Vanilla Chai

I know this statement is highly overused but this Bigelow blend is like Christmas in a cup. I’ve been on a holiday fix lately so I broke into my stockpile of Vanilla Chai. Yum this blend gets better every time. You get the bold, malty flavor of the black tea base and it’s not hidden by the other flavors like some other Vanilla Chai teas I have tried.in fact, the fa flavors balance each tperfectly. You get a nice creaminess from the vanilla, the spice from the cinommon, clove, and nutmeg, and the black tea fla or. This is one of those chairs that I will never stop loving and I highly recommend it.

This Tea had flavor notes that were balanced and I love it

So, when looking at the daunting task of my tea collection and getting things out of it, I decided starting with an “out with the old” approach would be best. I’m glad my spreadsheet is arranged by date, and this tea had an expiration date of November 2018. Uhh… okay. Well, that isn’t too far past, at least not so far long ago I’m not willing to try it. But if I’m not sold, I’m not going to feel guilty about simply tossing the rest of it, either. I think I probably put off this one because every other bagged Bigelow tea I ever tried I didn’t like. Yes, including Constant Comment. (And that may have entirely been up to the age of the sampler packets I received too, but I wasn’t about to spend my own money on a brand of tea I historically don’t like on a full box of it to test that theory…)

I used three teabags for 400ml of water in my travel mug, and did a brief 2 minute steep since CTC. And while this is probably the best results I’ve had with Bigelow yet… I’m still not really feeling this. The vanilla aspect actually isn’t so bad. It actually tastes a bit cookie-like… it’s reminding me of the flavoring from that Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride by Celestial Seasonings I finally got to try last month. But even with the brief steep, the black tea is slightly bitter, and my main issue is the chai element… the spices are so artificial they are distracting and off-putting to me. I feel like I’m tasting that same weird artificial clove taste that I tasted in the Stash bagged Chai, and it leaves this really unpleasant taste on my tongue. The ginger flavor, too, feels overly pungent and artificial, how it is in too many bagged lemon ginger teas.

So, I realize it’s a bit of an oxymoron that I like the artificial sweet cookie-like vanilla flavoring, but can’t stand the artificial spice flavors. And the vanilla comes in first and is quite nice, but then the spice hits toward the end of the sip and lingers and sort of ruins it for me.

This isn’t so bad that I can’t finish this, and in the grand scheme of things, if I was at a restaurant and all they had was Bigelow tea, considering I’ve never liked anything by Bigelow before, if they had this one, I’d probably pick this one. If, you know, I didn’t just order Dr. Pepper instead.

Because of my class I have fallen out of love with bagged teas but this is a tea I’ll never let go. I prepare this like thai milk tea and a warm hug. You still get the sharpness of the black tea but the soothing warmth of the cinnamon and flavor mixes well with it. I’ve drank this tea as a simple cup the first time to make sure the tea itself isn’t too underwhelming for milk tea and it is kind of overwhelming without cream or milk. All in all though this is one of my go to chai flavors when I need to lay back and relax.

I went back in time to one of my favorite teas I drunk in the past. I love the colorful taste of this tea. Chai tea is a black tea with various Indian spices. I wonder if there is loose leaf chai tea.
11/16/2018

You get the perfect blend of vanilla and spice in this flavor of tea. It’s nice and smooth. Tastes as if your local barista made it!

Thanksgiving vacation at mom’s, Day 3, Tea 1.

Found this gem in the back of mom’s tea cabinet. I could have brought it here many years ago, as this was one of my favorites for a long time before discovering the wonders of high quality loose leaf tea. This, the Twinnings Black Tea Variety Pack, and a couple of mint teas where what got me into tea in the first place.

I’m surprised I have never rated it on here yet. Oh well, here we go!

It. Is. So. Good.

Crisp and clean, well balanced, not to much spice like many boxed Chai teas can get. Leave it to Bigelow to make a simple, solid, tasty tea once again. Nothing special, it’s not trying to be anything it doesn’t need to be.

The chai spice is not overwhelming, allowing the black tea base to shine through. But it is still prominent, I’m not loosing what I think of as a good chai for the sake of balance. Everything is there and present, in the right place. From aroma to first sip to mouthfeel to aftertaste.

All good.

I’ve been craving a vanilla black tea and surprisingly didn’t have one, so I picked this up while getting groceries. The spice from the chai just helps me get into the autumn season!

This is probably one of the best bagged teas I’ve had. The spices are flavorful but not overpowering, and the vanilla is nice and smooth. Next time around, I’m going to try this one with milk, but this is a chai that can hold up on it’s own!

Had this for breakfast. Very good, but I’ve had similar teas that were better.

A complex blend of spices, yet not too spicy.