Since I’m now into my last few days off work, I decided it was time to try one of the wintery teas I’ve had in my stash for a while, but not yet got around to trying. I love Chai in the winter, preferably as a latte. It’s a bit complex to make at work, though, so I usually reserve this pleasure for home.
Over the last few months, as I’ve developed my taste for and appreciation of different teas, I’ve moved away from plain bombay-style chais, and onto flavoured ones. I picked this one up from Twinings back in November, I think. I’m not always a great fan of Twinings, because sometimes I feel the quality just isn’t there, but this is a niiiice chai.
It has an assam base, and the dry leaves smell faintly spicy, with a strong creamy vanilla overtone. Brewed, the scent is very similar. As I was hoping, the vanilla predominates, the spices complement, and the black tea base provides a sturdy, fulfilling foundation. I made this as a latte, so it’s pretty pale-looking once I’ve added the milk, but this absolutely hasn’t destroyed the flavour. If anything, the creaminess of the milk helps to highlight the vanilla, making this one of the most pleasing teas I’ve tried in a while. This is almost perfectly balanced, for my taste. And I’ve no doubt it’ll go down perfectly with the slice of Christmas cake I’ve got my eye on. Chalk another one up for Chai. This is divine.
