I am of the opinion that good chai needs peppercorns but few seem to agree. Epi Tea’s blend included both peppercorns and red pepper in addition to vanilla, with no intrusion of cloves. I picked this first from the samples, obviously. It certainly sounded like a great chai, vanilla, cinnamon, and cardamom present, peppercorns hiding in the back but when I tasted it, it was all vanilla flavoring. I got some cinnamon and an astringent Assam taste, but no peppercorns, pepper, or ginger. Re-examining the tea bag, I couldn’t find a cardamom pod and I could barely smell the peppercorns. I re-steeped in two ounces of warm water for an hour for a mild cinnamon and vanilla sip. Over all the advertised spices weren’t there, although the bag I received seemed full. Maybe a longer steep? I only had one bag to experiment.
Full Review:
http://sabiisphere.teatra.de/?p=60
3 min, 45 sec
I agree on the peppercorns and ginger.