Vanilla Chai Spice

HGTTB

I thought this one might be ok. I was wrong. there’s something in this one that just doesn’t work. In theory it sounds like a great idea but in practice – no thanks. Took one sip and refused to drink the rest lol. It’s just not a great blending of ingredients and there’s a weird note in it. Ah well, can’t love them all!

Nope, Nope, Nope. This tea is very dusty and the color is off. The flavor is sour and pungent. I believe others would enjoy this but its definitely not my cup of tea.

I’ve been very forgetful about my tea while it’s steeping. Sometimes it’s because of a poopy diaper and other times it’s because it took longer for me to get to the end of a chapter then I expected. Needless to say I did it with this one. Think this had about 7 mins of steeping time. Luckily it’s not bitter… just more spicy. Which I don’t entirely mind. I like spicy chai. Though I’m not getting many hints of vanilla too be honest. It’s there just very subtle.

Let me try some Almond milk.

Ooo not bad! It maintains the spiciness of the chai but adds a nice flavor and kinda brings out the vanilla a bit more!

This is one of the few teas that I will not drink without milk…it’s just too spicy for me! With milk, it’s an enjoyable chai with a strong spicy kick from the ginger and clove. The vanilla is present, but definitely takes a backseat to the spices.

So with the Overboard TTB potentially making its way to me sometime in the next week I decided it was time to start sipping down some of my swaps and random samples to make room in preparation for the apparent monstrosity box!! I’m not usually a chai person and generally much prefer oolongs, blacks and greens but wanted to give this tea a go since it’s an unusually cool and rainy day here in SoCal.

So for someone who really isn’t a fan of chai this is almost the perfect balance of warm spice with some definite cinnamon, ginger and cardamom notes and a decent splash of milk helps to bring out the vanilla and add a touch creaminess. The spice is not overpowering and still lets the tea shine through which makes me happy on this winters day! Thanks to Inkling for sharing in our recent swap!

Inkling was super sweet and added this as a bonus in our swap and though I am not a lover of chai teas, I am happy to try anything that people are kind enough to share. You never know unless you try, right? Right. So I brewed this up as a latte.

As I sip, I am finding the addition of vanilla pleasant but not a strong enough element to cover up the chai spices that are just not my favorite. The ginger is quite strong in this blend which I think is what is competing with the vanilla most. Also, as the sip ends, their is a spicy kick from the cloves that is interesting though I don’t know if it is a positive interesting or a negative one. On the whole, it was an alright cup but not something I will seek out again now that its done. Still, I am grateful to Inkling for the opportunity to not only try a new tea but also a new tea company. 184.

Fall scents—leaves and spice
A dark butterscotch liquor
Chased away my sleep

I took advantage of the closing sale and ended up with 6 tins of Two Guy’s Tea. So…I had a tasting party with my mother on my day off! It was the best day ever and took up way more time then we suspected it would— an average 1.25 hours per tea. xD This was our first one.

The dry tea itself was very spice-filled smelling. However, once we brewed it the suggested amount (3.5 mins), the smell was much more toned down. My mother decided that the exact color of the liquor was “caramelized sugar.” The taste was a little disappointing after how strong the dry tea had smelled, but after adding a little milk (which brought out the tea) and brown sugar (which brought out the spices) it was a fine cup. This makes sense, considering that it’s a chai and should have these things!
We steeped it again for 4.5 mins and got a stronger aroma with a spicier taste, which we both preferred.

I made this into a latte last night. I can see why others don’t like it, but as a sweet, milky latte it was pretty tasty. Lowering my rating a bit, but still finding this one easy to drink. Lots of froth was nice.

3tsp, 96C, 12oz.

I’m still not sure how I feel about Chai. For that reason, I am likely not an adequate person to be reviewing this tea. I had this hot a while ago and it was overbearing. I made it last night and let it sit in the fridge until now, which may be too long (I still don’t know what I’m doing). It definitely has that kick I’m looking for in a morning tea but I don’t think this blend lends itself well to being drank cold. This could just be me of course.