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.

Mmm, rooibos, orange peels, almonds, cardamom, and coriander…this sounds like a delicious tea in the making! When I first opened the package, it was definitely the almond scents that struck my nose first. Then came sweet, slightly juicy undertones. In preparing this tea, I utilised a two-cup teapot, 1 tablespoon of TeaFrog Gingerbread Orange Rooibos (two times the recommended 1.5 teaspoon per cup), and freshly boiled water.

Pouring the water over the mixture, the dominant smell wafting up in the steam was actually orange. I felt this was a good sign, since the name of the tea is Gingerbread _Orange_. The recommended five minutes past, I removed the infuser, taking a moment to eyeball the tea. I could easily pick out the cardamom, coriander, and orange bits in amongst the rooibos. I was not too sure about where the almond was, but I knew I had smelled it earlier…oh, there are a couple of pieces. Whew. My nose has not deceived me.

I take my first sip. Hmmm, I can definitely taste the cardamom. It is coming through quite dominantly. I take another sip, and another, and finish off the first cup. My thoughts so far run somewhere along the line of it tastes spicy, as gingerbread does, but yet…this tea has not so far reminded me of gingerbread. The spiciness of the flavour is quickly followed by tasty orange, and then some almond-esque undertones. Not having fully felt that I understand this tea and all that it has to offer, I pour myself a second cup.

The deep orange-red, nearly rust, colour of this tea is quite pretty. As I sip this second cup, it seems that it follows much like the first. However, I am now beginning to follow the connection of the flavour of this tea to the flavour of gingerbread. This connection is especially prominent in the aftertaste, which is quite pleasant. I finish off the pot with a new outlook on this tea.

I think this tea would be a great treat any time of the day. I drank it in the morning and really enjoyed the experience, but I can see it being a lovely evening tea as well. If you are interested in this tea, I would definitely recommend trying some. I would rate it an 85/100 on my personal enjoyment scale.

You can purchase the Gingerbread Orange directly from the TeaFrog website.

These teabags are adorable; little bendy strings with the leaf, the pyramid shape leaving room for the leaves to dance, the packaging.  They’re highly engineered and very cute.

However, it’s what’s inside that counts, and as a chai, it didn’t really stand out.  Chai should be bold and brave and spicy.  This is a delicate chai.  A demure chai.  Not quite a wall-flower chai, but definitely not the belle of the ball.  Nice to drink, but not something I’d actively seek out.

What I found that I really liked using this tea for was making cocktails with it.  I originally got this idea from a class I took at a local tea shop.  They had gotten the Tea Forte tea cocktails set in, and this is a modification of one of those recipes.  This is a LOVELY decadent drink, to replace dessert when you feel like laying about and being pampered.

1 Bombay Chai Tea Pyramid
Double shot of Whipped Cream flavored vodka (can be done with regular vodka, but this adds an extra dimension of yum)
ice
simple syrup
whole milk (or half and half if you feel REALLY decadent)

Take the bombay chai tea pyramid and put in a small cup.  Pour the vodka in, let sit approx. 5-8 minutes. Remove tea pyramid. Take a large juice or highball glass, fill with ice.  Pour in steeped vodka.  Then add at least 2 tbsp of simple syrup, more if you like things sweet (you can adjust after finishing the drink).  Fill the glass with milk.  Taste, adjust the sweetness with more simple syrup as needed.  Then enjoy.

The tea pyramid can be resteeped two to three times for more drinks.  (For you, or your friends - if you want to share.)  It’s amazingly yummy.  Completely decadent.  Lovely.

You can purchase the Bombay Chai directly from the Tea Forte website.

Broke into this sample as soon as it arrived, the smell from the pouch is heavenly. The main flavor in this tea is orange. Nice tea to drink at night since there is no caffeine. Sometimes Rooibos can taste woodsy, but not this one. The taste is milder. This is a nice warm cup brimming of orange notes. I am left wondering where is the gingerbread note?

Overall, a good choice.

You can purchase the Gingerbread Orange directly from the TeaFrog website.

Bamboo Shoots from TeaFrog…one thing that NO ONE can take away from this blend is that it is unique.  The first thing I could smell with the dry leaves was a sugary type smell. Once infusing began I could smell the Genmaicha and after the infusion was complete there was a funky smell – almost sour…on the verge of sour milk.  This scent somewhat threw me off – I’m not going to lie. Taste-wise I could taste the Genmaicha first then the peppercorns, then the fruit and then the peppercorns again.  I give TeaFrog an “E” for Effort on this one. It’s not my fave but it’s not bad either. The sour-type smell is freaks out… thank the tea gods it doesn’t taste that way!  I guess moral of the story is… don’t judge a tea by it’s smell.  I found that I didn’t like this one cold but this tea hot isn’t bad.  The spices – Ginger and Cardamom – aren’t really in the forefront but the pepper is noticeable but tends to jump on and off my taste buds so it’s not overly distracting.  I think the Pineapple and Papaya SAVE this tea for me.  As for the Coconut – I couldn’t even really tell it was there, taste-wise.  Like I said… this is a VERY unique blend!

