Le sigh, another prolonged unforeseen absence… I hate it when I just drop off the face of the planet.
Also, the hubby and I are back on a no-caffeine diet, so that means no real tea for a while, except for these lovely decaffeinated bagged teas. Celestial Seasonings has a few, but they aren’t usually carried in the stores, and we’ve found some Twinings and Bigelow decaf here and there. This one I found at good ol’ Wally World (that’s Southern for Walmart… don’t ask). I was so excited to get a decaf chai! I’d missed it so much (we’ve been on this diet for a month now).
Anyway, I steeped it up and added some almond milk and sugar substitute. This particular kind of sugar substitute is called xylitol, and I spring for it because I abhor the aftertaste that stevia and other artificial sweeteners have. This one has no aftertaste, and behaves exactly like sugar, even in baking. :) But I digress. The spices were not overly strong, but they were there, kind of like the kid who sits in the middle of the classroom, and when you get to his name calling roll, gives you a half-hearted wave but says nothing. Anyway, I’ve noticed that decaf black teas have lost a lot of their “oomph” (and by “oomph,” I mean tannins), so you can steep them for much longer without getting that unpolished-copper-astringency. This black tea was no exception, and although I steeped it for way longer than I would a normal chai, the flavor was just lackluster. I’ll drink it, though, because sometimes you just have to have chai, lackluster or no.
