Photo: Chai Diaries |
Country of Origin: India
Leaf Appearance: small, darl with lots of visible spice pieces
Ingredients: black tea, ginger root, green cardamom, chocolate chips with chocolate flavor
Steep time: 4 minutes
Water Temperature: 205 degrees
Preparation Method: ceramic teacup and mesh infuser
Liquor: deep reddish brown
Many people in my every day life assume that I’m a health nut because of my tea habit. The truth is that I have a major sweet tooth and my inner choco-holic always gets excited when I see chocolate in an ingredient list. As far as chai goes this one was fairly mellow. I was able to sip it easily without milk or sugar. The taste was earthy, sweet and spicy. I had a hard time finding the chocolate. It would appear at the start of some sips and then it would disappear just as quickly. Adding milk and sugar really helped to bring out that flavor. It had a pleasant brisk astringency but did not come across as overly bitter. I’ll definitely have to try making this tea using the traditional stove stop method as most teas taste very different when prepared that way. Overall this blend was very well done. Although I had some trouble finding the chocolate at first, I’m glad that it was not overdone and that it did not taste artificial at all.