91

Ahhh, I have had this tea before but I haven’t written a review yet, time to fix that! I was craving this at work yesterday but instead had my standard Cold 911 for my lungs/allergies lol, so on this dreary, gray Saturday morning, I am cozying up with my cup of this chai.

The dry smell is very spicy, lots of pepper, some cardamom, ginger, a very lovely spiced chai smell. It opens the sinuses and invigorates. I followed WP’s steeping directions, at around 205 degrees for 3 minutes. The resulting liquor is a reddish brown in color, and the vanilla that Brenden does so well is present in the aroma, along with the mingling of spices, smoothed by the vanilla and the base. I have never had the Golden Snails Yunnan by itself (or fondly known as Snaily Yums on here I think lol), but I should try it out, as I love Yunnan black teas.

As for the flavor…mmm, this is quite a good chai. The flavors meld seamlessly – The spices at the forefront, the honeyed/malty base in the middle blending into a rich vanilla aftertaste, with the spices still kicking around. I can’t really pick out specific spices, which I find to be the mark of a great chai, not one overpowers the other. They instead blend into a spicy and warming concoction. The vanilla really adds the final touch, with it’s sweetness, it just smooths out the sip and leaves you wanting to have another drink, and another…yeah, it’s pretty good. The flavor profile, if my memory serves me correctly, reminds me of Verdant’s Laoshan Village Chai, but instead of a chocolatey base, this one has a more honeyed flavor from the Snails, and the vanilla is richer and more prominent here I think.

Overall, this is a delicious cup of yuminess, and I like that it is different from the other chais I have in my cupboard (enter Yu Lu Yan Chai haha). It is a more mellow chai, for cozy fall days, and I might keep it in my cupboard to contrast with the bold Yu Lu Yan Chai, which still might hold my heart for favorite chai, but we will see, this one is not too far behind! Another wonderful tea blend from Whispering Pines! Lol, under the flavors tab, I wish there was one for ‘awesome’, as that’s the best way I can describe this tea lol.

Flavors: Honey, Malt, Spices, Vanilla

Fjellrev

Nice review! What do you think you get allergies from? Oddly enough, I almost never had that problem when I lived there (save for poplar when it would be really heavy), but I started to develop allergies to who knows what once I moved to Vancouver Island.

mrs.stenhouse12

Thank you :) This year is particularly bad for me, I think it’s due to pollen from the flowers in my yard and dust/mold/dampness at work mostly. We had a weirdly humid and hot summer with tons of forest fire smoke, so I think that set off my asthma and its been downhill from there lol. You definitely could be noticing allergies from more humidity on the coast, as well as a longer growing season as its milder there and also different plants with pollen, etc. I know my family has always had asthma problems and a great grandfather of mine actually had to move from England as the damp cool weather was too hard on his lungs. I’m definitely not an expert on allergies lol, but you can always try to get an allergy test to help figure out triggers, or ask your doctor what they think. Hopefully they go away soon!

Fjellrev

Yikes, I was unaware that there were a lot of forest fires this summer. And that sucks that you have asthma! I hope you are able to keep it under control. I’ve been experiencing allergies on and off since I moved here. First I thought it was from living in basements (combine that with the humidity here and you’re looking at Mold City), but who knows!

mrs.stenhouse12

Haha yeah this summer the smoke from fires in BC and NWT drifted down to us, bad wind currents I guess :( ah well you do what you have to do. Allergy pills help quite a bit! Mold could definitely be the culprit, we just got a dehumidifier for the basemen and it works wonders, gets so much water out of the air!

Fjellrev

What kind of antihistamines work best for you? I sometimes use Benadryl, but the drowsiness can really slow down my productivity so I abstain from taking them as much as possible.

mrs.stenhouse12

I used to use Reactine, but the 24 hr one was so strong, it would completely block up any release of mucus, so one night I was coughing and it was really hurting my chest as nothing could come out, and it also gave me a super dry throat. Now I have been using Aerius Allergy + Sinus, the sinus part doesn’t dry your entire sinuses out too bad and it seems to work about the same! I have never tried Benadryl, it seems like it would be too strong and I definitely couldn’t handle being that drowsy, I have too long of a commute to and from work to be sleepy!

