Cha Yen Thai

Tea type
Black Rooibos Blend
Ingredients
Assam Tea, Candied Pinapple, Cardamom, Clove, Coconut Chips, Flavouring, Ginger, Roasted Chicory Root, Rooibos, Star Anise Bits
Flavors
Almond, Anise, Cardamom, Chestnut, Clove, Cloves, Coconut, Fruity, Ginger, Honey, Nectar, Nutty, Pineapple, Roasted Nuts, Rooibos, Spices, Spicy, Sugarcane, Sweet, Tannin, Tea, Wood, Creamy, Tannic, Caramel, Cinnamon, Cream, Vanilla, Apple, Cocoa
Sold in
Loose Leaf, Sachet
Caffeine
Medium
Certification
Not available
Edit tea info Last updated by Meghann M
Average preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 3 min, 45 sec 21 oz / 635 ml

From Our Community

1 Image

21 Want it Want it

  • +6

63 Own it Own it

  • +48

56 Tasting Notes View all

  • “FOREWARNING: I just finished writing this, and it’s VERY long. So please don’t feel like you have to suffer through it. Blame it on my hankering to avoid my homework and not writing a review for...” Read full tasting note
    94
  • “1 tbsp. leaf prepared latte style on the stove, using milk and brown sugar. I haven’t had this in forever, but was in the mood for a nontraditional type of chai tonight, and remembered purchasing...” Read full tasting note
    85
  • “Hello Steepster! I hope everyone has been doing well. I am finally back after a break. No tea was had for the past few weeks b/c I was sick and overwhelmed. If there was anyone I got behind on...” Read full tasting note
    90
  • “I love Thai iced tea. It’s one of the reasons I am always convincing people to go get Thai food with me. Well… that and the food, which I adore. Massaman curry, oh yeah! I’ve always wanted to...” Read full tasting note
    93

From Teavana

This is Teavana’s interpretation of the popular Thai iced tea blend famous throughout the world. It is a rich combination of Assam black tea and Rooibos tea blended with star-anise, almonds and a bevy of traditional Thai spices. Recommended that you brew it strong for a cup that can be served over ice or combined with milk (or condensed milk) for a flavorful treat. Contains nuts.

About Teavana View company

Company description not available.

56 Tasting Notes

94
119 tasting notes

FOREWARNING: I just finished writing this, and it’s VERY long. So please don’t feel like you have to suffer through it. Blame it on my hankering to avoid my homework and not writing a review for a couple of days!

Did I make this tea while I was literally on my way out the door to get to my school’s girl’s hockey championship game (they won)? Yes, I did. Did I forget about it the whole car ride and when I got there I was already late so an almost full cup sat in my car for two hours? Yes. Did I drink it two hours later anyways? Yes. Did I also unintentionally leave the tea leaves out all night? Yes. Did I ignore this fact and continue to resteep them almost 24 hours later? Yes. Did I forget that my timer went off so the tea steeped for about 15 minutes? Yes.

SO MANY BAD HABITS THAT IAN IGNORED IN ONE TEA!

Anyways, this is a tea that I received in my swap with The DJBooth. Thanks for sending this along!

This is actually really yummy! Generally, I’m not a fan of Teavana for these reasons:
1.) Their blends are like…. all blend no tea. This one actually isn’t an exception… I can hardly see any tea in all of these spices, but it is still very good.
2.) I HATE their website. I can’t stand it. I can’t pinpoint exactly why, but it has to do with the colors/design choices and the fact that it doesn’t flow.
3.) I’ve only been to their retail locations like twice (there aren’t any in Vermont) and the sales people were annoying.
4.) I’m scared to order online because of what I’ve heard from the discussion thread here….
5.) Along with their salespeople, they. know. almost. nothing. about. tea. This is not true with everyone, I’m POSITIVE about that, but the few that I’ve met in person knew nothing. They couldn’t answer my questions and they thought Teavana was all that (quote on quote: “I’ve tried a different version of this tea from a different company and I love it, so I don’t want to try this. Thank you though!” [me] “That’s impossible! Teavana makes the highest quality teas in the US. You won’t find better than this” [sales person]. In fact that tea was one of the lowest rated teas by them here on Steepster).
However, I won’t say that I’m unwilling to try their teas. Personally I don’t like the company and the environment they put off. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t enjoy some of their teas.

Anyways, on from my rant.

This tea is very good. It’s pretty bold and has almost a chai-y type flavor to it. Next time I brew this up I think I’m going to make a latte! I think that would be SO good, and it would be sort of reminiscent of Thai tea.

Pretty good! I wouldn’t repurchase it, but this is very nice. Thank you again, The DJBooth for letting me try some of this!

