Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
Looking for a chai with a little extra ZING? You’ve found it! We crafted this warming chai with extra ginger and cinnamon, plenty of anise seed, peppercorns and even a touch of red pepper flakes. It’s not super spicy like they cayenne pepper blends we’ve created, but it will do a great job of warming your bones.
Learn more about this blend here.
Learn more about 52Teas’ subscriptions here.
Taster’s Review:
The name of this chai made me go hmm. – Spicier Chai – Spicier than what? But after I took my first sip, I got it. I understood.
Because…
Wow! “Spicier” is right!
And to answer the question: it’s spicier than your average chai. And it might even be spicier than the average spicy chai. Frank (Chief Zoomdweebie at 52Teas) didn’t skimp on the spices in this chai.
And I’m LOVING it! This is the way chai should be.
Oh sure, I’ve loved many a mild chai. But, in my heart of hearts, I like my spices robust and zesty, and to call this Spicier chai “robust and zesty” would be an understatement. This takes robust and zesty to the extreme! This is sure to warm you up after a day out in the snow. (Or the cold, biting rain like we experience here in the Pacific Northwest.) This will warm you up – starting on the inside and that heat will radiate outward. And I like it like that.
There is a good amount of ginger to this, and that, along with some black pepper and red pepper flake is what is providing the heat. But I’m glad that there is more to this chai than just ginger and pepper! I am getting a nice cinnamon-y backdrop and a pleasant anise flavor. The snappy-sweet licorice flavor from the anise contrasts nicely with the peppery flavors. The cardamom and clove work together with the cinnamon to create a cohesive “chai” flavor rather than something that tastes like it’s all peppery/gingery heat.
I think that’s what I like best about this chai is that it’s not a one-note kind of chai. I am tasting a masala blend here, not just one or two spices.
Yes, I do taste the black tea too. I have to say that it does get a little lost in the spices here, but the black tea is strong enough to offer a background of black tea flavor. I’m not drinking an infusion of spices. I’m drinking black tea and spices and that is evident in the flavor. The nuances of the black tea are difficult to discern. I’m not tasting “delicate floral notes in the background” or “notes of fruit” within the layers of flavor. I taste SPICE and I taste black tea. And really, that’s good enough for me because the spice is bold and strong and that’s what makes this a seriously good chai.
If you’re one who tastes a chai and thinks, “Hey, where is the spice?” or if you’re one who thinks that the average chai is just a little on the tame side, you really should try this chai! This chai has some bite!
Product Review: Pumpkin Spice Chai Tea Latte Mix from Trader Joe’s
Product Information:
Based on the traditional Indian drink masala chai (mixed-spice tea), Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Spice Chai starts with a chai tea blend that’s a combination of honey, vanilla, and black tea, heightened by a mélange of spices like cinnamon, anise, clove, cardamom, and ginger. In honor of Pumpkin Season, in addition to the traditional chai spices, Pumpkin Spice Chai is accentuated by pumpkin pie spices and real pumpkin. Like pumpkin pie, you can enjoy Pumpkin Spice Chai hot or cold. Unlike pumpkin pie, Pumpkin Spice Chai is drinkable, and ready in moments—you just add (hot) water and enjoy!
Where to Buy: your local Trader Joe’s
Taster’s Review:
You’ll be seeing a few different reviews for a few different pumpkin flavored chai blends on this blog over the next week or so … what can I say? It’s that time of year!
I just returned home from Trader Joe’s and I think that they had a pumpkin explosion in their kitchens (or wherever it is that they make all their food) because there is pumpkin EVERYTHING in the place. They had pumpkin waffles, pumpkin scones, pumpkin butter, pumpkin macarons, pumpkin bars and pumpkin soup just to name a few things. They even had pumpkin ravioli. Yep, I bought some of that too.
They also had a few pumpkin tea selections including a pumpkin rooibos blend and this product: Pumpkin Spice Chai Tea Latte Mix. And it is mmmmm!
I don’t usually go all crazy for chai tea latte mixes like this because they tend to be more sugar than they are tea and I like to decide how much milk and sugar I’ll be putting in a tea (if I decide to put any in it at all). But, something about this tin of Pumpkin Spice Chai called to me and before I could say no and walk away, the tin was in my basket.
