Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: Jennifer’s Tea Garden
Tisane Description:
Based in organic rooibos, this blend with an invigorating aroma and luxurious spices makes a full-flavored treat! Best with steamed milk. Naturally caffeine free.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
My favorite winter-y tea is chai. Not chai as in tea but chai as in the warm blend of spices combined with tea (or in this case, rooibos and honeybush!) Nothing warms me up better than a delicious chai.
And this one is quite yummy! The “usual” spices are all there: cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and ginger. In this blend, there are a couple of other spices too: anise seed and fennel. These two spices are not as noticeable in the flavor as they are in the aroma, but, they do add just a hint of licorice-y flavor to the cup which is really quite lovely.
One thing that is also a little unusual about this particular blend is that the ginger has a softer flavor than I’m used to with chai. Yes, I can taste that peppery heat from the ginger, but it is more of a mild, gentle kind of heat. It doesn’t have that prickly, peppery effect on the tongue that ginger sometimes has.
The biggest effect that the lighter ginger flavor has on this cup – at least, in my opinion – is that the flavor of the cloves and cardamom are really coming through very distinctly. Especially the cardamom! Citrus-y and exotic, and pleasantly soothing.
I’ve said before that I really like the combination of rooibos and honeybush together. I find that the honeybush helps to curb some of the funkier flavors of the rooibos. The result is a nutty flavor that is honey-sweet, and that’s what I’m tasting here. It compliments the spice tones of this blend quite well.
Overall, a nicely balanced chai that is not too spicy or sweet, but, somewhere in between. I brewed mine extra strong and then added a bit of steamed, frothed milk and it became a dessert-like treat. Sweet and delicious, it didn’t even need honey!
Lapsang Souchong from Dr. Tea’s Tea Garden
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Dr. Tea’s Tea Garden
About This Tea:
The story goes that Lapsang Souchong was first created when the Wuyi region’s annual tea drying process was interrupted by army movement. To compensate for the missed drying period, tea farmers hung their tea over pinewood fires, consequently imparting a distinctive smoky flavor and aroma. Our Lapsang Souchong is sourced by Mark Ukra, co-owner of Dr. Tea’s Tea Garden, who comes from a family of Middle Eastern tea merchants dating back 400 years. Drink Lapsang Souchong plain or try it as a spice or rub for cooking.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
January’s Steepster Select box brought teas that to help warm us up from Winter’s Chill. The first tea that I tried from the box was this Lapsang Souchong, which is a little unusual for me since it’s one of my least favorite teas (well, not this Lapsang Souchong, but Lapsang Souchong in general is one of my least favorite teas).
But this is no ordinary Lapsang Souchong. This is easily the best that I’ve ever tried. Now, I can’t say that I’ve tried a lot of Lapsang Souchong teas, as it is one of those teas that I tend to avoid, but I have tried a few, and I’ve even managed to – slowly – get my palate more accustomed to the unique flavor experience of Lapsang Souchong. While I am slowly gaining an appreciation for this strong, smoky tea, it is still sometimes difficult for me to get past it.
This Lapsang Souchong from Dr. Tea’s Tea Garden has been a real eye-opening experience for me. I am not just “appreciating” this tea … I’m LOVING it!
The first couple of sips are quite smoky. But once I get past those first sips, I find wonderful flavors await me. I can actually taste the pine here, and that is something that I didn’t really experience in previous Lapsang Souchong tastings. I may have tasted mere hints of pine in the distance, but, mostly what I tasted was smoke and the caramel undertone. Here, the pine is quite distinct and it is lovely.
The caramel undertones are there as well, giving a very pleasant sweetness to the smoky overtones. But what I find especially enjoyable is the way that the caramel undertones meld with the pine notes. The flavors here are deep and intriguing.
A very unique Lapsang Souchong, and I have Steepster Select for bringing it to me!
On the Tenth Day of Christmas, 52Teas Sent to Me …
We are nearing the finish line. These sampler boxes are a fun way to count down the days until Christmas, especially if you’re like me and have difficulty with time. I often blame it on the artist in me, but whether or not that is the case, I don’t know. What I do know is that I have a real issue with the concept of time.
