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My package from Jaime (who I just noticed never logged this… I even had to enter it into the database) came yesterday- thanks! Dove + Tea = HOLY CRAP! …enough said. I know everyone’s tastes in tea is different and “drink what you like, but like what you drink”… but every once in a while I come across a tea I personally love so much that I can’t fathom another person not loving. It’s not that I’m saying “you should like this!”, I just want to share my love for that tea w/ others. Just reading the name makes me think this will be one of those teas.

Pouch 1/2
In a cup of black coffee… that’s the closest you’ll get me to drinking anything powdered (hot chocolate, instant chai, etc) in plain water- the only exceptions to that are matcha and Tipu’s instant chai, but I think that’s because it doesn’t have any dairy in it. Mixing an instant chai containing milk in water to me is kinda like forcing it to be something it’s not. It tries to be milky, but it just fails and the result is flavored watery milk. (I’m also not a “splash of milk in my tea” kinda woman)… ok, whoa, ADHD rant over- but I did want to explain my motivation.

Yep. Coffee. Chocolate. Milk. Spice. In that order. It’s unfortunatley really sweet. No wonder, it has sugar and honey. If they must sweeten, I can see adding honey because it adds flavor as well, but the sugar is just excessiveness. Aside from that, it’s very good. Completely enjoyed it, but over sweetness as reason for not liking it would totally be justified. (Not that one needs justification.) I also can’t stand that there are “schtuff” in here that I can’t pronounce. It’s like, dude- I can find a recipe for this w/o any of that crap, it doesn’t need to be put in.

One more. Paired it w/ Twinings Organic Fair Trade Breakfast Tea. The tea was really good and was amazing w/ the shortbread. The spices are so light that the tea covered them completely, but they weren’t really there to begin w/ anyway. The pineapple in this one kept getting caught in my teeth. Not cool.

Twinings Order 5/27

I normally don’t like unflavored blacks, but this is a good solid, smooth, slightly sweet black tea. Strong, but not bitter in the slightest. I’m SO glad I only steeped this for 2 min! And goes great w/ Adagio’s vanilla chai cookies. This covers the spices completely, but it’s not like they were there to begin w/…

3/7

Made as directed… Hmmm… this definitely different than the mix w/ dried milk and creamer (which I always drink w/ milk)… I was expecting a thicker beverage… even my lose leaf steeped in half milk, half water seems creamer- strange.

Ripped these open as soon as they came today. It’s obvious that they’re shortbread when I bite into them. The texture is a bit crunchy on the verge of gritty because of the tea and spices… but I can’t really taste them… there is; however, a big piece of pineapple in the last bite. Good, but I think it’s weird to have pineapple in a vanilla chai cookie. I bet i can make much better cookies w/ Tipu’s instant chai.

Twinings order 4/27

W/ lunch. (Mac n cheese). I’ve been having problems w/ their greens being bitter, but this one isn’t only not bitter… it’s very light. Absolutely not what I’d expect ffrom a bagged green.

Twinings order 3/27

Not gross… but weird… I can’t even discribe it. Artificial? Yeah… that’s it… Fakey Fakerton from… ok yeah I’m gonna stop now. But it’s so weird. Almost like it was made from a weird extract or syrup (w/ no sweetness).

2/7

W/ water and 1TB dark chocolate coffee creamer. You can definitely taste the chocolate, but it isn’t as strong as when I have it in coffee, no doubt because of the spices. In spite of the additon of chocolate it’s still not overly sweet although it is richer. Would still call this a more savory dessert. Yum!

1/7

My neighbor is addicted to their slow brew, but doesn’t like this because something is it gives her a stomach ache. So I get the sample she got. I completely disregarded the instructions (except for the tea/liquid ratio). I’m going to be trying this 7 ways: just water, water and coffee creamer, just milk, half water half milk, just coffee, coffee and creamer, and cold brewed coffee and milk (2oz coffee, 6oz milk. …Oh, and I’m not going to take their advice w/ any of them and not sweeten at all.

This attempt is the way I try all my chai’s 1st: clean w/ water. Dry, the blend makes me immediately think “pumpkin spice” both in appearance and aroma- it also packs into my teaspoon like very fine brown sugar. Mixed, the appearance and the mouthfeel is very thick and inspite of my fears (Frank has made me a chai ~itch I’m so spoiled w/ his), this is REALLY spicy… like almost as spicy as his! Of course there’s a different taste to it cuz the spice isn’t coming w/ cayenne. Of course there’s no chocolate in it, but if I keep saying “it’s not supposed to be here” as I drink it, I don’t really miss it. It’s weird, but the 1st thing I think of when I drink this is “savory dessert”… Does that make sense? I’d definitely reach for this after a heavy meal when I don’t want anything sweet, but I’m still craving dessert.

Ladies and gentlemen I give you… raspberry echinacea matcha lemonade! 1 bag steeped in a cup of boiling water for 3 min, add 1 packet of stevia, let sit til it’s room temp, refrigerate, then add 2TB lemon juice and a tsp of matcha and shake. Mostly berry, a bit of lemonade and a vegetal matcha finish. I think I’m gonna add RoT’s Mango Chilli Green Bush and ginger next time for the ULTIMATE cold kicker.