Onto some more samples from CHAroma tonight as I await trick-or-treaters!
I’m not sure exactly what I was expecting with this one, but I was initially quite put off by a very soapy aroma from both the dry and steeped tea. It dissipated after the tea sat a while, but kind of grossed me out a bit. Other than that, the aroma reminded me a lot of Zhena’s Gypsy Tea Coconut Chai; sweet and coconutty, with a hint of exotic spiciness. I think I can also smell the lemongrass.
Unfortunately, I’m getting soapiness as a flavour as well. The flavours otherwise strongly remind me of the above mentioned coconut chai, which I adore, but the soapiness is unbearable for me. I really have no idea where it’s coming from; this was sent in its original packet so I doubt there’s flavour contamination. Sometimes I wonder, though, whether old coconut goes soapy after a while…
Either way, I really want to like this tea, and I am adoring what I can taste of it and the delicious mix of lemongrass, chai spices, and coconut, but I can’t get past the soapiness. (I’m trying to!) Perhaps it would go away if I sweetened/added milk to the tea, but my hopes aren’t particularly high. I may give that a shot later, though.
Thanks for passing some of this one along, CHAroma!
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Huh, I never tasted soapiness, that’s strange! I like it a lot with milk and sugar.
I have a sample of this that I keep forgetting to try! I was attracted to it because I loved the idea of a masala chai with lemongrass and coconut, but that’s too bad about the soapiness. Flavour contamination might have happened on Adagio’s end, maybe?
Yeah, I don’t know, it was very strongly soapy to me, and way too much to be the infuser or something (also, I usually just rinse them with water anyhow). I have enough to try again. I really wonder if it was an ingredient going off…
Arison – I got part of a sample packet from CHAroma, who didn’t seem to note any soapiness, so I’m not sure where it’s coming from. It’s pretty unpleasant though. Thankfully it reduced a bit as the tea cooled, and I got through the cup, but it wasn’t as nice as I would have liked.
Having just finished off a sample packet of this, I just want to validate your soapy feeling. Yours is the only tasting note I saw that mentions this, which was odd to me since that was basically my only feeling about this tea. I tend to drink all of my tea without milk or sugar, but I added milk to this and I can confirm it helped a lot. A bit of honey helped, too.
Thanks bookshark! I think I still have some of this left, so may try that. I feel like the soapiness might be from the coconut going off; I have slowly been noticing a trend where nearly every tea that has a funky aroma/flavour, be it soapy or rancid/pungent, contains coconut. And usually with such teas, there are many people who do not notice those flavours, which makes me think that the thought that an ingredient has gone a bit off is likely.
Huh, I never tasted soapiness, that’s strange! I like it a lot with milk and sugar.
I have a sample of this that I keep forgetting to try! I was attracted to it because I loved the idea of a masala chai with lemongrass and coconut, but that’s too bad about the soapiness. Flavour contamination might have happened on Adagio’s end, maybe?
Yeah, I don’t know, it was very strongly soapy to me, and way too much to be the infuser or something (also, I usually just rinse them with water anyhow). I have enough to try again. I really wonder if it was an ingredient going off…
Arison – I got part of a sample packet from CHAroma, who didn’t seem to note any soapiness, so I’m not sure where it’s coming from. It’s pretty unpleasant though. Thankfully it reduced a bit as the tea cooled, and I got through the cup, but it wasn’t as nice as I would have liked.
Having just finished off a sample packet of this, I just want to validate your soapy feeling. Yours is the only tasting note I saw that mentions this, which was odd to me since that was basically my only feeling about this tea. I tend to drink all of my tea without milk or sugar, but I added milk to this and I can confirm it helped a lot. A bit of honey helped, too.
Thanks bookshark! I think I still have some of this left, so may try that. I feel like the soapiness might be from the coconut going off; I have slowly been noticing a trend where nearly every tea that has a funky aroma/flavour, be it soapy or rancid/pungent, contains coconut. And usually with such teas, there are many people who do not notice those flavours, which makes me think that the thought that an ingredient has gone a bit off is likely.