After being in India for 2 month I have to say that this chai tastes nothing like Indian chais. But it’s not supposed to, since it’s an African chai. So it has a bit of a different feel to it than the usual Indian chais I drink, which makes it a nice alternative.
The base of this tea is the Kenyan Black from Justea. See my review there for details of the base tea. I’ll focus more on the spices here.
First of all the spices are very balanced, nothing really sticks out (which I like a lot). Maybe the fennel seeds and the licorice. But all the spices blend in very well with the base tea. This gives a nice complex taste.
The mix of spices and the sweetness of the tea is fantastic. There although the taste is more in direction of fennel and licorice, there is also pepper and cloves, mixed with the maltiness of the base tea.
I tasted the tea just as is with a bit sugar and its good. However, I think the full potential comes out when drinking it with milk. I haven’t tested it simmered in milk, which would probably THE thing to do and its the way that it’s done in Kenya (and India).
The steeping time is a bit longer for me, since some of the spices need a bit of time to develop their full potential. But maybe that’s just my personal taste, I tend to like longer steeping times.
The overall rating of this chai is pretty high, it beat’s most of the chais I have tasted so far. However, I do like the Masala Chai from the tea guy (who also created this chai) a touch better. Therefore not the full 100 points.
205 °F / 96 °C
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