The Chai Ning

This was a lovely chai with a distinctly toasty flavor, and it somehow reminded me of the chewy molasses cookies I get several times a year from our grocery store. I drink most of my teas straight, but my partner insisted I try adding milk to this one, and it somehow brought out more of the sweetness and baked goods quality. This made the cut as one of 5 teas I reordered from the advent calendar.

BrutaliTeas Advent, Day 21

BrutaliTeas Advent Calendar 2022 – Day 21

So I assumed this was just a plain ol’ black chai, but it looks like it also has roasted maté and some chestnut flavoring. Sounds good to me! It also smelled really good in the tin, very gingerbread-like with a molasses note.

It tastes okay but I’m not getting much of the maté sadly, mostly it’s just a generic and somewhat tannic black base. The spices are nice enough, mostly cardamom, cinnamon, and ginger. I do get a little bit of that molasses character, I wonder if it’s the “spice flavor”? Or maybe the chestnut is giving me that impression. I wouldn’t call it nutty per se, but it does have a certain richness to it.

Overall, it’s fine but almost like a less tasty version of Gingerbread Festival. :P Clearly that tea has ruined me for gingerbread teas…

Fun one, and smells like a warm Christmas. The chestnut sold me, and my brother wanted a chai. This was kinda tough to drink straight, but was good with just sugar at minimum, but better with some condensed milk. It’s a typical chai, but the warming chestnut adds much needed savory nutty qualities that contrast with the almost minty yerbe mate, which is hinted in the background.

I can get the winter vibe from the film in this one, but not sure if it’s super pleasing for a horror movie vibe. It’s inviting, which could be the point. Not certain about a rating, but know I’m pretty happy with it.