And I am really happy to say that while this is a sweet drink, the sweetness in this works. It doesn’t taste too sweet (then again, I do admittedly have a sweet tooth). This is on the sweeter side – I rarely sweeten my teas although I do usually sweeten my chai just a little bit because I think that a little bit of sweetener enhances the spices. But even though it is on the sweeter side, the spices offset some of the sweet notes and there is a nice balance between spices and sweet.
Best of all, though, is that I can taste PUMPKIN in this. It seems that all too often when I see a tea with the words “Pumpkin Spice” it turns out to be just the spices (as in pumpkin pie spice) and no pumpkin flavor. This has pumpkin!
Hooray for Trader Joe’s pumpkin harvest!
The spices are robust but not what I’d call “spicy.” It’s a well-rounded taste of warm spices. I can taste the ginger but not so much that it’s “biting” me. I can taste the cinnamon, clove and cardamom. They’re warm and comforting. I taste just a hint of licorice-y sweetness from the anise. If there is a scale on “spiciness” of a chai, this would rate maybe one measurement below medium. It’s spicier than “mild” but it’s not quite medium.
Kind of like a pumpkin pie.
The black tea is almost hidden here, though, and that’s my one big complaint about this. I think that the next time I make some of this, I might brew up some black tea (perhaps an Assam) and mix that with this so that it amplifies the black tea.
It’s tasty as it is, of course, but, I would like more tea flavor. Hey, I’m a tea freak, remember?
And one thing that really stands out to me with this product is that the “latte” part isn’t overwhelming the rest of the flavors. This doesn’t taste like too heavy a latte. I find that to be true with a lot of the chai concentrates that you can find on the grocery store shelves. Those tend to be all sugar and milk and very little actual chai. I appreciate that this has some flavor and the sweetener and milk are accentuating those flavors rather than hiding them.
Organic Rooibos Vanilla Chai Blend from The Persimmon Tree
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where To Buy: The Persimmon Tree
Tea Description:
Our Vanilla Rooibos Chai tea features a delightful blend of masala chai spices, red rooibos and a hint of vanilla. Rooibos Vanilla Chai is naturally caffeine free, making it a perfect any-time tea. Much like its caffeinated cousin Masala Chai, this tea tastes delicious with milk and sugar.
Learn more about this blend here.
Taster’s Review:
Well, as I’m writing this, it’s late at night. I’m a night owl. My husband works the swing shift (although his shift is about to change! This may change my sleeping habits.) Because of his odd hours, I stay up later to be awake when he arrives home so that I can fix him something to eat and maybe watch TV and spend a little time with him before heading to bed. Another bonus to staying up later – at least in the summer! – is that it’s cooler at night so I get to enjoy some cool temperatures rather than trying to battle the heat. It’s been a hot summer so far!
Anyway … when its later at night, I like to sip on something that’s caffeine free, so that’s the time that I typically reach for a tisane like this Vanilla Rooibos Chai blend from The Persimmon Tree. I can still enjoy a spicy-sweet treat in my teacup without having to worry that it’s going to keep me awake when I should be trying to catch some Zzz’s.
This smells awesome. It’s a medley of aromas: orange, cloves, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger and cardamom. I can even smell the nutty sweetness of the rooibos, but I like that this is more of an understated scent, and the fragrance of the spices are prominent.
This is true of the flavor as well. Sure I taste the nutty, honeyed sweetness of the rooibos herb, but, it unifies with the spices and the orange to create a very seamless flavor that’s evoking thoughts of a spice cookie.
The spices are zesty. The ginger adds a real punch of spice along with the cinnamon. This is a warmer cinnamon, almost like a red-hot type of cinnamon flavor but without the overly cloying candied sweetness. The cardamom and cloves add a warm backdrop of spice and the vanilla softens the flavors just a little bit, giving the overall cup a lightly sweet, creamy tone.
I like the touch of orange to this – it really brightens the cup and perks up the flavors of the tisane. Everything comes together in a very pleasing way. It’s sweet, spicy and tasty. It’s reminiscent of the cooler days of the holiday season when yummy things are baking in the kitchen, and that’s a very welcome flavor to enjoy on this late evening.