You can purchase the Bamboo Shoots directly from the TeaFrog website.

Lapacho goes by many names – taheebo, trumpet bush, Ipe, and (my favorite) Pau D’Arco. The latter name seems to be the most common one used in herb shops I’ve frequented. Why this is, I don’t know; perhaps because it sounds less “Latin”. Personally, I prefer the lapacho moniker – sounds manlier. Moving along: The herbal infusion of lapacho is made from the inner bark of the Tabebuia impetiginosa, a tree native to the South American Andes and Amazon rainforest. The “bark tea” is linked to many purported health benefits including – but not limited to – relief of the common cold, psoriasis, ulcers, anemia, cancer, and even HIV. It should be noted that for the two last claims, the amount of bark tea needed to make any difference would far exceed toxicity levels deemed normal.

I was suckered in, some three years ago, by the health claims when I thought I suffered from a rather embarrassing “-itis” (that shall remain nameless). The infusion had a woody, faintly sweet, somewhat leaf-minty taste. Not unlike other inner-bark-borne South American tisanes. The flavor – like yerba mate – wasn’t worthy of too much note; it was what it was. However, bad or mediocre memories are quick to fade, and I wanted to give lapacho a fair chance. A sample of Distinctly Tea’s Lapacho Vanilla Chai awaited me.

Ingredients for this unique melange included the aforementioned bark, coriander, cardamom, pepper, cinnamon, ginger root, vanilla beans, anise, and natural flavors. I was a little dismayed at the “flavors” mentioned. With all those strong herbs on display, I would think flavoring wouldn’t be necessary. That is, unless the amount of vanilla beans included in the blend didn’t yield enough flavor. Which is probably why – when I went in for a whiff – the vanilla was the first thing I smelled, trailed behind by a lightly-spiced ring. The rest of the “chai” elements were beaten into submission by the “VANILLA!”-ness of the blend. However, they showed up in the visual bouquet of yellows, oranges and browns.

I almost had to laugh at the general steeping instructions on the Distinctly website. Paraphrased greatly, they basically said: “Dude, just look at the bag.” Albeit, far more eloquently than that. Still, that took cojones. On the bag, brewing instructions said to use 1 heaping tsp. of boiling water per 8oz. cup, steeped for five-to-seven minutes. My general approach with herbals was just that for six minutes. Perfect, we were in agreement.

The infusion brewed to a honey-colored liquor with…probably the oddest aroma I’ve run into in awhile. The finished product smelled like a cross between hot apple cider and TheraFlu. And you know what? I love both of those. I have no clue where the apple came from, but the cidery aspect probably stemmed from the merger of coriander and cinnamon. The rest of the spices showed up on the foretaste, followed by a somewhat woody middle. Lapacho showed itself as a base in the body of the flavor. Rounding it out was a crisp, cider-like, and creamy finish. What a peculiar drink.

Summing up, I was happy this was more “something else” than chai. The concept of a decaf or herbal chai never really sat well with me. The addition of vanilla to the mix and the different take on lapacho more than gave this blend a pass. If competing in a sport, this would be bronze medal material.

You can purchase the Lapacho Vanilla Chai directly from the Distinctly Tea website.

When doing a little background digging for this blend, I ran across an interesting factoid. Bamboo isn’t actually a tree, rather it is part of the grass family; “true grass” or Poaceae, to be precise. The shrubs or tree-like specimens in this family are called bamboo. To think of any part of the Orient is to think of that particular plant, whether as building material, weaponry, or culinary additions. In terms of tea, bamboo is often used as a storage device to “compost” maocha, the proto-form of pu-erh tea. I had heard of bamboo included as an ingredient in blends, but hadn’t actually tried it. TeaFrog had such a product that could potentially sate my morbid curiosity.

Ingredients for their Bamboo Shoots blend included genmaicha, green tea, ginger, cardamom, bamboo shoots, red peppercorns, papaya pieces, shredded coconut, and pineapple. Dear Bamboo Buddha, what did I get myself into? I was turned off at first by the mention of genmaicha. Some people like the Japanese “poor man’s green tea”, I’m not one of them. I prefer my tea and rice separated by serving ware. The inclusion of ginger, cardamom and pepper was also perplexing. Was this trying to be a chai? Papaya, coconut and pineapple begged to disagree…and disagree they did.

This smelled like neither genmaicha or chai, and for that I was eternally thankful. Rice and spice just didn’t sound that appealing. Instead, the dominant aroma was “TROPICS!” – yes, in all caps. Everything about this blend screamed “Hawaii” for some reason. Smelling it livened my mood. (It also helped that it was sunny outside, but I digress.)

