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I have very little tea in my cupboard right now that I completely, absolutely adore – and what I do, I seem to hoard (I’m looking at you, Laduree). This tea? This tea is my comfort tea. My, “I love myself so much, I’m definitely having some of you to feel even more love,” tea. It’s sweet and spicy, rich and flavorful, deep and full bodied. I will somehow have to figure out how to replace it when I’m out, but for now…. aaaaaaah.

Grabbed this in the bulk section at Whole Foods because it smelled divine and the description said, “notes of apricot”. Oh, yum. Was surprisingly expensive though; a few cups of tea for about $4. Usually bulk tea is cheaper, but whatever.

Oversteeped in lower-than-normal temperature water, it’s surprisingly good. I definitely get apricot, and also a roasty, toasty kind of smell and feel, with more of that flavor coming through than anything. I don’t LOVE it, but, it’s quite nice, and I’m really happy I didn’t ruin it.

I haven’t a clue what I’m drinking.

Teaja, for whatever reason, only lists a handful of teas that they sell on their website. There’s a good 20+ more in-store, including their “award winners”. Coolio. Not sure how to buy, or even review the tea though, if I don’t know what it is or how to reference it.

So, this is a black tea… it won an award at the tea championships this year… it’s quite floral yet really robust… and super expensive. I, however, just grabbed a cup for $4.

I won’t bore you all with the conversation we had about their pricing; I’ve ranted about it elsewhere ad nauseum. It, literally, brought me to tears… but then again, I’m really struggling today, so take that with a grain of salt.

<3

Drinking this again today; it’s really got me captivated.

I’m more fond of it unsweetened. It’s still thick and toasty, rich and earthy, creamy and yet biting. Like raw coconut.

I think this is what OMGsrsly gave me… It’s hard to tell. Either way, always, much love and thanks for sharing!

Rinsed twice for about 1 minute, then steeped for two. It’s quite dark, and, still not completely opened. Ugh. Not sure I’ll steep it again, as… This is weird. Wood, wet wood is what I get. Wet wood and an odd sweetness that I’m not fond of all. I can’t finish the cup. :(

The smell. O. M. G. Just on the smell alone, I bought 50g. It’s like a creamy milk chocolate infused coconut. I don’t know how, or why, but that’s what it smells like to me. I just want to dance in it and cover my body with its deliciousness.

Um. So, yea.

Drinking it, I’m a bit perplexed. It’s really, really sweet for a supposedly unsweetened tea. It’s a toasty, warm, creamy, almost biting coconut. There’s an earthiness I love as well, it’s very… Unusual. I swear there are cacao nibs from the flavor… But it’s just tea and big chunks of coconut.

A win, for sure. Must drink more. Just, no sweetener next time.

I find it a bit odd that most of Teaja’s teas aren’t on their website. I was told they have a separate blending facility in Olympic Village, and they’re sold through a distribution company (whose name I forget). This is also the name used for the tea festival competition, of which they won two awards this year.

Anyway. This tea… I knew I wouldn’t love it, but the reviews on Yelp and the smell were too good not to try. The staffer knew my reluctance, so she sold me 10g of it… A surprising amount!

It actually smells creamy – is that possible – and floral, blergamot-y. (not a typo). It tastes almost identical to the smell… Cream first, then floral citrus. I could see this being a huge favorite for those EG lovers… I’m just not one of them. Can I send someone here the rest? :)

Found Teaja yesterday in Yaletown, and after smelling this, I immediately grabbed 50g of it. It smelled STRONG, like, blow out your nostrils strong, in a yummy way. Yes, this is my kind of chai.

Brewed up a cup last night. Didn’t taste quite as expected, but, very potent. Dare I say, almost, too spicy? ;)

Had this in store yesterday, as that’s all my fellow Yelpers said I had to try (I agreed, once having got there… Standard fare otherwise).

Asked the staffer what made this so special, why they make more than 200+ a day.

“We use a spice blend, add sugar and powdered milk, then mix it into a paste with some butter. Then we steep it in a bag with your tea of choice, and milk of choice. Finally, we add more spices if you ask (ginger and cayenne for me) and blend it in a blender until frothy”.

Yes, this is one of the best chai’s I’ve ever had. Super spicy yet soft and rich. I’m using the butter trick from now on… Although admittedly I’ve been putting butter in my tea a while now (think Bulletproof Coffee, but with tea). Never crossed my mind to do it with chai, or to make the spices into a paste.

Getting sweet feckin’ nuthin’ from this tea, even when I add some monk fruit to sweeten it. I remember a bit of the nut flavoring from the old 52 Teas; it had a woody dryness to it, which says to me they use similar flavoring.

Okay, I get it. It’s tough to get organic nut flavor into tea (why not just use nuts? I don’t get it), to an already flavorful base. Also, they blend their own teas here, so mucho points for that. Still, I can’t imagine how anyone would get nut, cream, hazelnut, anything… from this, much less sell it as a “chocoholic”. It’s not BAD tea, it’s just not at all as it’s represented.

Oh my goodness. Raisins. I smell raisins in this. What the?