Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Zhi Tea
Product Description:
Our Zhi Signature Blend Organic Cacao Chai has been lovingly hand-crafted to satisfy the most discerning chai aficionados and dark chocolate lovers.
Organic Assam Black Tea with cinnamon, cardamon and ginger, pure vanilla and an abundance of organic Peruvian cacao nibs.
This Chai loves whole organic milk and turbinado sugar! We created this blend due to overwhelming demand – at home!
Join us in a steaming cup of this sumptuous delight.
Taster’s Review:
This is yummy. It reminds me a bit of my homemade hot chocolate – made from scratch – which I really don’t make often enough. Now I don’t have to make it at all! I’ll just brew some of this chai instead.
This has a wonderful chocolate flavor. It is a deep, dark chocolate flavor that is bittersweet. The Assam base provides a solid backdrop of flavor, and seems to propel the flavors of chocolate to the forefront. Assam typically is a strong, malty and substantial tea, and while it isn’t front and center of this particular blend, it is an essential part of this tea because it helps to bring the other flavors to life in a really delicious way.
After the chocolate notes, what I notice is a spicy cinnamon kick, which is enhanced by the peppery flavor of ginger. The cardamom adds a warm, citrus-y note to the background.
This combination of cacao, spices and tea makes for an incredibly warm, comforting and indulgent cup. A must try for all you chocoholics out there!
Sweet Desert Delight (aka Desert Blend) from Zhi Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: Zhi Tea
Product Description:
Sweet Desert Delight, Another Zhi Signature Blend that takes flavor to new heights.
We blend our organic red rooibos (pron. “roy-bos”), coconut pieces, cacao nibs, anise pods, cinnamon, safflowers and stevia leaf to create a world-class organic taste sensation.
This is truly an oasis for the senses. Relish in the heady aroma of the steeping brew.
Inhale deeply. Pour a mug. Savor. Imbibe. Repeat. Indulge. Relax!
No sugar and no caffeine. Naturally sweet and healthy; from Zhi to you.
Taster’s Review:
My tin of this tea says “Desert Blend,” but the ingredient lists are identical, so I’d say that they’re the same blend … just perhaps a misprint on the label. Hey, it happens.
I’ve reviewed this tea previously, but, it’s good enough to deserve a second write-up. Really, though, I can’t say that my thoughts about this blend have changed all that much since that first review. I am still really enjoying this tisane.
The base of this tisane is rooibos, and while rooibos isn’t my favorite tisane base, here, it seems to work. The rustic, nutty flavor of the rooibos melds well with the flavor of the coconut and the deep chocolate-y tones from the cacao nibs.
The coconut is the strongest flavor, and it is sweet and creamy. The chocolate flavor is a bit more subtle, and it gives the cup an interesting dimension with its bittersweet taste. The cinnamon isn’t a spicy, “red-hot” kind of cinnamon; instead, I’d describe it as warm, mild spice. The anise gives a licorice-y kind of snap to the flavor and is a nice accent to the warmth of the cinnamon. Together, these ingredients all play off each other very well, making this a tasty cup to curl up to on this cold autumn night.
If I were to offer any criticism about this tea, I would say that I’d rather it not contain stevia, because I just don’t care for it. It has an off-putting aftertaste. Fortunately, it isn’t a particularly strong flavor in this blend – and the other ingredients here do their part to make this an enjoyable cuppa.
Matcha from Zhi Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Zhi Tea
Product Description:
Our special grade Organic Green Tea powder from Japan.
Exotic, potent, and very flavorful. High in antioxidants. Versatile and healthy.
Try our Matcha in creative recipes, too.
Taster’s Review:
I love Matcha, but, it is a tea that I do not indulge in very often. The issue is not the cost as much as it is the tools (gadgetry) that are required for the preparation. I’m not big into ritual when it comes to making tea – I’m all about keeping it as simple as possible. And, while making Matcha IS simple enough, it does require a few extra tools that I don’t ordinarily use when I make tea. This, of course, means a little extra clean up… and all these little extras add up.
But I do try to have some Matcha at least once a week. It is incredibly good for you, and more than that, it’s incredibly delicious.
What makes Matcha so much better for you than other tea types is that you’re consuming the entire leaf. You aren’t simply steeping the flavor out of the leaf. Instead, the tea leaf (usually the shade-grown Gyokuro) is ground into a very fine powder and then whisked in hot water to dissolve.
This delicious Matcha from Zhi Tea is a very fine quality Matcha. The flavor is rich, vegetal, and sweet. There is also a bitterness to the Matcha that gives the flavor a very pleasing balance. As long as it is mixed in the proper proportions and is whisked thoroughly, it doesn’t taste or feel chalky. It has a very smooth, creamy quality.
I don’t add anything to my Matcha – no milk or sweetener – although, in the summertime, my favorite breakfast food just happens to be a Matcha Smoothie! I simply blend together some yogurt (or Kefir), a fresh banana and an assortment of frozen fruit pieces, along with a tablespoon of Matcha. The color of the smoothie is a somewhat strange pea-soup green, but, the flavor more than makes up for what it lacks in visual appeal. It is refreshing and satisfying.