Bollywood Chai

This tea definitely would have been better as a latte. I had it at the DavidsTea Store and they made it with a hint of honey for me. The black tea was so strong, I felt like it overpowered the rest of the flavors. I should have added milk, I think it would have mellowed the tea a bit and allowed the sweetness to come out.

You know what?

I think I like ‘chai’ teas! I’ve had ‘masala’ teas before, but now I know for sure I like them. And this, being one of the first masala teas I’ve made myself, in loose leaf form, is pretty good!

Just to note, it feels weird for me to say ‘chai’ because in hindi/urdu language, ‘chai’ is ‘tea’ – so saying, ‘chai tea’ is like saying, ‘tea tea’. So for the specific ‘chai’ type teas (sounds so weird to me!), I’ll just consider it a ‘masala’ tea because thats what it is! :)

I prepared this on the stove in a saucepan, 1 cup water boiling with the tea added and let it boil for about 2 minutes. Then I added 1/2 cup milk and let it simmer for several more minutes and then brought it up to a boil for another couple minutes. Then, I strained and poured into a cup, added just about a tsp of sugar and voila!

I can definitely taste the ginger, cinnamon and peppercorn mingling together! The peppercorn really stood out with it’s spiciness and adding just a bit of sugar gave it a great sweet and spicy taste.

So good!

I think I’m going to prepare some more tomorrow, and share with my husband and see what he thinks of it!

I’m trying to see what types of teas I like and enjoy, and as far as my cupboard would go, I would definitely keep oolong, green tea, herbals and some masala tea!

Sorry, to those flavoured black teas out there… if I wanted tea with milk and sugar, which is what I do with blacks anyways, I would go with the masala teas instead! (and straight up tea would be green, oolong and herbal!)

Not sure if I like white and pu-er yet…

this is not one of the better chai’s I have had. I prefer one that is more of a traditional chai. I can’t seem to pinpoint what I dislike about this one.

I was actually a bit scared about this tea. I bought some to try and then spent weeks smelling it and putting off trying it. Today it was cold and grey, chai tea weather in my world, so I pulled it out and brewed it before I could second guess myself. I think it actually a good chai. I am not overwhelmed by the cinnamon whatsoever (great news in my world), I get a lot more pepper and cardamom. I am not crazy about the amount of cardamom, but I think it works well for a more savoury tea option in my cupboard. This is a spicy chai, but I get the Indian influence with the fennel and I really enjoyed it.

I am a little glued to my super sweet dessert teas right now, but I will have to remember to give this one a chance once in a while!

Ever since my first Chai Latte at Starbucks I have searched far and wide for something comparable. Finally, I have found it. Its not too spicy, or to overwhelmingly cinnamony like the Pure Chai. And its sweet enough on its own that I don’t have to add anything to it. My only gripe is there could be a tiny bit more spice to it. I do like me a spicy Chai…

I went to David’s Tea for the first time the other day. That place is even more fascinating in person than on their website. It was hard not to spend all my money there while rejoicing about not having to pay for shipping. Sadly the only way to get Pumpkin Chai was to buy the Chai Collection, I was hoping that store would have it but they’ve been out for months. Pumpkin chai should be available year round! But I am getting off track, this is the Bollywood Chai I’m reviewing.

I am not sure how hot the water was, though I assume the lady behind the counter went by the recommended water temp. I had it with milk and honey because that’s how I always have my chai. This chai probably could have done with less honey, or no honey at all, I think the fennel and especially the candied fennel seeds made the chai sweeter than I would have liked. If I had made this chai at home I’ll bet I would have picked out the candied fennel seeds and ate them, I like candied anything. Besides being too sweet it was an all right chai, the fennel overwhelmed the other spices until it was all I could taste. It’s not a chai I would buy again but am glad I tried it. Fennel and licorice lovers will like this chai.

This tea is confusing, I don’t know what I am tasting… on one sip its cinnamon, the next is licorice, sometimes I get ginger. Also I am getting a bit of “soap”. So its not great, but not horrible either. Not something I would replace but I am glad I tried it.

I am editing this to add… I couldn’t finish it. The soap taste got stronger and stronger as it cooled. Had to dump the tea out.

I actually was really anxious tu try this tea!

When I got by box from davids tea, its the first one I tried.. I really like it, The spice taste is amazing. I will get 100g of it next time I go to davids Tea ! Yummy!

There’s nothing wrong with this tea, really. Just that I can never remember I don’t care for fennel-type flavors! I got a little overexcited about new chai.

Even with my prejudice against fennel, this was still a smooth and light tea. There’s a bit of sweetness already that I imagine comes from the candied bits, and there’s a hint of vanilla somewhere in there. I’m not going to rate this because my fennel feelings aren’t fair to this chai.

SIPDOWN.

It’s pretty good but I’m not sorry to see it go. I stand by my “I love Saigon Chai more.”
It’s discontinued now so I won’t be restocking it.