Just Charming Chai

A sample from Miss B! It’s still cold out today, despite the forecast predicting warmer weather for the end of the week. I arrived at work frozen, so chai seemed to be the order of the day. I used my usual western-style preparation method – 1 tsp of leaf, 4 minutes in boiling water, and a splash of milk.

As chai goes, this seems to be a pretty mild one. The main flavour I’m picking up is actually vanilla, and while it’s sweet and creamy it’s not quite what I was expecting. There’s an underlying “chai” flavour in the mid-sip, mostly cinnamon, clove and orange, but it’s not hugely prominent. While pleasant and drinkable, I think this one really need something to give it some body and zing – maybe some pepper or ginger. As it stands, it’s just a little too mild for my tastes.

Backlog:

This chai wasn’t as spicy as I hoped for. It’s still a tasty chai, but I was hoping for a really zesty chai and it didn’t quite live up to that.

The medley of spices is a warm and comforting combination of cinnamon, clove and cardamom. I wish there was a bit of ginger and/or black pepper in this to give it some zing. The orange brightens the cup a little.

Here’s my full-length review: http://sororiteasisters.com/2014/07/27/just-charming-chai-blend-from-just-organic-tea/

Happy holidays, everyone!

It’s the time for festive/spiced teas, so this seemed like a natural choice. However, I really need to remember to baby this when I brew it – the tea is so heavily flavoured that it can get cloying right quick. 3 minutes is all it needs.

This is decent, but I think I prefer their Orange Spice blend over this. I still prefer Golden Moon’s Kashmiri Chai blend, but that stuff is ridiculously expensive to ship to Canada. Ah well.

Oh, and for those of you who’ve been keeping track of my hubby and I’s movie habits: this morning we watched “The China Syndrome.” Not Christmas material, I know, but I wanted to watch it before it was due back at the library.

And my god, it’s a super good film. They really don’t make them like that anymore.

I believe this sample came from Shadowfall. I’ve been noticing lately that I never drink any of my chai samples. I guess it’s just something that I have to be in a specific mood for? So I figured I’d try to drink some of them within the next few days. This one actually smells fairly mild. I don’t really smell orange, just some cinnamon and a sweetness that almost says vanilla to me. I did a 4 minute steep.

I dunno, this tea is fairly weak for a chai. I added a little sugar but no milk, so I guess I’m appreciating the weak flavor right now since it’s not diluted. But normally, I feel chai should be strongly spiced so that it can stand up to the traditional preparation method. I would call this a spiced black tea, not necessarily a chai. I taste a wee bit of orange, but mostly cinnamon and some clove. The flavor that’s here isn’t bad, there’s just not enough of it.

This is another sample from Just Organic.

I was whining about my last tea not being strong enough to wake me up. This wasn’t quite what I was looking for but I really wanted to sip something down especially before my kickstarter teas from Just Organic come. I was a bit meh on it(I swear all my samples were effected by some weird herbal scent/flavor that I’ve been bitching about in all of my Just Organic samples!)

I decided to add milk and sugar and that helped tremendously. Chai is the one tea I don’t fault for needing milk and sugar and this is lovely. I think it would be great made on the stovetop. I had to check my kickstarter order to see if I ordered any of this and it looks like I chose the pumpkin chai instead of this one.

I grabbed this tea this morning and pretty much had to chug it and run out the door. So, this may not be a totally fair review. I felt like this was just a basic chai with nothing really to distinguish it, but it was pleasant enough.

I hope everyone had a good Memorial Day yesterday! Mine was kinda odd, my dryer broke while I was doing laundry so I ended up hanging things on the line with a perpetual eye on the stormy clouds…it never did rain much to my surprise. While hanging the laundry out a grackle assaulted me, I think it wasn’t paying attention and it flew right into my chest and then squawked at me like it was my fault. I also got sunburned and the associated sun sickness because I keep forgetting that the UV is higher in the Midwest and going out without a sunhat is dumb.

Today’s tea from Just Organic Tea is Just Charming Chai, a blend of Oothu Black Tea, Cardamon, Cinnamon, Cloves, Organce Peel, and Natural Flavors. The aroma is spicy and warm, a blend of cinnamon and cardamon with notes of malt and a tiny hint of orange at the finish. This smells like a classic chai but with a nice orange flair to it.

The aroma of the brewed leaves is very spicy, lots of cardamon and a hint of pepper. There is also a nice amount of malt and earthiness, there is a tiny bit of sweet orange at the finish. The liquid is malty, sweet, and creamy with a spice and orange. It is very balanced and an intriguing twist on chai.

With the traditional cream and sugar, since that is how I like my chai, the taste is quite yummy. A bold and very smooth chai, strong spices that are well balanced, and nice rich malty finish. There is a tiny bit of orange that shows up in the midtaste and stays until the aftertaste. This tea does do something kinda funny, the flavor is really rich and bold at the beginning, but at the end it putters out to just mild orange and a tiny bit of spice. This tea had a great start but a pretty meh finish, but I did really like the start and the quirky orange twist.

For photos and blog: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2014/05/just-organic-tea-just-charming-chai-tea.html

I drank this sample awhile ago and enjoyed so much that I made sure to include it in my Kickstarter order. It seemed a little unique for chai’s I normally drink but I could not figure out what it was, maybe when I get more I can pin point it.

Thank you Just Organic Tea for sending me this sample!

This is a nice and delicate chai. It is not super spicy. I like the balance between the tea and the spices. One does not drown out the other which makes for a nice sipping experience. I did add the organic sugar packet that JOT sent with my tea samples. It was just the right amount of sweetness for my cup.

This isn’t my favorite chai, but it is a chai I’d would happily serve at a tea party or with friends who may be uncomfortable with super spicy teas.

Thanks again for the samples, Just Organic Tea! I’m always up for trying a new chai! It’s STILL annoyingly cold in MAY, so it’s still perfect chai weather. Just Organic Tea suggest 195 degrees for 4-5 minutes. I went with that, though I usually think chai should be boiling for maximum spiciness! The sample size wasn’t as much tea as I’d usually use. The dry blend looks like it has mostly orange in it (along with the black tea). I also added some of the Organic sugar that JOT sent along!

Steep #1 // 11 min after boiling // 4-5 min steep
I like my chai robust and SPICY, and this one isn’t quite that. (Then again I’ve never found a chai that was spicy enough.) But the flavors in this one lead to something unique. I don’t think it’s just the sugar in this that are making it taste like a dessert – I think it’s the combination of the cinnamon and the orange. The sugar reminds me of brown sugar flavor unless it’s something in the tea itself. The base tea has a squash or pumpkin aspect to it. Very interesting! I’m not sure if the pumpkin would be there if I had used boiling water.

Steep #2 // just boiled // 5 min
This cup was fantastic as well – had that pumpkin flavor even at boiling. The cinnamon was stronger – still tasted like a dessert. This is really an exemplary chai. Again, not as spicy as I’d like, but it’s probably impossible. I think many people could stock up on this to fit the ‘chai’ spot in their cupboard!