Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green, Black
Where to Buy: Adagio Teas
Tea Description:
In the lair, a dragon dreams sweet, sweet dreams of glittering treasure, ponies, and those who lurk. And destruction. This warm and spicy brew is full of musical depth and fire.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
The other day I walked in my living room to see my boyfriend had the second Hobbit on TV. . .again. . for the 10th time. . and I of course had to watch right along with him. My 9 year old son came in a little after and he was also drawn in to the movie. He had never seen it before so it was fun to enlighten him on all things Hobbit related. His eyes lit up when Smaug came on the screen and was rooting for the dragon to destroy the merry band of traveling warriors. Yep. . he is totally my kid.
While we were watching the movie, I remembered that I had this blend and hadn’t tried it yet. This one was created as a Fandom blend for the Hobbit. Honestly, I am not a fan of the Adagio teas on their own, but I do really enjoy them when they are in the Signature Blends.
This one is a interesting and different blend. Green Chai, Assam Melody, and Cinnamon (black favored tea). Not flavors I would have paired together. It smells very much like a cinnamon cake. When brewed up, it tastes like a buttered up sweet potato with cinnamon on it and a tart like finish. Maybe even some sort of sweet potato pie.
It is a unique flavor. That is for sure. I did overleaf it after I checked out some other reviews about this blend on Steepster. A lot of the other reviews said it was bland and “meh”. If I hadn’t dumped in about 1 1/2 tsps more I can see that being the case. I did brew this up at work with my coffee pot water spout and then dumped the tea into ice for a iced green chai. Maybe if I messed with the steeping parameters more I could bring more flavors out. As it is, the cinnamon and spices don’t over take the tea like some chai blends I have had before. It is a very subtle and enjoyable chai blend with a rich buttery sweet potato finish.
Sri Lankan Pumpkin Chai from 52Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
So I’m really enjoying this Pettaiagala Extra Long Leaf OP we got in from Sri Lanka, and I know the pumpkin chai blends go over better in the fall, but I couldn’t help thinking that this would make an awesome pumpkin chai. So we blended it with ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, black peppercorns and organic pumpkin and other flavors.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about 52Teas’ subscriptions here.
Taster’s Review:
When I first saw the announcement for this Sri Lankan Pumpkin Chai from 52Teas I double checked my calendar. Yep, it’s March. (Well, it was at the time of this tea’s announcement!) Pumpkin Chai isn’t exactly a tea that you expect to find in March. In September, sure. Maybe even as early as August. OK. From August through January, but when February arrives, we’ve pretty much had it up to here with pumpkin. By that point, we’ve had pumpkin pies, pancakes, cookies, soup, cupcakes and tea. By February, it’s time to break out the Valentines and extinguish the jack-o-lantern.
So I entered into this tea experience with a certain amount of “meh.”
But I’m really enjoying this chai. It’s heavy on the nutmeg and I’m liking that. (Nutmeg is one of my favorite spices.) Usually when nutmeg is promised as one of the ingredients in a chai, I taste hints of the nutmeg but this is a well pronounced flavor.
I’m also getting a strong dose of cinnamon. The cardamom is a background note. The ginger and pepper hit the palate at about mid-sip. They aren’t overly aggressive, but they do offer a pleasant spicy zing to the cup. I find myself missing clove here – I think a little clove might help round out the flavors just a little bit better.
Last year (at a more appropriate pumpkin time – September 22) 52Teas offered a Pumpkin Chai that I reviewed in October and I seem to recall that having a nicely defined pumpkin-y flavor to it, but I’m not tasting as much pumpkin with this blend as with the previous chai. The pumpkin does emerge somewhat as the tea cools a little.
But the lack of clove and pumpkin-y flavor might hide the nutmeg and really, for me, this chai is about the NUTMEG! I could smell it when I opened the pouch. Before I smelled the cinnamon or ginger or cardamom or pepper, I smelled nutmeg. And as I hinted at before, this made me a very happy sipper, indeed.
