Chai Spice

I absolutely love this tea. I have only really been a tea drinker for about three months (a youngling, I know), so I need some help from some of the veterans on this site to help me know what is the best tea to drink. I love this new realm of taste that I have been exposed to and look forward to trying as many teas as I am capable of.

It tastes like wood pulp and sand. Literally undrinkable. I had to return it and ask the cafe to please give me anything else.

I don’t know what they’re putting in there, but this thing tastes like neither tea nor spice. I’m used to brewing chai at home with black tea, ginger, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, black pepper, fennel and nutmeg if it helps to know where I am coming from.

If I were trapped in a cave-in and my choices were down to this and brackish rusty mine-water, I might go for a 50/50 split of the two.

Having worked at Borders (pre-Seattle’s Best), Starbucks, and Barnes & Noble I’ve tried their chai drinks and didn’t care for any of them. I likened the tastes to liquified servings of cinnamon & sugar toast. Granted, I never did try the Tazo tea bag version of this during my tenure at Starbucks, so I decided “what the hey” this morning and gave this free sample a go.

While I waited for the tea bag to steep I took a sniff of the packet and my head involuntarily shot back. The spice smell was so intense that my sinuses actually cursed at me in several languages. I quickly tossed the packet in the trash and tried to get myself back into a zen-like state of open-mindedness regarding this tea.

The smell reminds me a lot of the Extra Cinnamon gum that I had to stop chewing because it irritated my mouth so much. And here I must note that I’m a straight-up-no-additive tea drinker. I could imagine this tea being benefitted by some sugar and milk (but then I think that it’d be back to the liquified cinnamon & sugar toast taste). I actually preferred this black version over the other chais I’ve tried. The smell is a lot more intense than the taste. Someone mentioned that this tea reminds them of Christmas – I can see that, but Harney and Sons’ Holiday tea has already taken that spot for me.

Overall, I wouldn’t turn down this tea if it were offered to me, but I will not be purchasing this one. I am now very curious about their Double Spice Chai (with which I will NOT do the pre-steep packet sniff). M

Not bad for bagged. The spice aroma is definitely there, although it takes 2-3 teabags per cup to get the real strength of a chai. I also end up using about 4-6 of those little creamer cups we have at work since I don’t keep milk in the work fridge. Some sugar, maybe put it over some ice… It’s not the best chai I’ve ever had, but it suffices as a nice change from the cheap black tea during the workday without sacrificing my caffeine.

Made a cup of chai milk tea for dinner tonight to pair with my Trader Joe’s indian food. Wonderful combination!

Yes, I know that Chai tea is a spice tea served with milk (like a latte) or not. Maybe I am not a spicy type of guy. This tea has the black tea as a base with spices. In my opinion it is strong on the spice. As the liquor touch my pallet I was instantly struck with cinnamon (and maybe ginger) that overwhelmed me.

I have tried other Chais, but this one wouldn’t find a place in my cupboard.

I always brew this very strong, and have it with milk and a bit of honey instead of sugar. One of my favourite chais.

Review from May 2022

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Yep, that’s a chai! It’s got all the typical spices and a good amount of flavour. As always, I drank this with some vanilla soy milk and a tiny bit of sugar (~1/2 tsp). Nice cinnamon and warm peppery spices but balanced out by the clove and cardamom. Nothing particularly exceptional about this blend, but it is an enjoyable cup. Best with milk to round out the CTC black base, which can be a bit overly tannic and tending towards bitter.

My last experience with this tea was very underwhelming, so I decided to brew it up extra strong, for extra long, and top with some hot soy milk. Not a bad tea latte, but the cinnamon hearts flavour really takes over and reminds me of warm Fireball… not good or calming if you’ve ever overindulged like I have. I definitely won’t be repurchasing, and honestly I wouldn’t recommend this to anyone looking for a chai. If you’re looking for a cinnamon-flavoured black tea, maybe.

A friend of mine gave me two boxes filled with a. variety of tea bags. So sweet of her. I didn’t have the heart to tell her that I am a bit of a tea snob—not really as I will try almost any tea—and have mountains of loose tea at home. Mountains.

So I am housesitting, which means that I have peace and quiet, internet access and a reliable fridge to keep milk in.

This tea is ok, but just. Having been blessed with Anne’s stellar chais, this one hardly compares. But I’ll drink it because milk, winter, cold.

And Steepster, oh how I have missed you. My wifi died and then my computer died and then I couldn’t remember my passwords to come back and could not even possibly start a NEW Evol account. And then there’s been the thing of my neighbours keeping me awake for the past 5 years and me having lost the will to live in this permanently exhausted state. And my own health issues even before that started. And then, of course, this covid situation, God help us all.

But while I have wifi for now, I am back!