Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Simple Loose Leaf
Tea Description:
A soft, delicate version of traditional Indian chai, Winter White Chai features our fine Shou Mei white tea amongst the backdrop of customary chai spices, with one surprising addition: coconut. Delicious served in the traditional chai manner with milk and sugar or untouched for a more simplistic and delicate cup.
Learn more about this tea here.
Learn more about Simple Loose Leaf’s NEW Selection Club subscription program here.
Taster’s Review:
I love the aroma of the dry leaf of this Winter White Chai from Simple Loose Leaf. It smells so delightfully spicy with notes of cinnamon, clove and pepper with a high note of coconut. My mouth began to water when I smelled it.
The brewed tea doesn’t have an overpoweringly spicy fragrance, instead, it smells warm and mildly spiced, like spice cake baking in the oven. And that’s the first thing I thought of when I took my first sip: spice cake! The spices come together in a very pleasing way in this chai – they’re warm and comforting.
Of the spices represented in this blend, the cinnamon and cloves are the most prominent. I taste a light kick of pepper from the ginger and the pink peppercorns, and there is a very gentle cardamom flavor to this too. I think that these spices were very thoughtfully blended: it’s a well-balanced masala chai blend that pairs well with the light Shou Mei base.
And I do taste the Shou Mei. When it comes to white teas, I think that Shou Mei is the least delicate tasting, and I think that it was the right choice for this particular blend because it needed something that could be tasted beneath the spices and other components of this blend. It has a subtle earthy tone, but the biggest contribution that I’m getting from the tea base is a refreshingly crisp note that enlivens the palate.
The coconut and vanilla notes work in unison to offer a soft, creamy note. I don’t taste a really obvious “coconut” flavor, but I taste more coconut in the aftertaste than in the actual sip. I find my thoughts debating among themselves as I’m trying to decide if I’d want more distinct coconut flavor to this tea. On the one hand, I do like the creaminess from the coconut and vanilla; it sort of gives a “latte-ish” taste to the cup without adding milk or cream to the tea (milk in white tea? No, that just seems wrong!) and I think that a stronger coconut presence might shift the focus off the lovely spices of this blend. I really like the blend as it is … then again, I really like coconut and there’s that part of me thinking “more coconut might be nice.”
The lemongrass adds a very light citrus-y note to the cup. It isn’t a strong presence, but it brings a little brightness to the overall flavor.
I really liked this Chai. It’s light and crisp, but still pleasantly spiced.
Chaz’ Chai Organic Black Tea Blend from Jasmine Pearl Tea Merchants
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Jasmine Pearl Tea Merchants
Tea Description:
This flavorful and zesty blend is our own recipe – Assam black tea is mixed with carefully hand-roasted spices to provide a delightful twist on an Indian tradition. Try simmering in milk with a touch of honey.
Learn more about this chai here.
Taster’s Review:
Mmm! I’m having a chai latte!
This Organic Chaz’ Chai Black Tea from Jasmine Pearl Tea Merchants makes a seriously good latte! It is good and spicy, and it is still spicy after I added the milk … I love that the milk didn’t dilute the spices to the point of tasting lackluster. This is still very flavorful. YUM!
The black tea is an organically grown black tea from India. The label on the canister doesn’t elaborate about which type of Indian tea is used here, but if I had to guess, I’d say that it’s either an Assam or a blend composed of Assam. After visiting the Jasmine Pearl Tea Merchants website, I see that my guess is accurate, it is indeed Assam. It is rich and malty, and something that took me by surprise is that it was not as bitter as Assam tends to get after a four minute steep. There were some bitter tones to the cup in my first couple of sips – sips that I took before adding the milk just to gauge whether or not I should make a latte. The milk eliminates the bitterness … a definite plus! It is a solid tasting black tea, full-flavored and robust and it doesn’t lose that impact even after milk is added to the cup.
The spices are strong! It surprised me at how spicy this tea actually is, especially after reviewing the ingredient list and noticing that there is NO ginger in this blend? What? It’s so peppery! The peppercorns are doing a good job at providing a very savory kick to this cup. And I love the anise! Just a hint of licorice-y flavor, and I find the combination of the licorice taste and the pepper to be really delightful. The cinnamon is warm and zesty, and the cardamom and cloves add a nice background of spice. Also worth noting is the nutmeg, not just because it adds a delicious, warm nutty flavor to the cup, but, also because it is often an overlooked spice when it comes to chai blends and I love that it was utilized here. The taste is understated but it is a really lovely addition of flavor.
To make my latte, I brewed this tea slightly stronger (by adding a little extra leaf) and then I steeped it in water. Then I added a splash of milk to the brewed tea and frothed the cup a little bit with my hand-held frother. The frothing wasn’t necessary, but I like to make it a little foamy (for more foam, I recommend heating the milk first, and then frothing before adding the milk to the tea). You could also make a chai latte the “messy way” – aka the stove top method – which entails simmering milk in a pan on the stove top and adding the loose tea and simmering for a few minutes. I don’t like this because it is messy (as I’ve so aptly coined it). And when I make a mess in the kitchen, guess who has to clean it up? Me. I prefer to make my tea brewing as mess-free as I possibly can while still experiencing the true joy of tea – in other words: loose leaf! I think that by brewing this chai double strength (or even triple strength if you like a very strong chai) in water and then adding the milk to the brewed tea still yields a very flavorful chai without the mess of the stove top method.
But, hey, feel free to brew your chai any way you want! If you do decide to go non-latte, I recommend a slightly shorter steep time to ensure that your cup of chai is not bitter. This is a really flavorful chai blend – I highly recommend it to all chai lovers out there!
