Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
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.
Taster’s Review:
Wow! What a wonderful way to wake up!
The black tea is a blend of teas from India and Sri Lanka. It’s a pleasant black tea flavor: strong but not overwhelming, astringent but not too much, while offering hints of malt and a caramel-y undertone that enhances the flavor delivery.
The description above is pretty spot-on, in my opinion. The sip starts out smooth and sweet with caramel flavor. The spices are fairly mellow, but that’s really what’s called for in a blend like this. It’s not all about the spices and it shouldn’t be. Instead, the spices are warm and comforting, and work well to highlight that delectable caramel flavor as well as the white chocolate, which emerges at the finish.
It is also near the finish where the spices come forth with a peppery kick. Not a strong kick, but just enough to let you know that this is a chai you’re sipping. The tea finishes sweet, chocolate-y and with a slightly dry, cleansing astringency which prepares the palate for a softly sweet, very pleasant aftertaste that is almost as enjoyable as the sip itself.
This is a real treat!
Pear Spice White Tea from Teas Etc.
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Teas Etc.
Product Description:
1st Place Winner of North American Tea Championship – Flavored White Tea
This lush blend of Bai Mu Dan white tea,spice and botanicals is intoxicating. Aromatic and flavorful the essence of natural pear is the primary cup character balanced by the spice and blossoms.
A full bodied taste experience that will warm and soothe the day away.
Taster’s Review:
This is a very interesting and beautiful tea. I received a sample of this tea with my most recent order (free samples with each order!), and I’m glad to have the opportunity to try it.
Although, I do find myself disagreeing with the above description a bit. I don’t think that the pear note is the primary character here. Yes, I can taste the pear, but, even stronger than the pear flavor is that of the star anise. From the first sip, the licorice-y flavor of the star anise greeted me with its sweet presence.
The white tea is also one of the main flavors I taste, adding its sweet, gentle flavor to the cup. The pear is coming in as a softer flavor than both the anise and the white tea, and it does take a few sips to really come into focus. Now that I’m nearly finished with the cup, I notice the pear flavor first, although I still would argue that it is not the strongest flavor, only the first flavor to be tasted.
Just after the pear flavor, the anise brings in a snappy licorice flavor. Unlike the pear flavor, which took some time to develop, the star anise started out strong and has since tapered off a bit, allowing for the smoothness of the white tea and pear flavors to come together to form a sense of balance. There are hints of floral notes in this too, which compliment the fresh flavor of the white tea very nicely.
Overall, I find this to be a very pleasing cup. Quite soothing and soft, none of these flavors are incredibly strong, which is a good thing because when it comes to white tea, too strong a flavor can lead to an overpowering presence. Here, the flavors are nicely balanced, and I like how this balance is achieved slowly. With my first couple of sips, it wasn’t so balanced, I noticed the strong anise flavor and then the white tea with the pear flavors dangling out there somewhere, but, when given a little time for contemplation, the flavors manage to create a very harmonious taste.
I like that this tea inspires that time for contemplation. It insists that you take time to enjoy the tea!
Organic Rabbit Hole Chai from The Rabbit Hole
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: The Rabbit Hole
Product Description:
Sweet, smooth and spicy. Sounds like the recipe for a steamy love affair. Brew our chai with milk and a squeeze of honey then cosy up to this gorgeous hottie.
Taster’s Review:
This is a mighty fine chai!
The spices are well-balanced. I’m not finding that one spice overpowers the others, which is nice. The overall flavor is spicy, but it isn’t spicy-hot. Warm, yes, but not what I would consider hot. Definitely cozy and comforting!
I agree with my SororiTea Sister’s review of this chai – the dry leaf aroma is very memorable and quite delightful. I don’t think I’ve ever smelled a chai quite like this one. It really does have an almost bubble-gum-y like scent to it. Of course, this does not translate into the fragrance of the brewed chai (or the flavor), but it certainly makes for a very intriguing scent as I was measuring the tea into my Breville One-Touch.
The base used in this blend is a delicious black tea. It is smooth and strong, but it is playing a supporting role to the robust spices in this blend. This chai is all about the spice, but, as I mentioned before, even though this chai is about the spice … it isn’t spicy. Instead, it tastes warm, cozy and exotic. I can taste notes of ginger and pepper, but they don’t overwhelm the cup. I can taste the sweetness of the cinnamon and the warmth of the cloves. And I can even taste a hint of licorice-y goodness from the star anise. I can taste all these notes, but they are quite seamless at the same time. It is blended in such a smooth, delicious way.
This is an awesome chai! Quite delicious as a latte, but I found it to be equally as delicious without the milk, too!