Oh yeah, PS: The brewing parameters are for the first steep!

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 5 min, 0 sec
Daniel Scott

I hate their website, too! It’s just visually/design-wise a total mess.

And I’ve seen Teavana employees on Adagio chat, and that’s exactly what they sound like. It’s a little scary/cult-like.

Ian

I’m glad I’m not the only one who hates the website!

I totally know about the cult thing! I’ve seen them comment on Youtube videos that give them bad reviews….. ALSO, I totally left this out but I hate how they never let bad reviews through. Like, if you look at ANY tea on their website, there’s next to no negative reviews. That’s so frustrating, because you can tell that they pick which ones to let through. I just want HONEST reviews, not promotion!

Tamm

I don’t think that I’ve noticed a lot of problems with looking at their site, but then again I’ve only ordered from there once! I have gotten the reaction that their teas are the “best out there” though. Which is funny coming from people who, when asked, have never sampled from other stores.
About the tea reviews on their site; I left one and it took them almost 3 months to post it. I wouldn’t trust them at all. After their newest batch of tea releases they didn’t allow reviews to be shown for weeks after the fact. I think that it was so there were no negative reviews to be found and people would splurge more on the new product.

Ian

I really don’t think a lot of them have tried teas from elsewhere… But hey, to each their own! As for the reviews, I completely understand where you’re coming from! It’s so sad though, because people buy from them so much and are blissfully unaware of all the crap that Teavana does…. Tea should be fun and personal but they make it annoying and corporate

TeaBrat

one experience I had ordering from Teavana’s website is they said they couldn’t call UPS to have a package redelivered to another address. But Rishi Tea did it and they were very pleasant about it!

Ian

They are so sassy! I haven’t ordered from them online but now I’m even more afraid to!

ashmanra

When I was in Tin Roof Teas, the young lady who helped me told me that she left Teavana because they repeatedly got on her case for not being pushy enough. She likes Tin Roof much better!

Ian

I’m sure she does! I can’t imagine how you could tell someone to be more pushy….

Tommy Toadman

that’s funny, totally unrelated to tea but more to the comments here, my hubby actually lost a job at a repo place because he was “too nice over the phone with customers” it’s crazy that sort of thing actually happens

Daniel Scott

Not surprised. I work in a fairly high-pressure sales job (one I’ve actually – cringe – seen compared to Teavana, although previous employees of the store I work for generally have liked working there, rather than carrying endless horror stories away…crucial difference, I think), and we are “allowed” to back off when people tell us to, but are otherwise expected to be pretty pushy. We get constantly berated if we’re not. It’s unfortunate, but the thing is, it DOES work, i.e. people demonstrably buy more.

Invader Zim

You’ll have to make it a latte and let me know if it actually tastes like Thai tea. I’ve been eyeballing this stuff but I’m afraid to buy it and be disappointed that it doesn’t taste like Thai tea because you can’t get samples from Teavana…I really dislike that about them.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

85
863 tasting notes

1 tbsp. leaf prepared latte style on the stove, using milk and brown sugar.

I haven’t had this in forever, but was in the mood for a nontraditional type of chai tonight, and remembered purchasing this a while ago. It’s mildly spicy with notes of coconut that tie in nicely.

Not bad – but not one I consider to be a staple.

Preparation
Boiling 4 min, 0 sec

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

90
541 tasting notes

Hello Steepster! I hope everyone has been doing well. I am finally back after a break. No tea was had for the past few weeks b/c I was sick and overwhelmed. If there was anyone I got behind on talking to I humbly apologize.
A friend from a class works at my local Teavana and I got this from her the other day. I wanted to get tea bags but I couldn’t resist!
The dry leaf and the liquor of this are very, very similar to the zingiber rooibos. The main difference I can tell without that tea here is the black base along with an almost anise flavor. This blend also seems to have more vanilla flavor to me. Other than that I think that I would never stock both of those teas at the same time and ultimately I would purchase depending on price comparison and if I was going to be drinking it at night.
Rating it on its own though it is very nice. Somehow I’m getting lots of sweetness that I wasn’t expecting. I think that I may blend this with a heavier base to make it have a more solid base instead of just sweet. It is trying to do a lot in one glass and has notes of nuts, light spice, coconut, vanilla and overall it can be a nice wake up cup.

Mercuryhime

Glad you’re feeling better now. :)

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

93
470 tasting notes

I love Thai iced tea. It’s one of the reasons I am always convincing people to go get Thai food with me. Well… that and the food, which I adore. Massaman curry, oh yeah! I’ve always wanted to recreate a nice Thai iced tea, so when this was on sale for ~$1.50 for 2 ounces of course I had to grab some! Now I wish I’d gotten 4 ounces… or maybe even 8. It’s so good! Seriously, I’d be happy with a pound so I could cold brew big pitchers and sip it all day long. But alas, I didn’t think I would like it this much!

