Type: Chai
Origin: India
Price: Sample (regular price - $15 for 3.5 oz.)
Vendor: Yogic Chai
Brewing Method: Per Instructed - 1 tsp of loose leaves, 1 cup of filtered water, boiled at 200-212F, steeped for 2 minutes, added ¼ cup of 2% milk, and steeped for another minute.
Overall Score: 4.8 out of 5
After sipping this tea, I wanted to curl up on the couch with my favorite blanket and watch a fire dance in the fire place. The mix of cinnamon, cloves, and ginger made me feel all warm and cozy inside (which was very pleasant considering it is about 20 degrees outside at the moment). My first thought when taking a drink of this chai tea was that it was like pumpkin pie in a glass. With the milk added, it gave the brew a very smooth, creamy taste. It was kind of like when you add whipped cream to the top of a big slice of pumpkin pie. 
One really good thing about this tea is that none of the spices are over powering. With mild Kukicha as the base, it doesn’t mask the other flavors and lets the spices do their thing. At first, I could smell the cinnamon, and then after a few sips the ginger left a pleasant after taste. Finally, the cloves help bring all of the flavors together for that warm “Thanksgiving” type feeling.
I brewed the tea without milk just to see what the milk actually brought to the tea. I found out that not
adding the milk to this tea is like brewing hot chocolate with water instead of milk. The tea brewed with only water is just as good, with some of the same warm flavors. However, the milk makes it smooth and creamy. Brewing this without milk makes the brew taste watery.The color is a nice orange-red (first picture) before the milk is added (second picture). This tea can be enjoyed any time of the year, but the color, along with the taste, reminds me so much of fall.
Before brewing the loose leaves are more twigs than leaves (third picture). You can actually see
the pieces of cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and green cardamom that make up this chai tea. After brewing, the Kukicha leaves have opened up nicely and the smell of the spices seem to fill the whole kitchen (fourth picture).Over all I really enjoyed this tea. I really loved that it is 100% organic. This was my first taste of chai, and I’m sure it will not be my last.
3 comments:
"I really loved that it is 100% organic"
...
please. anybody can buy and slap organic and fair trade labels on their products.
especially those made in china and india - these labels mean nothing.
they're an illusion that the product will taste better.
if the product was high quality and tasted better, the producers wouldn't need to use these labels in order to SELL a product.
Your opinion is appreciated. :)
I do agree that the Indian and Chinese laws are a little shakey with it comes to food labels and such.
However, after trying this tea, I would buy it again even IF (HUGE IF) it turned out not to be 100% organic (according to U.S. standards http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop/FactSheets/LabelingE.html).
Actually, Jambalaya isn't correct. We're not talking about the laws of India and China in what label they place on it, that is irrelevant. The product is being sold in America, and therefore the label must follow American standards, however strict or loose one might find them.
Great review though. It inspires me to try some myself.
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