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I find it a bit odd that most of Teaja’s teas aren’t on their website. I was told they have a separate blending facility in Olympic Village, and they’re sold through a distribution company (whose name I forget). This is also the name used for the tea festival competition, of which they won two awards this year.

Anyway. This tea… I knew I wouldn’t love it, but the reviews on Yelp and the smell were too good not to try. The staffer knew my reluctance, so she sold me 10g of it… A surprising amount!

It actually smells creamy – is that possible – and floral, blergamot-y. (not a typo). It tastes almost identical to the smell… Cream first, then floral citrus. I could see this being a huge favorite for those EG lovers… I’m just not one of them. Can I send someone here the rest? :)

Found Teaja yesterday in Yaletown, and after smelling this, I immediately grabbed 50g of it. It smelled STRONG, like, blow out your nostrils strong, in a yummy way. Yes, this is my kind of chai.

Brewed up a cup last night. Didn’t taste quite as expected, but, very potent. Dare I say, almost, too spicy? ;)

Had this in store yesterday, as that’s all my fellow Yelpers said I had to try (I agreed, once having got there… Standard fare otherwise).

Asked the staffer what made this so special, why they make more than 200+ a day.

“We use a spice blend, add sugar and powdered milk, then mix it into a paste with some butter. Then we steep it in a bag with your tea of choice, and milk of choice. Finally, we add more spices if you ask (ginger and cayenne for me) and blend it in a blender until frothy”.

Yes, this is one of the best chai’s I’ve ever had. Super spicy yet soft and rich. I’m using the butter trick from now on… Although admittedly I’ve been putting butter in my tea a while now (think Bulletproof Coffee, but with tea). Never crossed my mind to do it with chai, or to make the spices into a paste.

Getting sweet feckin’ nuthin’ from this tea, even when I add some monk fruit to sweeten it. I remember a bit of the nut flavoring from the old 52 Teas; it had a woody dryness to it, which says to me they use similar flavoring.

Okay, I get it. It’s tough to get organic nut flavor into tea (why not just use nuts? I don’t get it), to an already flavorful base. Also, they blend their own teas here, so mucho points for that. Still, I can’t imagine how anyone would get nut, cream, hazelnut, anything… from this, much less sell it as a “chocoholic”. It’s not BAD tea, it’s just not at all as it’s represented.

Oh my goodness. Raisins. I smell raisins in this. What the?

Before reading the history and details of this tea, I would’ve fought to the death and said it was an “aged white”. Or, “smoked white”. These are quickly becoming my favorite kind of white teas, and the only ones I drink.

Alas, this isn’t agred, or smoked, but it does have that quality to it. Thicker, richer, fuller bodied, sweet, yet light and airy at the same time. Plus, the leaves were stunning – long, loosely rolled, and slightly fuzzy.

Thank you shezza for another amazing find in my tea journey.

Mushrooms. Yep. And, oddly, tart lemon. Well, I’m not drinking it for the taste.

Shockingly, this is amazing. The staffer told me she too was surprised with it, so I grabbed some to check. No sweetener needed, it’s rich, it actually tastes like a crumbly apple strudel. I’d say this is one of the first apple read teas I’ve really enjoyed.

Is this tea? I took pumpkin pie spice from Whole Foods, steeped it into canned, organic coconut milk and added a touch of xylitol. I think this is a Chai, but, whatever. It’s amazing. :)

No idea why this wasn’t in my cupboard; it’s one of those teas I “need”. Right now, it’s helping me fend off a tooth infection until I can get to the dentist. Swishing with this, and some oil (oil pulling, look it up) has made a world of difference.

What a lovely gift to myself, this tea – while going through my tax receipts for 2015, I found a small baggie of this left from (assumedly) somewhere in the UK. Woohoo!

I know I sent a bunch of this back to folks, but like me, they forgot to review it. Well, I’ve run out now, so it’s about time I reviewed it!

Very, very raspberry, almost tart raspberry. I’m always a bit surprised. As long as I sweeten it, that is.. left on it’s own, it’s more tart herbal than anything. I won’t go out of my way to find this again, but I won’t say no, either.