Tropical Chai Spice Tea (TE34)

Decided I needed spicy this morning- it’s freezing out! This tea smells SO GOOD in the bag, and brewing, it’s even better. It’s a spicy mix of coconut, black tea, ginger, cinnamon, and some other spices, and it’s really tasty. You can taste the coconut, the black tea base is just right, and none of the spices are overpowering. It’s a very nice blend. I just wish my pot hadn’t gotten cold for the last cup :( lol

Testing 3 “spice” Upton teas tonight, and left this one for last (smelled the best!). Comparing it with Upton’s New England Harvest and Cinnamon Chai (so far, NE is in the lead).

Ok, so this is indeed more complex. The first two were dominated much more by the cinnamon. The black tea is not bitter, and is overshadowed by the spices (for me, this is not a bad thing, lol). I do not taste the coconut, but it shows itself in the aftertaste (yum). Loving how all the spices meld together so well. This isn’t strong spice to me, more “medium” on the spicy scale (preferred).

Oh gosh, this is really really good. And I’ve been so compulsive with ordering lately, that I almost hoped it wasn’t … maybe putting it on my shopping list will suffice for now. Right now I’m thinking “this may be love” :)

Hrmm…

The coconut and licorice in this tea do some weird magical trick to almost end up tasting like nutmeg. It’s a little interesting.

Not good, necessarily. Just interesting. As it cools a little bit, the coconut becomes more prominent, which makes me think this might be a completely different tea once it’s iced.

(a few minutes pass)

This really is getting better as it cools. My rating of it ‘hot’ would be way lower than my rating of it ‘luke-warm’. Which, well, makes very little sense in my head. So, I’m not giving it a number until I try it iced.

Another review based off of stolen sips from Dylan’s cup. Muahaha! This is an interesting interpretation of chai.

I expected to get more chai-ness but I think those tropical flavors are winning out this time. Coconut and licorice grab my attention first with cardamom tailing behind faintly. I can’t find the cinnamon here. That may have some thing to do with my love of cinnamonstrosities.

It’s not a bad chai for some thing different but I really miss my three C’s (cinnamon, cardamom and clove) taking the lead.

This is a very interesting chai blend – one of the more unique ones I’ve ever tried.

The licorice, together with the cinnamon, ginger and coconut creates a very strong flavor that is a little overwhelming, but I am enjoying it. I have a hard time distinguishing the black tea here, though.

Even though it is a very pungent tea, I found it to be soothing and relaxing to sip.

ChOTD…also known as ‘chai of the day’. I am really on a chai kick, lately. For some reason, it is very filling and it just feels like you have had dessert when really only just a little milk (I sweeten it with Splenda…I know not traditional, but I am making it work for me!) I use it as my treat after getting some exercise.

I have found another winner in my book. I don’t think I could choose between Upton’s Hearthside which leans a little cocoa-ey and this one which leans a little coconutty. YUM! Now, I just have to pare down some of the chais I have on hand so I can buy these! (And some wonderful person sent me another chai to try today! Thank you. It will be tomorrow’s ChOTD!)

I love chai in the morning, so I’ve been exploring different chai blends as I’ve come across them. This sample from Upton Imports was intriguing—all the usual spice suspects are present with the addition of coconut and licorice root. I prepared it using takgoti’s recipe (it’s easy to find). The chai is a delicious balance of spice with an appearance by coconut and a surprise of licorice at the finish. (I am not a big fan of licorice as a rule but this was really nice!) A pleasant tweak of the typical chai spice line-up.