Tea Reviews | It's All About The Leaf

Posts Tagged ‘Cardamom’

Dry leaves are black, wiry, tightly rolled leaves
Smell is of cinnamon

Wet: the leaves completely unfurled revealing black and dark green torn leaves

Ingredient list:
Finest black and green tea, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and spice oil

I made this tea stovetop. Here is my recipe:
1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup 2% milk, entire sample packet
Simmer for 9 minutes, let stand 1 minute, strain and Enjoy.

As the tea simmered, I was reminded of the homemade cocoa my Mother used to make when I was little. The color was a milky, chocolaty inviting cocoish kind of color that invokes memories of gentler times.

Someone once said that this tea was a tea for all seasons. I agree with that statement, it is a gently spiced tea that is very satisfying. The absence of pepper + the presence of a green tea contribute to the overall mildness of this blend. I could see myself drinking this at night outside enjoying my fire pit.

I believe that you really need more leaf to make this tea really pop, leaving the question in my mind: how much to purchase a full tin or half a pound? It is really one of those teas that warrant a BIG bag purchase.

You can purchase the Kashmiri Chai directly from the Golden Moon Tea website.

Rooibos is something I’m mixed on. I’ve had some blends I think are absolutely amazing. And I’ve had some blends which really, to me, just taste like dirt. But this one I had to try because it’s chai. I love the spicy yummy flavor.

So, it was with some trepidation and some anticipation that I tried this blend. I followed the directions on the packet, and brewed up the chai. It smells amazing, absolutely amazing. Unfortunately, I’m not finding the flavor keeps up with the aroma. I find that the actual tea in spiced chai tea adds a low, base note that balances out the higher sharper note of the spices. This blend to me has all the high notes but lacks that balance that makes other chai teas so pleasurable.

I think if I were looking for a chai option with less caffeine, I’d prefer to have a decaf regular type of chai than this rooibos blend. This one, it just isn’t for me. However, based on my rooibos preferences, you may want to give it a spin yourself rather than just taking my word for it.

You can purchase the West Cape Chai directly from the Rishi Tea website.

Medicinal tisanes usually fall into one of two flavor profiles: lemony-minty, or barky-rooty (valerian and ginseng fall into this category). This chock-full-of-stuff blend is a welcome exception to both. The pepper, fennel, and cardamom give this a tasty, spicy chai kick, even on a second steep.

(Gentlemen, it’s a good cuppa. Now you may excuse yourselves. Time for some girl talk. You’ve been warned.)

The two ingredients that caught my eye as potential hormone-busters were St. John’s wort, which I’ve used in capsule form to calm and soothe frazzled nerves and alchemilla, which I wasn’t familiar with. A little Googling identifies it as lady’s mantle, another time-tested remedy for what ails us regularly. But nearly everything else in this blend is female-friendly as well. Juniper–a diuretic. Raspberry leaf–packed with vitamins. Got anemia, constipation, indigestion, or flatulence? Fennel’s your herb.

Depending on where you are in the aging cycle, hormone horrors may hit you days before the big event or hurtle you downhill like a roller coaster afterward. The sample cups I tried on either side did a fair job of alleviating cramps (before) and a spell of jet-engine-adrenaline (after). If you’re shopping for a non-pharmaceutical to take the edge off your ugly symptoms, this may be well worth a try.

You can purchase the Hers (Woman’s Herbal) directly from the Distinctly Tea website.

There is some merit to it, as far as I’m concerned. People – in general – can be placed into three body categories or “doshas” – Kapha, Pitta, and Vata. I happen to fall into the Kapha category…er…with Pitta tendencies. In Ayurvedic practices people can be split doshas. Kaphas , according to the Shanti Tea description, tend to be characterized by, “loyalty, a strong and large physique, a strong appetite, oily skin, easy-going nature, and discomfort in damp environments”. A Kapha in the throws of imbalance are prone to weight-gain, lethargy, oily hair, congestion and lack of motivation.

Um…I guess I’m imbalanced then.

Shanti Tea presents a blend specifically targeted for the Kapha dosha, a blend of rooibos, tulsi (holy basil), fennel, ginger, cardamom, orange peel, sage, pepper, and licorice. Wow, what a combo. Upon opening the bag, the spicy “chai”-ish punch greeted my nostrils. However, it was a softer spicy scent than a normal masala chai. The primary contributor to the aroma was markedly the tulsi. I know tulsi quite well; we go way back. As for visual appeal, I could see the rooibos base – it was the most prevalent ingredient – followed closely behind by beige-ish ginger. The rest was just a vibrant and zesty mix of colors.

Brewing instructions on the tea profile called for 1 tsp. of leaves per cup of 90C-100C water with a steep of four-to-five minutes. I guess – in Americanese – that translated to boiled water…so that’s what I went with. One of these days I’ll learn the Metric System. Well, when I’m more balanced.

The liquor brewed to a foggy crimson – the foggy part likely because of the ginger/cardamom combo, the crimson thanks to the rooibos. The aroma was sweet yet spicy with an odd tang of some sort, probably owed to the licorice. Taste-wise, tulsi took point, followed by rooibos, and in fourth place it was a umpteenth-way tie between the last of the ingredients. I don’t think orange peel remembered to even show up for the race; I couldn’t make it out anywhere, no citrus presence whatsoever. Not sure I felt balanced after drinking it, but I did feel cozy. Wasn’t it the job of a tisane called “Kapha Balance” to take AWAY lethargy? Eh, whatever, I liked it…and now I’m sleepy.

You can purchase the Kapha Balance directly from the Shanti Tea website.

The way I’ve learned to make chai is a stove top method.  Rather than just simply brewing like tea, you do the following:

For each 2 cups of chai tea:
Take 1 cup water, bring to a boil on the stove in a small saucepan.  Once the water comes to a boil, add 1 tbsp. chai tea, and 1 tbsp. sugar.  Return to a boil, and let boil for 5 minutes.  Turn off the heat, and add one cup milk (the more milk-fat, the more flavorful).  Let rest on the stove for at least 10 minutes, and then strain, and drink.

This method of preparation takes most chai mixes and makes them amazingly flavorful.  I know it’s sacrilege to boil tea, but the spices in chai cover any over-steeped flavor, and it ensures you get the most out of the spices.

So, wanting to get the most out of this chocolate chai (because really, what could be better?  Chocolate *and* chai spice?  YUM), I prepared it in the stovetop method.  It surprised me.  It was a very mellow cup.  Like a mildly spiced chocolate milk.  The chocolate flavor is at the forefront, and there’s a taste of generic spices as an aftertaste.  None of the particular spices stand out, but there’s the sensation of clove, and a tiny burn from possibly a little pepper.

So, it’s very yummy, but a little less spicy than I was hoping.  If it wasn’t caffeinated, I could see drinking this at night as a soother.

I wanted to make sure it wasn’t the stovetop method somehow skewing the flavor of this tea.  So I brewed it like a regular cup of tea as well.  And no, it does MUCH better brewed stove top method.

Prepare for something lovely.  It’s a great cuppa.  Just don’t expect a lot of spice, and revel in the chocolate.

You can purchase the Chocolate Chai directly from the Mark T. Wendall Tea Company website.