Chilli Chai

I wasn’t feeling great last night, so I went for my ultimate comfort tea for a pre-bedtime drink. I’ve just recovered from a cold, but I think it might be coming back again, somehow. Anyway, I always find this tea warming and reassuring. I was too tired to make a latte, so I just brewed this as I normally would a black tea with a hefty dose of milk added. The slight heat from the chili helped to soothe my throat, and the combination of the spices and warm milk helped me to feel all warm and cosy again. For me, this really is comfort in a cup.

mmmmm thank you Scheherazade for this one! It was a bit overpowering in terms of smell when i opened up the swap, but luckily it didn’t manage to contaminate the other samples that were along for the ride. :)

I tried this one tonight and overall it’s a very pleasant chai. I’m not getting overly spicey from it, but it’s different enough from the other chai’s that i like to possibly warrant having more of this around in future. I also have another bag that i can try later this week to see how it goes if i let it steep for even longer. :)

I like this one very much! With my first couple of sips, I thought, hmm… this is pretty good, but, where is the chilli? But, after those first couple of sips, the heat began to develop on the back of the tongue and into the throat, providing a gentle burn. It isn’t TOO spicy, not so spicy that I find it overwhelming the other flavors of the chai. I especially like that I can taste the vanilla tones to this, which really adds a delicious contrast to the spicy heat of the chilli.

Very nicely done.

fact 1, i am not a chai person. or perhaps i am a chai person in training. whatever, point being, not really a chai person.
fact 2, this cup is delicious! low on the flavors i don’t like as much and high on the ones i do. and the tea. i can taste the tea still! (i feel like chai spices usually over power the tea itself.)
thanks for sending these tea bags my way Scheherazade! i’m really really enjoying every sip.
also i do like spicy food. like, more than the average spicy food loving person. or so my boyfriend would agree.
(also salt. but i’m getting off topic.)
so just the mention of a curry house in the tea description has my mouth watering. dangit. where’s the takeaway menus?

I have been raiding my mothers tea cupboards today to see what new tea’s she has got in for me and I found this little beauty.
I need a kick up the bum today to get me going and with a little luck this chilli chai may be just the thing.

Colour: Red with a gold glow.
Smell: Spicy with whiffs of cinnamon and cardamom being the strongest.
Taste: A nice typical chai tasting mix for the first few sips, you have the cardamoms zestyness, the cinnamons mild spicyness and the Assam tea’s depth. As for the chilli there is a slight ‘tingle on the toungle’ which is pleasant and thankfully not too over powering. A nice mixture over all.

When I pulled the new tea bag out of it’s box I did enjoy seeing it’s contents before brewing. The pyramid bags are easily see through and I noted seeing 3 cardamom pods, a few small chilli seeds and the wonderful black Assam tea shredded into little soldiers.

Now to sit back and welcome my chilli boost.

I was out shopping today and found this tiny little tea bar tucked away in a tiny little market in Manchester. They had 60+ teas, so it took me a while to decide, and I eventually settled on this one, since I’ve been dying to try it for ages.

This had a nice black tea base that supports the spices well. The chilli is very, very strong, which is good, and it adds a nice little kick to the back of the sip. I liked this, but I think the ‘chai’ bit could have been a little stronger.

Got this tea with breakfast in a café. It’s an enjoyable enough chai tea. I personally did not pick up on the chilli much, but there were tones of (ground) pepper to fortify the drink, possibly amplified by the hidden chilli? Has a slight sweetness to it, and is pretty mild on the tea front, not at all bitter or tannic.

It’s a chai. Don’t really taste much of the chili?

I did add some agave and a tough of oat milk, how I typically drink my chai.

I got this in the Pick ‘N’ Mix box from Teapigs. Probably should have read the box’s description better. I didn’t realize that for each tea you select, you only get two sachets. That’s 24 sachets for $25. Not a good deal at all.

That said, I did end up with four sachets of this. After ice and milk, it comes out pretty generic. I can taste the peppercorns over the usual chai spices, I feel the burn, and it gives a nice caffeine boost. But I’ve had so many better chais than this. There’s nothing wrong with it, of course, it’s just overpriced for the amount you get.

Still, I’ll enjoy it. The cinnamon and ginger at least lend themselves to the fall season nicely. But I know myself and I know that chai in sachets isn’t the best for me. I need a bold experience, and that comes easier with loose leaf.

One of my favorite teas to drink!

Teapigs Chilli Chai is one of my favorites for a couple of reasons.

One being the flavor, and secondly, the heat from the chilli when it goes down the back of your throat.

Overall, you get two flavors that blend well together. None of which overpower one another.