Chocolate Chili Truffle from Spire Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Tea Description:
Unveil the sweet and spicy layers in our Chili Truffle tea made with Ceylon black tea; chili, chocolate and peppercorns.
Learn more about Spire Tea on their website.
Taster’s Review:
This tea isn’t technically a “chai” by what we here in the United States have come to call chai, however, the spiciness of this tea is very warming and reminds me of a chai, so I decided to categorize it as such.
I really like this a lot! Then again, that should not be surprising, given my love for chocolate. And when I shop for chocolate, I often find myself looking for (and purchasing) chocolates that are chili infused … I love the combination of sweet (or bittersweet) chocolate with spicy foods. The sweetness of the chocolate tempers the heat from the spice just enough while the notes from the spice cut through some of the sweeter notes of the chocolate to keep it from tasting so sweet. I love that contrast.
And that contrast has been captured perfectly in this cup of tea.
The black tea is a mellower black tea base – a Ceylon – but, it does its job here well. It supports the flavors of chocolate and chili very nicely without getting in their way. It is a strong enough Ceylon to be tasted without overpowering the spicy chocolate notes.
The chocolate – while it could be stronger (I do love my chocolate!) offers a rich, creamy taste that is more like dark chocolate than of milk chocolate … although if you prefer a milk chocolate taste that can be easily remedied by turning this into a latte. It adds a nice texture to the cup too, it tastes really rich and decadent!
And the chili adds just the right amount of heat. I would classify it as a mild-to-medium heat, it isn’t super-spicy, even as the heat builds as I continue to sip, I never feel it becoming TOO spicy for my mouth. Just a really enjoyable, warm heat.
A really lovely tea from Spire … this one might be my favorite yet from them!
Oh Christmas Tea from Tealish
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Tealish
Tea Description:
A little bit spicy and a little bit sweet, this tea is the perfect treat to share with loved ones over the holidays. Rich black tea is blended with orange slices, cinnamon, cardamom, coriander, cloves, apple pieces, and pink peppercorns.
Taster’s Review:
As I sit here, writing this review, it is July. The sun is shining brightly outside, and the thermometer reads 71°F outside, and I wonder what it will be like when this review actually publishes, as I schedule it for December 13 … a little closer to Christmas.
A Steepster friend sent me a bit of this tea so that I might enjoy a little Christmas in July, and yes, it is very Christmas-y indeed. It is warm with cheery spices and a hint of orange, and while a spiced orange tea is nothing new or out of the ordinary, what I’m liking here is how well-balanced it is. It has a nice, rounded flavor that enlivens the palate with spices that are gently warm – not hot or what I’d call spicy – a touch of delicious, juicy orange and a robust black tea base.
The black tea here is rich yet somewhat understated. It doesn’t attempt to overpower the blend, but it is substantial enough to hold its own and be tasted. It doesn’t taste like it’s just there, barely standing up to the spices somewhere off in the background. It tastes solid and strong without being bitter. It has a mild astringency that complements the orange notes quite well.
The only ingredient that I don’t really taste much of is the apple. I suppose it probably adds a hint of sweetness but a strong sense of apple doesn’t really come through – but then again, I don’t think it is supposed to. It may be there primarily for appearance sake, or as I mentioned, for a hint of sweetness to accent the spices.
A really enjoyable holiday tea – very nice during the holidays, or any time of year that you wish to bring a little bit of the holiday joy to your teacup.
Maple Sugar from Fava Tea Company
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Fava Tea Company
Tea Description:
A full body black tea with a round, full maple flavor. Sweet without being overly so with a full body black tea and red peppercorn this is one to try. Looking for something different? Try this one iced!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This is another tea I received from a friend on Steepster.
The aroma of this tea when steeped is quite lovely and smells just like maple and sugar, very close to a true maple syrup aroma. I am thinking this easily could have been named maple syrup except it would not have been quite as accurate because while there is a syrup aroma and even slightly a syrup flavor Fava Tea Company really hit it square on the head by going with Sugar in the name instead.
The issue I have with it is that I am not tasting sugar so much as a sweetener other than sugar. Stevia perhaps. The company website does not list the exact ingredients so I can’t be positive and while as a type 1 diabetic I can absolutely appreciate not putting pure sugar into their blends, I still am missing that true pure sugar flavor here. Which is something I was hopeful for from the name of the tea. There is just something slightly chemical like about this tea and while many may not even notice it – it is a bit bothersome to me.
The base tea is nice, perhaps not the most stellar base tea that could be used, there is a slightly malty note although I think it could be even a bit more malty with this blend. And I am not really picking up on the peppercorn all that much. There is a very slight “bite” to the tea but I feel that it is coming more from the sweetener rather than the peppercorn and I do so love peppercorn in tea when done right.
This is not a bad tea by any means and I am finishing my cup and enjoying it but the joy scale levels off somewhere around 5 on a 1-10 scale – right in the middle.
I think this tea would greatly appeal to newer tea drinkers who are easing out of bagged tea stage and into loose leaf. It is by far better than the typical bagged teas I started out on. Another thing that is awesome about Fava Tea Company is their selection. It took me a while to find this tea on their site and it was not coming up in their search function – which is not a great thing – however in looking for this tea I was amazed at the number of teas they carry!
Now I do want to add that Fava Tea does recommend trying this iced and I did notice as the cup cooled that it was more palatable, more enjoyable, however I am not generally an iced tea drinker with exception of now and then in the summer time.
Regardless, this is a nice tea, hot or iced, its just not one that is personally going to make me run out and get more. It is however good enough that I will explore Fava Tea Company further – with all of their offerings I am sure they will have several I will throughly enjoy.
