Masala Chai - Organic

Tea five in the great chai quest. This one is hard for me to judge. I like if, but it’s really subtle. I know I’ve been complaining about too spicy, but I think this one isn’t spicy enough. It’s good though, nicely balanced. I think this would be good cold. Will have to try that sometime.

Thank you so much Dexter3657 for the package of lovely teas! Another chai to try… always on the look for the perfect chai. This one is a nice balance of black tea and spices. Plenty of black tea and plenty of spice. The black tea isn’t a CTC, so it is tough to get a nice balance. The spices aren’t listed but I definitely see cardamom and cloves… there’s probably more spices here. A decent chai to represent chai, but still not the best chai I’ve tried (maybe the fifth best chai I’ve tried, or somewhere around there, so in no way terrible!) but maybe I should be brewing these like ACTUAL chai instead of tea.

This is a wonderful chai with a good spice. I like my chai spicy and pepper this is both. I will be putting this on my go to list.

I bought this yesterday when I was at NM Tea Co., and I’m sipping it this morning**. It is like an autumny hug in a mug. It is spicy, yes, but gentle enough to drink a lot of. It would also be FANTASTIC iced. The top note is a gentle cinnamon clove, but there’s also a “nuttiness” to this tea that my palate isn’t cultured enough to identify. Another brilliant tea from NM Tea Co.
On a side note, NM Tea Compnay’s customer service is the SHIZ, and their shop in Albq. is lovely.

**Brewing Note: I have no idea exactly how many ounces of water or at what temp. I throw about 7 tsp. in my Brown Betty, and fill that sucker up with water from the tea kettle on the stove. I know, I’m so not classy. Sorry.

Can I get a “Wooo!” This drink I made is making me do that and I haven’t gone “wow” in a while.

I haven’t had chai in a looong time but I bought almond coconut milk yesterday and I have been itching to make a cold drink of sorts with it. As I pondered for a beverage again this afternoon the idea struck me: iced chai latte. Now this might have to do a bit with Oprah — that woman knows how to make money, eh? — because I’ve been going to Starbucks a lot these past few weeks and there’s the giant sign about Oprah and some chai. So maybe my subconscious took a chai battering all these days because it came screaming out this afternoon.

So I dug out this sample from Dexter3657 that came my way during a period when I was interviewing chais for a regular spot and dumped it all in the steeper. Overleafed a little because I knew I’d be going in with ice and milk and after 4 minutes I dumped in some sugar in the raw, ice cubes halfway in a mason jar and then filled half with tea, half with almond coconut milk. Sprinkled on a small pinch of cardamom for good measure, stirred and WOW. I love this. Must make it again. Thank you to Dexter3657 for this oldie but goodie sample.