On appearance, I could make out all the different ingredients. The most common sights – other than the rice and green tea, that is – were the papaya and peppers. White coconut innards peaked out occasionally, but not in a lasting fashion. As for bamboo? Well…I didn’t quite know what I was looking for. Beyond the Chinese sencha, and Japanese genmaicha, I didn’t see ‘em. A few twigs caught my eye here and there, but I assumed those were part of the genmaicha garnish.

Brewing instructions, alas, weren’t present on the site. The usual approach for a green tea blend – as far as I was concerned – was a 180F(-ish) water temp for three minutes. I went with exactly that; 1 round teaspoon-worth in 8oz.

The liquor infused to a bright yellow color – not gold, not green, prime yellow. The steam aroma was an oddity. On the one hand, there was genmaicha toastiness; on the other, spice and tang mixed with tropical death. It was a difficult smell to pin down. If I were to choose an analogy, I’d compare it to sniffing the inner bark of a palm tree. No, I don’t know what that actually smells like, but if I did…it would probably be this. The taste, thankfully, was all fruity magnificence with only a mild spicy lean – as if the hot water only took the good part of the ginger and cardamom. The loud tropical fruits did their part in masking any of the rice-y/toasty aspect. There was a bit of a woody finish, but I didn’t mind. Heck, I drink dandelion root.

For a green tea blend, it was a trifecta of what-the-hell. None of the ingredients made any sense, nor did they seem like components that would mesh. However, like any good chimera, it roared with life on taste. As for the bamboo? I still don’t know what that tastes like. For an introduction, though, this was blessedly batty one. I’ll happily steep it again.

You can purchase the Bamboo Shoots directly from the TeaFrog website.

Organic herbal blend, caffeine free.

5 Minute infusion reveals a medium brown brew.

The package is really neat, a silk pyramid filled with cacao, cinnamon, fennel, licorice root, cardamom, ginger, cloves, black pepper. After the 5 minutes, the silk pyramid is full except for just a teeny bit of space at the tippy top of the pyramid. What I really like about Tea Forte is the attention to detail, the pyramid is like a work of art with a cute little green leaf that wraps delicately over the rim of my favorite tea cup.

Smell after brew time is of cinnamon and chocolate (like a really nice expensive chocolate).

First sip revealed a hot cocoa taste with melted chocolate inside. This tea would make a great dessert tea and an even better before bed kind of drink.

Rich and yummy, a dieters dream come true… all the taste of chocolate with zero calories!

This is definitely going on my shopping list, good job Tea Forte.

You can purchase Tea Forte Coco Truffle Tea directly from their website, and in various high-end establishments around the world.

From what I can tell of the leaf, it contains cardamon, what looks like yerba mate, pu-erh, and cocoa. The aroma has chocolate, cardamon, and ginger notes.

The steeping instructions call for one cup of boiling water, one cup of boiling milk, to mix in the ingredients and to let it steep for 3 to 5 minutes. Sweeten to taste.

I did not add any sugar; the taste was fine as it is and I think better without it. The chocolate notes rounded out the ginger and spice that peeks through ever so slightly. It has a sort of grounded, chocolate, round, creaminess with a bit of hui gan bitterness at the end after you swallow which I think can be on account of the pu-erh bits mixed with the cocoa. I think adding sugar would ruin the taste as it would give it a sharpness which does not complement the taste of this beverage. The rounded, soft taste without the edge suits the creaminess and milky mouthfeel, with only the peeks of spice and ginger.

I would recommend only letting the ingredients steep in the milk and boiling water for the suggested 3-5 minutes then strain out all the ingredients from the pot. Do not let the ingredients sit in the solution as it will make the beverage taste very gingery and strong hui gan bitterness.

I like this blend. When I first read chai with pu-erh I thought that it would be a catastrophe but it works! If steeped correctly, it’s like a creamy (unsweetened) cocoa, with hui gan bitterness and the occasional peeks of spice and ginger to liven up your taste buds but still overall a soft and round beverage.

You can purchase the Chocolate Chai directly from the Rishi Tea website.

The smell from the package reminds me of Christmas: Cinnamon and spice fill my nostrils. I can hardly wait to follow the directions on the package: bring 1.5 cups of water and 1 cup milk to boil. Reduce heat. Add contents of package. Let simmer 3-5 minutes. Sweeten to taste, strain to drink.

I simmered mine for 4 minutes. The smell is heavenly to me. I did not add sweetener the taste seemed find to me without an addition. Wow, this is still really hot to drink, I have burned my tongue. And I will gladly burn it again to taste this tea. The spice is still lingering on my tongue. This warm milky, brown brew is delightfully spicy. Ginger is hitting my tongue and playing against the black pepper, the cinnamon is still a major player much to my delight. I find myself wanting to really drink this down, but the temperature is restraining me to small sips. I finished drinking this brew as a cold chai. Good and spicy to the last drop!

Bottom line: The price point is doable at $3.50/ounce and if you like spice, this is one chai you need to try.

You can purchase the Masala Chai directly from the Rishi Tea website.