Fire Light Chai

I am all out of my beloved Rishi West Cape Chai so I decided to check this out until I have depleted my other Rishi teas and want to place an order for more of them…

I was not happy when I got home and realized this was for the teabag version of this tea (my mistake). I steeped it for 4 minutes with boiling water and added a bit of soymilk in the end. I am not crazy about this. For a bagged non-caffeinated chai I would prefer Yogi tea Indian Spice or even Bengal Spice from Celestial Seasonings.

I’m not really a fan of roobois but since I loved the West Cape Chai, I thought I might appreciate this too. For me the flavor balance seems off. It’s all clove, roobois and orange, I’d prefer a higher concentration of cinnamon and cardamom. It also seems to be drying my mouth right up. I will probably finish it reluctantly. Oh well.

I took a few sips of this one clear. It was sweet and spicy, and I could see a nice flavour developing. Then I decided to add milk. That… rather than enhancing as it does with most chais, actually ending up muddling the taste. Adding sugar helped to bring it back, but this one, I’m afraid, is entirely best clear.

Just goes to show that you can’t always do all teas the same way. Cheers for experimentation at least?

Oh spicy teas how I love you! A cuppa this tea was a great way to enjoy a crisp Fall night! The blend of spices takes me to a warm place in front of a fire on a cold night. Or maybe in front of an awesome bonfire hanging out with friends. I love the notes of clove!

This is one of the best rooibos chais I have ever had. The rooibos sweetness combined with a very spicy clove flavour is just fantastic.

Brews a dark amber brown, can be resteeped several times, is great as a latte, and you can forget about it/leave the teabag in without worrying about it oversteeping.

I’m about 3/4 through my canister of this, and I won’t be replacing it when it’s finished. I like Zhena’s teas, generally. Can’t say the same for this one. I like rooibos, I like spices, but something about this mix doesn’t work for me. The spices don’t taste balanced with the sweetness of the rooibos. Also, when I opened the canister, spice dust fell all over the place. I guess the spices are too fine to stay in the teabags.

Meh. The spices are too weak for my taste. I have found that I like rooibos best with chai spices, and the mix does work fairly well here.

Tis is a pretty good chai, nice and spicy – but not a true favorite. It can get a touch bitter if it steeps too long, but being a rooibos tea it doesn’t get too terribly bitter. Does not require sweetener, but it can add a bit and bring out the flavor very well – honey is recommended if you want it sweet. Recommended for fans of flavorful, spicy chai tea.