And because this is the one of the best celebrations of nutmeg in a tea that I’ve had in quite some time, I will let the fact that it’s mid-April and I’m sipping on a pumpkin chai slide. Just this once.
Kenyan Chai from 52Teas
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Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
We had some rich GFOP Kenyan black tea which I thought would be great for a chai blend, but I wanted to combine the Kenyan tea with spices that are more specific to Kenya . . . the Ras el Hanout that I used for this chai listed the ingredients as:
“Tumeric, ginger, cinnamon, fennel, anise seed, cardamom, galangal, anise star, cayenne pepper, garlic, nigella, paprika, rosebuds, salt, ajwan seeds, lavender blossoms, mace and other spices.”
Whatever is in it, it is very fragrant, and it makes a lovely and interesting chai that is at once familiar and still just different enough to make it unique. You’re going to want to get your hands on some of this tea. I’m really looking forward to hearing what you guys think about it.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about 52Teas’ subscriptions here.
Taster’s Review:
This is different. And as I’ve said before, different is good and that definitely applies in the case of this Kenyan Chai from 52Teas.
I could smell the spices as soon as I opened the pouch. The aroma here is different from the typical chai – I’m not smelling a strong ginger note like I would probably notice in a Masala chai blend. I am picking up on a hint of cinnamon, but mostly what I’m smelling is tumeric. Subtle notes of anise. Some floral notes. But mostly, tumeric.
The overall fragrance reminds me a bit of what I’d smell if I walked into an Indian restaurant, actually. Or perhaps a restaurant that offers Middle Eastern Cuisine.
Which is in itself interesting since I’d probably be more likely to get a more familiar Masala chai tea blend at the Indian restaurant than I would get something like this Kenyan Chai. Although at our local African Restaurant, they serve “chai” which is also the more familiar Masala blend type chai. Incidentally, they also serve Middle Eastern cuisine at that restaurant.
To brew this chai, I put 1 bamboo scoop of the tea and 12 ounces of boiling water into my Kati tumbler and let it steep for 3 minutes. The scent that filled the kitchen was rather delightful!
After it finished steeping, I took a wee sip to see if I wanted to add anything to the cup. I decided to forgo the ‘latte’ with this (although I think a latte would be quite interesting! I might have to try that next time!) but I did add a little less than half a teaspoon of raw sugar to the cup to accentuate the spices. Sugar and spice goes nice together, and the sugar seems to elevate the flavors of the spices just a bit.
And wow! I’m really liking this blend. It’s certainly different, mind you. This is not like any chai you’re likely to find anywhere else. But as I said at the start, different is good. It’s not overly spicy and these particular spices give this cup a more savory flavor than ‘spicy’ or even ‘warm’ flavor. It’s more like a really unique, savory cuppa that I really like.
The black tea is rich and robust. Now that I have nearly finished the cup, I don’t know if latte is the way to go with this. I don’t know how well they’d fair with the creamy element since this isn’t a spicy-sweet type of chai, this is more of a warm-savory type of chai.
As I write this review, I see that there are still 20 pouches of this tea left which kind of surprises me! If you haven’t gotten yours yet, you really should get on over to Zoomdweebies and pick up a pouch of it – this one is a unique and really quite tasty blend.
India’s Original Masala Chai from Golden Tips
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Golden Tips
Tea Description:
Originating from India, Masala Chai or ‘Spiced Tea’ is one of the most popular black tea blends in the world. This ancient traditional recipe is prepared by blending a strong & robust black tea with an array of fresh & aromatic spices. Our signature ‘Masala Chai Spiced Tea’ is symbolic of the original house blend which has been cherished in India for decades now. A combination of Assam CTC & orthodox leaves blended in a varying ratio is taken as the base. The base tea is then blended with exotic and fresh indian spices including crushed cardamom, cinnamon, black pepper, long pepper, dry ginger and clove.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I’m always so excited to try a new chai – one that I’ve not yet tried. So, I was happy to find this India’s Original Masala Chai from Golden Tips in my stash of teas waiting for review!
