Onyx Coffee Lab
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If I remember correctly, by biggest criticism of this blend last time I had it was that it was skimping on the gochujang flavour. I do still think it’s pretty reserved and I think Onyx could have gone more balls to the walls, but I remade this over the weekend in less water so that the concentration would be stronger and it was an improvement. Very aromatic and a bit pungent and savory with the clove, cinnamon, lemongrass, and ginger coming through in particular – in that order, as well. Not so much the cardamom. Still gives me loose Thai inspired vibes, but I’m not mad at that at all.
I wanted to like this so much because the concept of a gochujang chai is honestly so fucking cool and that flavour seems wildly complimentary to most of the more traditional leaning spice mixes used in chai. I got even more excited when I took a closer look at the dry leaf within the sachets because visually I could see a pretty significant amount of the bright red Korean pepper flakes scattered throughout the tea.
Steeped it’s… whelming.
Personally, I think this company took an absolutely 11/10 concept and played it super safe in terms of actually conveying the flavour. The sort of thing from companies who, like, put basil in the name of a tea because it’s a cool, trending herb but then list it as the last ingredient and drown the taste out with other flavours because they worry that people will be off put by the herbaceousness. Like, if I’m buying a tea called gochujang chai then I want to taste the fucking gochujang! Don’t get conservative on me! I’ve already bought into your super innovative, trendy and foodie-forward concept.
…with all of that said, it’s a perfectly lovely chai if you’re not specifically seeking out the gochujang. The tea base is exceptional and you can tell a lot of care has gone into sourcing high quality, fresh spices. Amazing aroma, good heat, and really well balanced sans that one ingredient. With the lemongrass inclusion and the focus on cinnamon, ginger, and cardamom it almost feels a little more Thai influenced over Korean. If Onyx had set a different expectation (re: new name/less emphasis on the gochujang) I think this review would have been much, much more favorable.
Oh well.
I don’t think anybody likes to feel like they’ve been cheated, or “taken for a ride “or “played”, all of which seem to apply here. Why the heck take a perfectly good tea and pretend of something that it’s not? It’s like catfishing.
I’m a little uncertain about the cardamom and clove (the latter of which makes me very nervous in a tea because it tends to completely take over—as perceived by my palate, anyway), but the brightness of lemongrass and the warmth of the spices and the heat of the pepper sounds like a really intriguing blend. I had to add this one to my wish list, thank you!
Totally get you with the clove – it’s a polarizing taste for sure. In my experience, it is definitely one of those spices that a lot of people think they dislike (not dismissing/minimizing that feeling) but that they often don’t quite notice until someone points it out. For example, clove is a key spice in most pumpkin spice products and I don’t know how many people I’ve had tell me they HATE clove but LOVE pumpkin spice.
It’s great in moderation. I don’t dislike it, per se, I just don’t like it hogging the spotlight. In recent tastings, when there’s clove, I can’t seem to taste anything else. Y’know?
Nik – – I don’t mind a hint of clove but I am with you…enough is enough and don’t give me too much! Clove is pretty bossy. Same with ginger. Put enough to make it sparkle but not enough to burn.