Fjellrev

Ah ok, I’ve tried Reactine, just a sample, and it didn’t seem to do much, and never tried Aerius. I guess it depends on the person and your needs. I’m glad you found one that works for you. Maybe I’ll try Aerius sometime to see if it won’t make me as drowsy.

mrs.stenhouse12

I find I don’t get drowsy at all from Aerius but that could just be me. Reactine, the regular strength made me super sleepy, extra strength not at all lol so it’s strange for me! Hopefully you find one that works for you! Claritin might also help, although I haven’t personally tried that one.

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Fjellrev

Nice review! What do you think you get allergies from? Oddly enough, I almost never had that problem when I lived there (save for poplar when it would be really heavy), but I started to develop allergies to who knows what once I moved to Vancouver Island.

mrs.stenhouse12

Thank you :) This year is particularly bad for me, I think it’s due to pollen from the flowers in my yard and dust/mold/dampness at work mostly. We had a weirdly humid and hot summer with tons of forest fire smoke, so I think that set off my asthma and its been downhill from there lol. You definitely could be noticing allergies from more humidity on the coast, as well as a longer growing season as its milder there and also different plants with pollen, etc. I know my family has always had asthma problems and a great grandfather of mine actually had to move from England as the damp cool weather was too hard on his lungs. I’m definitely not an expert on allergies lol, but you can always try to get an allergy test to help figure out triggers, or ask your doctor what they think. Hopefully they go away soon!

Fjellrev

Yikes, I was unaware that there were a lot of forest fires this summer. And that sucks that you have asthma! I hope you are able to keep it under control. I’ve been experiencing allergies on and off since I moved here. First I thought it was from living in basements (combine that with the humidity here and you’re looking at Mold City), but who knows!

mrs.stenhouse12

Haha yeah this summer the smoke from fires in BC and NWT drifted down to us, bad wind currents I guess :( ah well you do what you have to do. Allergy pills help quite a bit! Mold could definitely be the culprit, we just got a dehumidifier for the basemen and it works wonders, gets so much water out of the air!

Fjellrev

What kind of antihistamines work best for you? I sometimes use Benadryl, but the drowsiness can really slow down my productivity so I abstain from taking them as much as possible.

mrs.stenhouse12

I used to use Reactine, but the 24 hr one was so strong, it would completely block up any release of mucus, so one night I was coughing and it was really hurting my chest as nothing could come out, and it also gave me a super dry throat. Now I have been using Aerius Allergy + Sinus, the sinus part doesn’t dry your entire sinuses out too bad and it seems to work about the same! I have never tried Benadryl, it seems like it would be too strong and I definitely couldn’t handle being that drowsy, I have too long of a commute to and from work to be sleepy!

Fjellrev

Ah ok, I’ve tried Reactine, just a sample, and it didn’t seem to do much, and never tried Aerius. I guess it depends on the person and your needs. I’m glad you found one that works for you. Maybe I’ll try Aerius sometime to see if it won’t make me as drowsy.

mrs.stenhouse12

I find I don’t get drowsy at all from Aerius but that could just be me. Reactine, the regular strength made me super sleepy, extra strength not at all lol so it’s strange for me! Hopefully you find one that works for you! Claritin might also help, although I haven’t personally tried that one.

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Bio

Hello all, I am an electrical engineer (read:NERD :D), who is a bit obsessed with tea! I discovered loose tea in 2011, DAVIDsTEA in 2012 and it took off from there. I really started drinking/enjoying tea because it was excellent to take to class in the morning and because I can’t handle coffee! (unless it’s a really good cappuccino or latte, or decent decaf haha)

I enjoy a variety of teas – current favorites being ripe and raw pu’erhs, chinese black teas and herbal/green rooibos blends. I also enjoy white, green, and oolong teas, although I tend to drink them more in the warmer months. I have also tried matcha and guayusa, but I don’t drink them too often as I am a bit sensitive to caffeine. As a result I don’t drink black teas as often as I used to, but in moderation I can still enjoy a wide variety of teas.

Oh, and I have a severe peanut allergy and try to avoid most other nuts, just to be safe. Limits my tea choices a bit, but that’s ok. However I have tried almonds and found out I can eat them, so I have been trying a few teas with them in them.

mrs.stenhouse12’s rating system
(as of 04/19/13)

95+: Absolute favorite, will try to always have it in stock, and when I don’t I pine over it!
90-94: Awesome teas, will probably purchase again a few times
80-89: Very good tea, may restock at some point
70-79: happy to have tried and will gladly finish, but not restock
60-69: not horrible, but not the best, will finish if I have some though
50-59: not a favorite, probably will have a tough time finishing the bag
-50: yuck. I don’t want to have it ever again.

Location

Canada

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