Smoky Maple Chai Black Tea from 52teas

Smoky Maple Chai Black Tea

Tea type
Black Chai Honeybush Blend
Ingredients
Not available
Flavors
Cardamom, Clove, Ginger, Maple, Nutmeg, Pine, Smoke, Smooth, Spices, Black Pepper, Brown Sugar, Earth, Mineral, Pepper, Wood, Cinnamon, Smoked
Sold in
Loose Leaf
Caffeine
High
Certification
Organic, Vegan
Edit tea info Last updated by Cameron B.
Average preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 3 min, 0 sec 3 g 15 oz / 432 ml

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4 Tasting Notes View all

  • “(52teas (Anne) 2022: 284) This was just fantastic recently – perfect amount of smokiness, maple sweetness, and just light spicing. No need for milk or sweetener, it was great just plain. I’d maybe...” Read full tasting note
    81
  • “Happy Bonfire Night! Today the prompt is to drink a tea with smoky or roasty flavor notes! I personally can’t handle wood-smoked teas, as the strong smoke aroma gives me migraines. I tend to not...” Read full tasting note
    77
  • “From the November subscription box. I’m not a huge chai person, and I haven’t been loving smoky teas lately, so I’m not terribly excited for this one… It’s not bad. The base is very earthy with...” Read full tasting note
    68

From 52teas

Tea of the Week for November 30, 2020!

You may have noticed that we didn’t do a “featured reblend” or a “retro Monday” tea this month. I had a tea in mind for a featured reblend, but upon entering the tea studio & beginning to work on that blend, I realized I didn’t have the ingredients necessary to craft that blend & because shipments have been delayed because of Covid, I knew I wouldn’t have time to order it & receive it in time to craft the blend for this month. In other words, I had to think fast & instead of a featured reblend – this is what I came up with!

I’ve been wanting to do a Maple Chai for quite a while & I thought that a smoky note to the maple-y chai would be just the right accent to the overall cup. Everything about this tea SCREAMS autumn!

I absolutely LOVE the way this chai came out! Nicely spiced, delectably maple-y with just the right kiss of smoke. The chai has a really pleasing, rounded flavor: robustly flavored with just the right amount of sweet maple to spicy notes & that hint of smoke! Really, really nice!

This blend starts off with a blend of a CTC Assam & honeybush. Then I added a blend of Masala spices (cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, cloves, nutmeg & black pepper) & maple essence. Next came a teensy bit of Lapsang Souchong. Not a lot – just enough to give the overall flavor a touch of spoke without going overboard with that smoke. Finally, a unique ingredient: maple cotton candy! I didn’t add a lot of cotton candy – in fact, you may not notice it at all! It’s kind of sticky to work with & because I am one who prefers my teas not be presweetened because I like to be the one who decides whether the tea will be sweetened or not – I didn’t add a whole lot of cotton candy to the blend.

So – you might find little sugary clumps, this is the cotton candy that stuck to the tea leaves & spices – the cotton candy dissolved & what remains are these tiny sugary clumps. Because of these tiny maple-y sugar clumps, you’ll want to test the sweetness of your cuppa before you add more sugar or other sweetener to it – so your chai doesn’t end up too sweet.

This chai is AMAZING! It’s spicy, it’s sweet, it’s rich & it’s got some gusto to it! Just the thing for the chilly days ahead! Oh! It’s also organic, VEGAN, gluten-free & allergen-free!

organic ingredients: black teas, honeybush, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, cardamom, black pepper, nutmeg, maple cotton candy (maple syrup & cane sugar), calendula petals & natural flavors

About 52teas View company

At 52teas.com, you will find unique, hand-blended artisan loose leaf teas: a new limited edition creation every week of the year. We pride ourselves on offering truly unique, one-of-a-kind tea blends that you won’t find anywhere else.

4 Tasting Notes

81
6106 tasting notes

(52teas (Anne) 2022: 284)

This was just fantastic recently – perfect amount of smokiness, maple sweetness, and just light spicing. No need for milk or sweetener, it was great just plain. I’d maybe like a touch more spicing, but perhaps that would ruin the blend? Not sure. Also, resteeps were excellent. Apparently I’ve been craving a smoky tea and didn’t know it.
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77
1217 tasting notes

Happy Bonfire Night! Today the prompt is to drink a tea with smoky or roasty flavor notes!

I personally can’t handle wood-smoked teas, as the strong smoke aroma gives me migraines. I tend to not like natural smoky notes in green teas (like Gunpowder) but I am fine with mellow natural smoky notes in black teas, like many Chinese blacks have. I didn’t see anything I thought could fill the bill for that, though, so I pulled one of the few 52Teas blends with lapsang in it. At least in the past, the lapsang has been subtle enough compared to the other teas in the blend to not set off my migraine sensor. Hoping for the same with this one!

I’ve mostly been making chais as lattes lately, but I brewed this one plain so I could get a sample in without any additions. I like the aroma… I do get a bit of a pine smoke smell, but not that strong overwhelming waft that turns my head off of smoked teas, and it is mixed with a strong spice aroma, mostly of cardamom and clove. I get a bit of a maple aroma coming out as the tea cools down a bit.

Mmm, I really like this! I get a strong pine flavor with a bit of smokiness, that is nicely balanced with the spices. The maple isn’t a strong note but lends a sweetness that keeps the spices from being too hot; I get a warming tickle at the back of my tongue and throat rather than a burning sensation, so this is pretty easy for me to drink plain. I may still try a latte with some of my packet though, since I think the creaminess will go well with this flavors regardless.

Flavors: Cardamom, Clove, Ginger, Maple, Nutmeg, Pine, Smoke, Smooth, Spices

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 3 min, 0 sec 3 g 12 OZ / 350 ML
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68
3986 tasting notes

From the November subscription box.

I’m not a huge chai person, and I haven’t been loving smoky teas lately, so I’m not terribly excited for this one…

It’s not bad. The base is very earthy with mineral and woody notes, and the smokiness is quite light. I definitely taste clove, cardamom, and ginger. And perhaps a hint of cinnamon and nutmeg, and a touch of black pepper warmth at the end of the sip.

The maple is definitely too subtle for me, though. I love maple and I was really looking forward to it, but there’s barely any here. It’s possible I didn’t get much of the maple candy in my scoop. Perhaps the bottom of the bag will be more maple-y, though it will probably be more peppery as well…

Flavors: Black Pepper, Brown Sugar, Cardamom, Clove, Earth, Ginger, Maple, Mineral, Pepper, Smoke, Spices, Wood

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 3 min, 0 sec 3 tsp 16 OZ / 473 ML
3 comments
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Dustin
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I love smoky teas, but you really have to be in the right mood for them.

Cameron B.
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They’re pretty hit-or-miss for me, but there are some I really like.

Mastress Alita
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I normally can’t handle Lapsang Souchong at all (the smokiness is a migraine trigger for me), but I’ve found it is so mild when used in the 52Teas blends I’m okay with it.

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