Chai Cacao Tea from Tisano
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Tisano
Tea Description:
In India tea has it’s roots in Ayurveda, a wholestic approach to medicine focusing on food and lifestyle. From there, India’s most popular beverage – Masala Chai, “Spiced Tea,” was born. Tisano takes this 5,000 year old tradition into the 21st Century – we source estate grown Assam Black Tea leaves, cloves, cinnamon, cardamom and other spices to create a unique sweet and spicy chocolate Chai Cacao Tea.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I was so excited when this tea was offered on sale on the Tisano website recently, because I’ve been wanting to try it ever since I heard that it had been added to the Tisano line of teas and tisanes. I’m really fond of Tisano’s original cacao tea which I reviewed previously (and plan to review again for this site soon!) That moment when I first sampled the original was my first introduction to cacao shells (rather than nibs) as a source for chocolate-y infused drinks. And seriously, there’s nothing better to infuse than cacao shells to get a rich, true, chocolate-y flavor!
When I visited the Tisano website to start prepping for this review, I learned that this wasn’t just a simple blend of cacao shells with spices like I first thought it was! No! This is actually a tea with camellia sinensis leaves, as well as cacao shells and spices.
Mmm! This is so yummy! The chocolate note is rich and prominent. It’s the first note that I taste when I take a sip. Decadent, rich, delicious chocolate! Just beneath the chocolate-y surface is a satisfyingly smooth, malty note of Assam. Then I pick up on the spices.
The spices here are not strong or “spicy.” The spice notes are warm and I love the dimension that the spices add to this cup. There is a really nice balance of the spices. No one spice takes center stage, it is a well-rounded collection of spices that add warmth to the cup without overpowering the cacao. Instead, the spices elevate the earthy notes of the cacao.
The cacao shells are the perfect representation of chocolate. It’s rich and intensely flavorful. It tastes like true chocolate much more so than any chocolate flavoring that I’ve experienced with flavored teas, and it’s also a better chocolate-y representation than cacao nibs. This tastes like a deep, dark, rich chocolate with notes of bitter and sweet. It tastes amazing as a latte too. Perfect!
This is THE CHAI for chocolate lovers. If you love chocolate, you really must try this tea!
Masala Chai Blend from The Persimmon Tree
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where To Buy: The Persimmon Tree
Tea Description:
Our Masala Chai tea combines premium organic Assam black tea leaves with warming cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and other fragrant spices. This tea is finely balanced to create the perfect aromatic blend for you to enjoy black, or as it has been traditionally enjoyed, with milk and sugar.
Learn more about this blend here.
Taster’s Review:
It’s Chai Latte time! Mmm! While chai teas tend to be my autumnal go-to cuppa, I enjoy a good masala spiced chai blend any time of the year, and I’m really enjoying this Masala Chai Blend from The Persimmon Tree. It’s warm and spicy and dee-lish!
While the spices are strong in this blend, I like that I am having no trouble tasting the bold flavor of the Assam black tea base with this tea. It is a rich, malty Assam and the sweetness of the Assam is a nice contrast to the zesty spices. The tea is a little on the astringent side, so I would recommend steeping this for 3 to 3 1/2 minutes. I steeped it for 4 minutes and I’m finding it to be a little astringent. Not too bad, but I think a little less time to steep would still produce a flavorful result with less astringency.
The spices are comprised of the “usual suspects” – cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and ginger. I think that they’re nicely balanced here. I taste a good amount of cinnamon and cloves, but the peppery taste of the ginger and the warmth of the cardamom also are detectable.
This is delicious served straight up, although I would recommend a little sugar or honey to accentuate the spices. I have always been one who thinks that spices need a little sweet to bring out the best flavors in the spice. (Sugar and Spice makes everything nice.) But for a real treat, add a splash of warmed milk (almond milk is really good in chai!) The spices aren’t diminished by the addition, and the creaminess of the milk seems to elevate the drink to a whole other level.
Or you can make an iced drink by brewing the chai extra strong and then blending the cooled tea in a blender with some milk, honey and ice. Yum!