I love white chocolate, but I’m not sure how the taste translates to tea, since I think it just tastes like sugar and cocoa butter. I threw this into my order because it sounded interesting. The samples from Culinary teas are huge – twice the size of most companies!
The smell of the dry leaves is dusty, and intensely of cloves. I was not excited as cloves are almost my least favorite part of chai (though still, better that than star anise!) I brewed up a whole pot of this to share with my husband. There is an oily sheen to the top of the tea, likely from the melted white chocolate chips. First sip (no additions) is really all about the cloves. It’s sharp and a bit unpleasant. But chai needs milk and sugar, so I added both to my cup.
It’s nicer with the milk, which tames the clove a bit. I still think the flavor is unbalanced. There is a slight creaminess, but I can’t really taste the white chocolate (that’s ok, I didn’t think I would!) I do like the bite of black pepper at the end. My husband, who is far more sensitive to bitter tastes than I, took one sip of his tea and then immediately headed to the fridge for his cinnamon coffee creamer. I don’t believe in non-dairy creamer, so I can’t say, but he said the cinnamon made it much better. I can’t really recommend this one – I would like more spice, but less cloves. Drinkable, but a bit of a last resort tea for me!
