Stauf’s Coffee Roasters

Tea Information:

Leaf Type: Black

Where to Buy: Stauf’s Tea House/Stauf’s Coffee Roasters

Tea Description:

Smooth balance of crisp tea flavors, palate lingering and warming spices, and cleansing tannins. Light spicy finish with a hint of fruitiness.

Learn more about this chai here.

Taster’s Review:

You know me, I love chai, and I’m always eager to try a new chai (or perhaps I should say: new to me chai). So, when one of my tea drinking comrades offered to send me some of this chai from Stauf’s, I was more than happy to take him up on his offer.

And now that I’m drinking this chai, I’m so happy that he offered me this opportunity. This is an excellent chai! It is richly spiced and yet it has a smooth delivery. It is neither too spicy, nor is it too subtle. I’d say it falls somewhere between the two extremes, leaning more toward the spicy than the subtle. While I do enjoy a spicy chai, I like that this one has achieved a balance between spice and flavorful tea.

The tea base is a blend of Ceylon and Assam, which brings me back to my own tea blending days as the tea base that I used for my Masterpiece Chai was a blend of Ceylon and Assam. I like that Stauf’s chose to combine these two teas, as it gives the tea base a strong tone that it needs as well as a little complex character. The tea is strong enough to stand up and be tasted amongst the powerful flavors of the spices, but it doesn’t become bitter or throw the flavor off in any way. It tastes smooth yet rich and bold.

And then there are the spices! When I first started sipping, I noticed the cinnamon right away. And the cinnamon remained the strongest note through the first couple of sips… but now that I am more than half-way finished with my cup, the other spice flavors have emerged and seem to have an equal amount of the palate’s attention.

I can taste the cardamom! It gives the cup a very pleasing warmth and hint of citrus-y flavor. I can taste the cloves. I can taste the pepper and the ginger, but I like that these two have not been added with too heavy a hand. It has a peppery background note that seems to perk up the palate but never becomes too overpowering.

Stauf’s has achieved a very pleasing balance here, not just with the spices, but also with the tea base. The result: a fantastic cup of chai that is delicious served straight up (a small amount of turbinado sugar will enhance the spices without making it too sweet) as well as served as a latte! YUM! This one gets high praise from me.

liberteas

Anne (aka the Mad Tea Artist) has celebrated her 29th birthday for many years now. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her hubby and her youngest daughter. Her oldest daughter is married and has bestowed Anne with the proud title of "Gramma" and her grandson is about the cutest boy you ever did see. Anne started her journey with tea as a casual drinker and became more serious about her tea drinking when she realized that she couldn't drink coffee. Shortly thereafter, she started becoming obsessed with the beverage and she started creating small-batch, artisan blends of tea that she sold online as LiberTEAS. After a few years, she realized she wasn't cut out to be the sole proprietor of a business so she closed LiberTEAS and started reviewing teas online. She met Jennifer through another blog that they both reviewed for and they decided to start their own review blog. This review blog! Throughout her journey as a tea reviewer, she discovered 52Teas and became enamored with the idea of creating a new tea every week. When the founder of 52Teas decided he wanted to move on, he offered the business to Anne but knowing that she wasn't cut out to be a sole proprietor, she instead offered the company to her oldest daughter who employs her as the Mad Tea Artist for 52Teas!

This post was posted in Black Tea, Chai