Pearl Tea’s “Chai Chai” Christy Review

Type: Rooibos
Origin: South Africa
Price: Sample (regular price - $15.50 for 3oz.)
Vendor: Pearl Teas
Brewing Method: Per Instructed - 1 teaspoon of leaves, 1 cup of filtered water, heated to 194°F-203°F, steeped for 2 - 3 minutes, added ¼ cup of milk
Overall Score: 3.2 out of 5

“Chai Chai” Christy is a blend of rooibos, ginger, cardamom, cloves, and cinnamon. I can smell the cloves and ginger immediately. I can faintly smell the rooibos, but I really have to look for that particular aroma. Overall this dry blend smells really spicy. I can see the tiny bits of the red rooibos along with pieces of ginger. The cardamom, cinnamon, and cloves seem to be ground up in this blend.

While the blend is steeping, the liquor is a yellowish-orange color. I can still smell the cloves and ginger up front. The fruity rooibos aroma hangs out in the background.





The taste is warm and slightly spicy. Once again, the cloves and ginger are the first things I notice. I can barely taste the rooibos in this blend. Most of the rooibos blends that I have come across say to steep for 5-7 minutes. This one suggested 2-3 minutes. I steeped the tea closer to 3 minutes, but I think that a longer steeping time might be a good thing for this tea because it might let the rooibos flavor have a chance to show its stuff a little more.

This blend was not that strong on its own and adding milk made it even weaker – creamier, but still very mellow. So, if you like chai, but don’t want to be knocked off your seat like some chai’s have a tendency to do, then this one might be the way to go.