Well, this is different. The flavor is familiar at first, with noticeable cardamom in the foreground, with some cinnamon in the background. But then the green tea body comes through. To be honest, I don’t really think it’s a great vehicle for these flavors.
The green tea itself is a bit mediocre – some citrus notes, vegetal, and has some bitterness. The green tea and the cardamom, I feel, never really come together in harmony, and instead have conflicting “green” flavors that cause some dissonance on the palate.
In the aftertaste, you do get some almond liqueur notes, which are interesting.
This is obviously a tea that is way off the beaten path and is a local specialty that probably needs some insider knowledge to brew properly. But, I really wasn’t impressed. My biggest gripe is the green tea itself. It just didn’t have much personality and didn’t jive with the cardamom. Despite a fairly thick body, the tea at times had very little flavor (beyond just the additive flavors of cardamom and cinnamon), even despite brewing gong fu style.
If you’re curious, get a sample. But it certainly is a different experience from your regular black tea chai.
