I’m still not completely over my cold, so I’m limiting the “good” tea I drink because I know I just can’t taste it right now. I made an exception for this one, though, because I have a large bag, and because it sounds perfectly suited to a sore throat. Chili!
I used 1.5 tsp of leaf, because it’s quite chunky. The dry mix smells strongly of tropical fruit — all coconut and pineapple. I left it for the recommended 4 minutes in boiling water, and returned to a medium red-brown liquor.
First sip, and it’s the fruit that comes out most clearly. I can taste pineapple first, then a creamy coconut. It’s fairly fleeting, though, and after that initial hit, I can taste mostly tart/sour hibiscus. Fruity, though, in a chutney sort of way. The chili develops primarily in the aftertaste, and it does have a bit of a burn to it. It nice and warming in the mouth and throat, as perfect as I’d hoped for a lingering cold! With every fresh sip, the sweetness of the initial fruit returns, the natural sweetness augmented by the sour hibi/spicy chili elements that have gone before.
This is a pretty perfect tea for this time of year. Warming, yet with a reminder of summer still lingering in the taste of the tropical fruit. I’ve had a few bad experiences with chili chai blends, but this is fortunately one of the ones that’s “just right”. Yum!
