut Flavors.Learn more about this blend here.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This is one of three teas that I received in my holiday stocking. Granted, I had to buy these teas myself to stuff in my own stocking, but, my husband DID take me to The Tea and Spice Exchange knowing full well that I had teas on my shopping list, including this Holiday Crumb Cake flavored black tea.
What can I say? I’m a sucker for limited edition teas! I think this has something to do with the fact that I’d categorize myself as a “taster” … I like to try teas, but, I rarely find a tea that I’d want to drink every day. I might like a tea … even love it, but, there are so many teas out there to try, and who knows what I might discover next! There have been some teas that I have enjoyed enough to want to keep stocked in my cupboard … but this is a rare occurrence.
This tea is really good! It’s a really tasty spin on the classic cranberry orange cinnamon holiday blend. The addition of chestnut flavors gives this tea a real cake-y kind of taste: warm, nutty, and sweet. The cranberry is tart and offers a nice contrast to the sweeter flavors. The cinnamon gives the tea the delicious warmth of spice, and the orange – as well as the raspberry leaves! – give this tea a burst of brightness. It’s a really nicely rounded cup of tea.
And what I like best here is that the black tea is not overwhelmed by all that’s going on. It is a sturdy black tea, robust, and even has a hint of smoke to it, which sort of plays to the idea of crumb cake … that browned crumb topping that tastes of caramelized sugars. There is some astringency to this tea, I’d classify it as a moderate to medium amount of astringency – nothing overwhelming.
A very enjoyable blend – around for just a limited time!