And I bring that up, because, well, an Advent calendar seldom works for me, because I can’t usually wrap my brain around the fact that it’s December 1st when it is. So, even if my intentions are good and I happen to buy an Advent-type, countdown calender, I probably would end up forgetting about it and not start it until mid-December anyway. This cuts the time in half for me, I can handle 12 days. 25 days … well, I probably COULD handle it, but, knowing the struggle it would pose for me, I rather not put myself in that situation.
Yes, I’m babbling. Basically my point is, this kind of countdown – 12 Days of Christmas – works for me. Even though, technically, the 12 Days of Christmas isn’t actually supposed to start before Christmas and be a “countdown”, but actually, should start on Christmas Day.
Enough already! Let’s get on with today’s tea, shall we?
Here is the tenth tea of Christmas …
This chai appearing in the box was a very happy surprise, mainly because it was the first chai in the box (and possibly the only chai!) and Chai is just so warm and cozy and comforting that I expected there to be at least one other Chai tea before this, the tenth day.
Assuming that this is the only chai in the box this year, I guess that this is a good choice for that one chai. It is certainly yummy. Although, truth be told, I would have selected the Gingerbread Chai which is my favorite chai from 52Teas. However, since it was last year’s 12th Tea of Christmas, I didn’t really expect it to appear in this year’s box.
But, all that aside, this is a really yummy chai, so long as it is brewed correctly. The first time I brewed this (it’s been a couple of months now), I brewed it too strong and it caused the Assam to taste really harsh. Normally, I like to brew my chai really strong, but this is not a normal chai, so don’t treat it as such!
A very flavorful chai, the black tea base is bold and invigorating, the spices do not overpower the delightful flavors of caramel and vanilla. I wrote my full-length review of this chai back in October, and I think I’m loving this now even more than I did back then, and that just may be because I am enjoying this “latte” and – just as I stated back in October – it is an over-the-top treat. It is AMAZINGLY good, and even if you don’t think you need to go over-the-top, I do recommend trying it … at least once!
White Chocolate Spiced Chai from Culinary Teas
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!
Black Chai Spiced Tea from Steenbergs Organic
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Steenbergs Organic
Product Description:
Steenbergs Organic Fairtrade Black Chai Tea is our simplified version of the Indian spicy, chai teas and is based on the quick & easy recipe we love to make for ourselves on a cold, blustery day, especially if we’ve got soaked on a walk. Steenbergs Organic Black Chai Tea is so warming and the organic spices seem to lift the strong organic black tea that we use as a base.
Read more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Well, it’s cold and wet outside, but inside it’s nice and cozy, and this chai makes it even cozier!
When I make chai, I usually use a little extra leaf than I would for other black tea blends because I think that chai should be brewed a little stronger (especially if you’re going to make it latte!) But because this chai is so finely chopped, I don’t recommend using extra leaf with this chai. Instead, use the same amount you would normally for black tea: if you use 1 tsp. of loose leaf per cup for black tea, use 1 tsp. per cup of this chai.
The result is a wonderfully rich, warm cup of chai. It is strong enough to add a little milk to it if you want a chai latte, but it is also quite good without the milk. I do recommend a little sweetener (just a little drizzle of honey will do!) because it really helps the spices come alive! With the addition of milk, it becomes very creamy and smooth, and while some of the spices are slightly muted, it is still quite yummy.
The black tea is bold and delicious. It has a fair amount of astringency that is slightly drying to the palate. I am noticing some malty tones to the tea, perhaps an Assam base? It has that sort of “baked bread” quality to it. It has a very hearty flavor and texture to it, and makes a perfect base for these spices.
The spices here are vibrant and warm without being overwhelmingly spicy. It is a very nicely balanced blend of cinnamon, cardamom and cloves. This short list of ingredients doesn’t include ginger, and even though I love ginger, I’m not finding that I miss it in this chai. The spices are so well-balanced that they become very seamless and create a warm spiced flavor without being SPICY.
A very enjoyable chai, and I like that it is organic and fairtrade! This is a chai that you could serve to everyone during the holidays and not worry that you’re serving something too spicy to that relative with the sensitive palate. It is sure to be a crowd-pleaser!