The dry leaf is a very fine CTC. Even the spices are pretty finely chopped or ground, so it would benefit your teacup to give the pouch a good shake before you open it and measure it out.
To brew it, I measured out one bamboo scoop of the tea and then I shook off just a little bit from the scoop. Since the chop is so fine, you don’t need a whole scoop of tea! Then I put the tea into the basket of my Kati tumbler and added 12 ounces of boiling water and let it steep for 2 1/2 minutes. Again, since this is a finely chopped tea, you don’t want to steep it too long. 2 1/2 minutes produced a very flavorful cuppa for me – I wouldn’t recommend steeping it much longer than that otherwise you may wind up with a bitter tasting tea.
This is really good! The spices are ‘moderately spiced’ – that is to say that it’s not super spicy, but not what I’d call mild either. I think that if you typically shy away from a chai because it’s too spicy for you, you might find that this chai is to your liking. It’s warmly spiced without going overboard.
And I like that the spices are really nicely balanced. I taste cinnamon, clove, cardamom, ginger and pepper, but I don’t notice that any one or two of these trying to overpower the rest. It’s warm and zesty, like a delicious spice cake. All the spices are present and accounted for but they don’t overwhelm the cup or the flavor of the black tea.
And the black tea is the star of this cup. That doesn’t happen too often in a chai. Now, don’t get me wrong, I LOVE a good, spicy chai! But I also like other ‘chai’ blends that offer a balance of flavors like this one has achieved.
This tea offers a robust, full-flavored taste of black tea. The tea is an Assam tea so I get a strong malty character that I like. It’s rich and smooth. Not too astringent and not bitter (although I suspect it could be bitter if I had oversteeped it!)
And this tea offers a pleasant flavor of spices that tingle on the palate. The flavor of the spices builds, but it builds in a really pleasant way. I haven’t felt like “oh, that’s spicy!” Instead, it’s more like … nice! Warm! Zesty! Yum!
A really nice chai!
Darjeeling Masala Chai from Teabox
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black (Darjeeling)
Where to Buy: Teabox
Tea Description:
An exclusive in house creation by our master blenders. For this blend, lemon grass and fennel are mixed with aromatic Darjeeling black tea to create a medley of flavors.
The citrusy perfume emitted by the lemon grass is quite heady and gives a fresh twist to the chai. A must try for all chai lovers.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This Darjeeling Masala Chai from Teabox is another ‘questionable’ use of the word “chai” – yes, I know that chai means tea (and I know that I’ve said that on more than one occasion too!) but we’ve come to embrace the word “chai” as a spiced tea – and those spices are generally a combination of the usual spices: cinnamon, ginger, cloves and cardamom – sometimes one or more of these is omitted and other spices like pepper or nutmeg are added.
This “chai” has none of the usual spices and instead has fennel seed and lemon grass. But what really piqued my interest about this particular chai is not the substitution of spices but the fact that this is a Darjeeling base! I can’t recall having tried a chai with a Darjeeling base before. That doesn’t mean that I haven’t, just that I can’t recall.
So, I was certainly interested in trying this chai. And while it isn’t at all what most might think of when they think “chai” – this is really quite good. I may call into question the liberal use of the word chai by Teabox, but this is still a really tasty tea!
This isn’t really a ‘spicy’ tea, but it does have some warm notes from the fennel. The fennel is both sweet and gently ‘spiced’ with notes of licorice. It adds a certain comforting warmth to the cup. The lemon grass adds a hint of bright, citrus-y flavor to the cup and a light creaminess to the Darjeeling which has a crisp flavor.
It’s a lighter bodied tea, it would make a nice afternoon tea. I like the fennel and lemon grass with the Darjeeling, they certainly add some interest to the woodsy, floral tones of the Darjeeling base.
Overall, a very interesting tea. I don’t know that I’d call it a chai, but I suppose it’s alright if Teabox does. I enjoyed it, regardless!