The black base is quite strong and does stand up to the flavors, which seems to be an issue with Teavana’s white & green blends which are totally overpowered by the additions. Here it’s nice and malty and brisk like a good Thai iced tea should be, with bright pops of star anise, cardamom and almond. It’s got a wonderfully exotic feel—I made it both iced and hot, and it’s perfection. And this is with 2% milk, not even condensed milk like it should be! It’s very creamy and thankfully even though it’s heavily spiced I don’t feel like I am drinking a chai blend. I mean I love chais, but that’s not really what I want in a Thai tea!

Faith

Sounds heavenly! I’ve been craving Thai Iced Tea lately, but I have no idea what type of tea-base should be used and the only place to get a decent cup is the local Thai restaurant (but they don’t like to divulge which tea they use).

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

100
553 tasting notes

All I can say is Wow. Love this one and it will have to be a STAPLE in my cupboard for all Time. I’m literally blow away by this one. I’m not a big spice person so the light hints of spice in it are perfect. Just delish. Perfect on a bitter-bitter cold day.

The DJBooth

Yeah this one is one of my favs too!

Meghann M

100 O_o! Awesome, I’m glad you like it so much!

Nichole/CuppaGeek

Thank you for sending it! So yummy!!

Kristen

I just posted a pic for Teavana’s contest Whats in your cup? on facebook. It is a pic of my chinese new year eggs simmering in this tea!!!! Like my photo if you can before 5pm!!!!

Nichole/CuppaGeek

I’ll go there now! :)

Kristen

Thank you!!!!

Meghann M

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1543827200284&set=o.16714458909

pasted the link for you, I think it should work. I liked it!

Kristen

For those interested in seeing the finished chinese new year eggs I made with this tea check out teavanas facebook page I posted a pic of the finished product…and they were pretty and yummy! http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/photo.php?fbid=1544127167783&set=o.16714458909

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

70
14991 tasting notes

Another sipdown for the day! Had a giant mug of this in the afternoon to try and clear out some of the “spicier” and smellier teas in my cupboard. I quiet like this, though i do admit that i picked out the star anise from my cup :) Not sure if i’d ever pick this up again mostly because there are so many other teas to try and so little time in the day. But it was a tasty cup of tea for this afternoon :)

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

3294 tasting notes

The 2nd tea we drank was a 16 oz of this one, compliments of Carol Who.
This is one of the only teas from Teavana that I’ve ever really liked, & for awhile I really liked it a lot, so when Carol sent me some in my recent trade, it was a little nostalgic to see it there. It doesn’t appeal to me like it used to, & that’s ok cuz it’s a sipdown!
284

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

95
254 tasting notes

Sipdown! Actually, this is one of the few sipdowns I could actually see myself replacing. I really love this tea!

I was in a hurry this morning (which is kind of usual) and didn’t take the time to add a dash of milk. It would have been better with, but on its own this is nice in a sweet, mildly spicy way. Sweet spicy, not hot spicy, that is.

So I’m going to take a moment and savor it while it lasts. Only two more school days left!

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 0 sec

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

84
193 tasting notes

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!!! I have my chinese new year eggs simmering in Cha Yen Thai tea!! Just posted a pic on Teavana’s facebook wall. If you can like my photo before 5pm today!!!!! I can’t wait to see how the eggs turn out…I am going to let them simmer for a while.

Kristen

They smell yummy!!!!

The DJBooth

That sounds awesome!

Kristen

For anyone who wants to see the finished product I posted a pic on Teavana’s facebook page! http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/photo.php?fbid=1544127167783&set=o.16714458909

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

68
6444 tasting notes

Tomorrow I leave for Florida and that means I have a daunting but important task at hand – deciding what teas to take with me. Most of the ones I grabbed are ones I want to work on sipping down. I figure that if they are the only options I have, than they will get drunk.

This particular tea is one of my older ones that I picked up in August. It is one I enjoyed when I first bought it but have since found other teas that I far prefer. Weirdly enough, I was reading the ingredients earlier and this boasts star anise yet I get none of that. I get a fruitiness and a bit of nut. It is good but not something I reach for often.

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 2 min, 0 sec
Courtney

Wooooot! FL!

__Morgana__

Bon voyage!

Plunkybug

Have fun!

caile

Hope you have a lovely trip!

Fjellrev

Hope you’ll have a blast!

VariaTEA

Thanks everyone :)

Kamyria

Have an awesome time!!

Login or sign up to leave a comment.