Decaf Vanilla Chai

One of the most aromatic teas I own. When I make it, it’s because I just want to cradle it close and and feel the warmth on my chest and just breath it in. The smooth vanilla and spices bring a very high level of warmth and comfort that’s undeniable.

Unfortunately, the taste is a little short of that – but like I said, I make it for the perfect amazing smell and since it’s a bagged tea, having it that way is still pretty affordable.

Also, I just looked up the new DT teaware for spring, and I have to say that I’m really digging the Lobster Mug and glass Octopus Mug! Would love to add those to my collection!

I feel like I used to really enjoy this one, but it’s kind of ‘eh’ tonight. I’m not really getting much vanilla out of this, and the spices seem very peppery to me. The cup seems a little thin, too, even after adding a little milk.

-Standard teabag with a string and tag.
-Teabag smells like chai spices. Tea liquor aroma is of sweet vanilla and chai spices.
-Tea liquor is a cloudy medium yellow brown color.
-Soft vanilla and spicy flavor with a sweet finish. Light peppery chai aftertaste.
-Best with milk and sweetener.
-Fair tea. A slightly watery cup. Faint vanilla note with a strong peppery spiciness.

i’ve also been saving this sample from KallieBoo! for a while now, and today turned out to be the perfect day to drink it.

the slight vanilla notes make a chai even better for me. kinda mellows things out around the edges. a friendlier chai. plus the bonus of no caffeine. the sky is full of clouds and i’ve felt a chill all day. in my second cup i added a bit of half & half, just to really turn the comfort factor up to 11.

this past weekend i hiked Old Rag here in Virginia. it’s a pretty famous hike. tina fey mentions it in her book for instance. and let me tell you, it’s hard. i’m still sore. and it was an awesome day. i drank some green tea on the summit.

Backlog!
I made this one on my lunch and enjoyed it. I let it steep for quite a while and the flavors came out a bit more. Just your typical vanilla chai. Creamy with spice notes.

Someone left a bag of this in my department lounge, so I thought I’d try it. What the heck, thought I. And actually… I am kind of, well, pleasantly surprised. Maybe I’ve had too much bad chai lately, but this is tasting not so bad to me. The vanilla definitely takes a backdrop to the chai spices, but that’s a good thing. I’m also really sick of overly fake vanilla.

Am nursing a really sore throat, probably because I’m catching my husband’s cold. This is hitting me just right and hey, decaf.

Bagged tea. Smells nice. Wrapper says for best flavor add milk and sugar. I added only Splenda. Normally wouldn’t grab this on a 90 degree day but it was decaf so… I should have rinsed the oolong out of my mug before steeping this tea but I was lazy. The blend of spices in this are nice. Adding milk might really have helped. It seems to me all the flavor is on top of the sip and then there is this big drop into nothingness. What I mean is the black tea does not grab hold and support the spices. Maybe because it is decaf, maybe because of the oolong taste remaining in the cup. I did notice the cooler the cup got the more balanced it seemed. That leads me to imagine this would make a really great frappachino on this steamy hot day.

A little something I stole from work today, it wasn’t too bad! As others said I think a bit of milk would have really made it but a light standard chai with a bit of a vanilla undertone DID THE JOB at the time!

the vanilla is not as strong as I’d like, but the spices are fairly balanced (I don’t like my chai too spicy.) Most vanilla chai I’ve had was from a powdered mix which comes out creamy because of the milk. I will experiment with steeping time and milk/water ratios. I think this could make a good vanilla chai latte eventually (but may need to add a drop of vanilla extract).

Very mild flavor compared to other chai teas. Doesn’t taste much like vanilla, much more subdued, lightly sweet flavor.

Pretty good with milk. I would order this to have on-hand.