When I opened this bag and took a big sniff, my first reaction was “NOPE”, which is never a good sign. :) It’s really… spicy (duh) but like, savoury-spicy. I think I must be smelling mostly ginger and black pepper, maybe the fennel? I don’t know, I usually love ginger (in tea and in general) but there’s something about this that offends me. Anyway, let’s give this a try.
I steeped 2-3tsp in 10oz of water for 10min. Now it just smells… earthy… and a bit spicy (but again, the spiciness is lacking that sweetness that I usually associate with chai). Tasting it, it’s actually not that bad. Huh. The spices are way mellower than I expected. It has a warming quality, presumably from the ginger and pepper, but it’s not ‘hot’ the way those ingredients can be (I’ve also let it cool down quite a bit temperature-wise). I added a bit of sweetener and milk, and it’s just… meh. Not bad, but nothing I’m going to feel compelled to buy more of.
Flavors: Earth, Spicy
This is just making me pine for the Aromatica Thai Chai rooibos – it was also a Tea Sparrow selection, and I loved it! Hrmph.