Harvest Apple Spice from Tea Forté
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: Tea Forté
Product Description:
A naturally-caffeine free blend with the taste of crisp sweet apples and the luscious warming of spices, for a cup reminiscent of Mom’s apple pie.
Ingredients: rooibos, organic cinnamon, apple chunks, hibiscus, natural apple flavor, clove buds, natural cinnamon flavor, other natural flavors
Taster’s Review:
I’m ordinarily a little hesitant when it comes to rooibos blends based upon my past experience (now it is a few more years into the past than I care to admit to) with this herb. But, to be honest, over the past few years, I’ve tasted more rooibos blends that I’ve truly enjoyed than those that I haven’t. So, why hesitant? I don’t know… it seems to be more or less an automatic response.
This has to be one of the very best rooibos blends that I’ve tried. I can’t really taste much from the rooibos … what little I do taste is a slight woody/nutty character deep into the distant background. Mere hints, nothing too strong, and none of that funky taste I often associate with rooibos.
This tastes so strongly of apples! Like freshly picked apples that have been baked with autumnal spices and served warm. YUM! The thought of such a treat makes my mouth water … just like this tisane does.
The apple flavor is crisp and sweet with just a slight tartness to it, reminding me a bit of a Jonagold apple. It is certainly more sweet than tart, and as the tisane in my cup cools slightly I notice more of a apple-cider-y kind of taste and texture to it. It feels very smooth to the palate, and the spices are warm without being too spicy-hot. Pleasant notes of sweet cinnamon and warm clove.
There is also hibiscus in this blend – which is definitely not one of my favorite herbals – but, here, the only thing I really notice from the hibiscus is the reddish hue of the tisane and a slightly thicker consistency (contributing to the aforementioned cider-like texture). I don’t taste much of the signature tartness that hibiscus generally brings to the party, and that is certainly a good thing in my opinion.
I received this blend (and several others) as part of the Warming Joy Collection in the Petite Ribbon Box (as shown in the photo above). This would make a most welcome (and delicious!) gift for the tea lover on your gift-giving list, or perhaps a perfectly charming hostess gift for the holiday parties you might be attending.
Sleepy Hollow Pumpkin Chai from Culinary Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Culinary Teas
Product Description:
So, what goes into a tea named after the terrifying tale of Ichabod Crane and the Headless Horseman? Pumpkin, of course. (The story goes that the horseman had the head of a pumpkin.) Add to this a select blend of herbs and spices, chai mix, cinnamon and ginger pieces. The taste of Sleepy Hollow Pumpkin Chai, it goes without saying, is to die for!
Taster’s Review:
What better tea to drink on Halloween than a tea called Sleepy Hollow Pumpkin Chai? If this doesn’t get the taste buds excited for tonight, nothing will!
The dry leaf is visually appealing, with not only lots of large pieces of spices tossed amongst the black tea leaves, but also orange, purple and green candy sprinkles for a touch of whimsy. There aren’t a lot of sprinkles (the photo above shows more sprinkles than I could see in my package), so they don’t add a whole lot of sweetening to the chai, and as always, I do recommend sweetening the chai as it enhances the spices. (I used turbinado sugar for my cup)
I tried this two ways: first, I tried it with just the sugar added to get a taste for the blend before I lattefy (Yes, it’s a word, I just made it up, ok?) with some steamed milk. The pumpkin flavor is well-defined. Very often with pumpkin flavored teas, the pumpkin can often be somewhat obscured by the spices, and since this IS a chai, I expected that to be the case with this blend. But it is certainly NOT the case!
Yes, the chai spices are strong, but the pumpkin is equally as strong and shines through the warm, peppery flavor of the masala spice. The peppery flavor of ginger and black pepper comes through strongest, but, I can also taste the cinnamon, cloves, and cardamom … as well as the flavor of the black tea.
One look at the ingredient list and you’d think that this chai has a lot going on, but, all the ingredients work together quite well. To be honest, when I saw that hibiscus and rooibos were both in this blend, I had to go and check my package, because I really don’t taste them, and I can’t really see any evidence of their presence in the dry leaf.
After finishing one cup with just the sugar to enhance the spices, I then moved on to what I’ve been looking forward to since receiving this tea – a Sleepy Hollow Pumpkin Chai Latte! I mean, this time of year, every time I walk past a coffee shop I see signs announcing their fall flavors and it makes me WANT to try them; but, since coffee leaves me with some ill after effects, I must avoid these alluring advertisements. I love that Culinary Teas makes it possible for my own version of a fall flavored coffee-house special without the coffee.
And … YUM! All the flavors I mentioned before remain intact with the addition of the steamed milk, but instead of a “spiced pumpkin” sort of flavor, this is a bit like pumpkin pie filling topped with whipped cream that’s been added to my chai. This is absolutely delicious!
No tricks, this tea is definitely a TREAT!