Bourbon Chai

A sample from miss Blodeuyn. She ordered a few of this company’s teas and was kind enough to let me try them since I was curious about them. This one and the puerh blend have been left sitting around for a bit because I’m not really a chai or a puerh drinker. I do enjoy chai, but I never seem to reach for it. This is a very strange tea in its dry form. It’s almost wet, and all of the leaves like to stick together in a giant clump until you break them apart to measure some, at which point they crumble a bit. I can see whole cardamom pods, fennel seed, and some crushed green leaves that resemble bay. Dry scent is strong on the fennel and anise aromas.

The steeped tea has a strong fennel aroma as well, and I confess, it reminds me of Italian sausage… This is definitely a more savory chai. I’m drinking it plain and I can taste the fennel and the cardamom quite strongly, and I can also taste some of the star anise. Cinnamon is mentioned in the description, but I don’t really get that flavor at all. Overall, it’s okay, although I’m not a huge fan of cardamom, so I’m a bit biased.

This is super duper tasty. I was completely terrified when I saw the dry leaves looked wet…yet I sniffed them and they smelled like chai and seemed a bit more oily to the touch than water damp, so I brewed it up anyway. I would totally risk my health for a cup of chai.

I am glad I did, as the sample came from LiberTEAs, and noted the same textural oddity. And I also really enjoyed this. I made it with almond milk and a bit of honey and it was on the milder side, but not in a bad way. Just not a punch-in-the-face of cinnamon and spice that I do often enjoy, but like a break from sometimes.

Backlog:

I’ve had this chai a few times since I’ve written my original review of it: http://sororiteasisters.com/2014/02/13/bourbon-chai-blend-vintage-teaworks/ and I really enjoy this chai.

The “dry” leaf looks wet – as though it has been marinated in honey. The tea smells like bourbon to me (even though there’s no actual bourbon in the tea), perhaps the combination of ingredients evokes thoughts of bourbon.

Sweet and warmly spiced. It’s “spicy” but it’s not a hot type of spice. It’s more like a sweet-spicy kind of spice. The spices are very harmonious in this blend.

A very satisfying chai!