88

I drank this with the last of my cream, and it was heavenly. Smooth, thick, creamy chocolate like the best hot chocolate in the world. A real chilli kick behind it too, along with the spices, especially the ginger, to remind you that it’s a chai and not just a common hot chocolate. This was truly decadent, and the best way to drink this tea so far. The spices play around and seem to change up a bit, tasting slightly different in each mouthful. The chocolate taste is somehow more ‘real’ and present than in a lot of chocolate teas I’ve tried, and the chilli kick is also a lot more powerful than I was expecting. I did have one bad mouthful – somewhere around the half-way point of my mug, I got a mouthful which was very strongly cardamom, a flavour I don’t really like. This was a shock, as although it is present in a lot of chais, it usually just complement the other flavours. This was like a full on cardamom whack to the face, and took me a minute or two to steel myself enough to drink any more (which thankfully did not have the same strong cardamom punch). My favourite way to drink this chai so far, although I’m now thinking I should do it as a latte.

Apologies for the probably incoherent and definitely rambling tasting note – I wrote the first couple of lines hours ago, and it’s now almost 3AM and I’m super tired but can’t sleep. I hate it when my brain does that.

A side note – my mystery box from MissB arrived today! I didn’t expect to see it yet so was happily surprised, and then even more so when I saw the contents (which basically consisted of all wishlist items). Bonny has put so much thought into it I was really touched, and seriously felt like a kid at Christmas opening all my new teas and inspecting and sniffing each one. I’ve already tried a few of the teas I received, and will review some tomorrow hopefully. I was planning to today, but I’m too tired to do it justice.

Preparation
Boiling 6 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 14 OZ / 400 ML

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Bio

I first got into loose leaf teas when a friend of mine showed me Cara McGee’s Sherlock fandom blends on Adagio a good few years back, but they weren’t on sale in the UK so I started trying other kinds instead and have been hooked for almost three years (and have purchased several fandom tea sets including the Sherlock one I lusted over for so long).

Flavoured teas make up the majority of my collection, but I’m growing increasingly fond of unflavoured teas too. I usually reach for a black, oolong or white tea base over a pu’erh or green tea, though I do have my exceptions. I will update my likes and dislikes as I discover more about my palate, but for now:

Tea-likes: I’m generally easily pleased and will enjoy most flavours, but my absolute favourites are maple, caramel, chestnut, pecan, raspberry, coconut, blueberry, lemon, pumpkin, rose, hazelnut and peach

Tea-dislikes: vanilla (on its own), ginger, coriander/cilantro, cardamom, liquorice, pineapple and chocolate

I am a 25 year old bartender, English Literature sort-of-graduate and current student working towards finishing my degree. I am hoping to one day complete a masters degree in Mental Health Social Work and get a job working in care. Other than drinking, hoarding and reviewing tea, my hobbies include reading, doing quizzes and puzzles, TV watching, football/soccer (Sunderland AFC supporter and employee of my local football club), music, artsy weird makeup, and learning new things (currently British Sign Language).

I should probably also mention my tea-rating system, which seems to be much harsher than others I’ve seen on here. It’s not always concrete, but I’ll try to define it:

• 50 is the base-line which all teas start at. A normal, nothing-special industrial-type black teabag of regular old fannings would be a 50.

• 0 – 49 is bad, and varying degrees of bad. This is probably the least concrete as I hardly ever find something I don’t like.

• I have never given below a 20, and will not unless that tea is SO bad that I have to wash my mouth out after one sip. Any teas rated as such are unquestionably awful.

• This means most teas I don’t enjoy will be in the 30 – 50 range. This might just mean the tea is not to my own personal taste.

• 51+ are teas I enjoy. A good cup of tea will be in the 50 – 70 range.

• If I rate a tea at 70+, it means I really, really like it. Here’s where the system gets a little more concrete, and I can probably define this part, as it’s rarer for a tea to get there.

• 71- 80: I really enjoyed this tea, enough to tell somebody about, and will probably hang onto it for a little longer than I perhaps should because I don’t want to lose it.

• 81 – 90: I will power through this tea before I even know it’s gone, and will re-order the next time the mood takes me.

• 91 – 100: This is one of the best teas I’ve ever tasted, and I will re-order while I still have a good few cups left, so that I never have to run out. This is the crème de la crème, the Ivy League of teas.

I never rate a tea down, and my ratings are always based on my best experience of a tea if I drink it multiple times. I feel that this is fairest as many factors could affect the experience of one particular cup.

I am always happy to trade and share my teas with others, so feel free to look through my cupboard and message me if you’re interested in doing a swap. I keep it up-to-date, although this doesn’t mean I will definitely have enough to swap, as I also include my small samples.
Currently unable to swap as I’ve returned after a long hiatus to a cupboard of mostly-stale teas I’m trying to work through before I let myself purchase anything fresh

I also tend to ramble on a bit.

Location

South Shields, UK

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