865 Tasting Notes
Feeling really jittery… to the point where I haven’t felt like getting up to make tea in hours. Made a big 16oz mug (using 6g leaf) hoping it’ll make me feel better).
I think I finally nailed the steeping time. This is what a white tea should look like. It still has a golden hue, but much lighter. The flavor is light and sweet. Something heavy or overly sweet would not be good right now.
Preparation
FINALLY finished off the last of that dreadful decaf instant coffee so now I can make a REALY dirty chai misto.
1c. coffee (I used half caf)
1 heaping TB tea
1c. Fat Free Smart Balance milk
1 TB Creme Brulee coffee creamer
Reheat the coffee once brewed so it’s almost boiling, pour over tea and steep 6 min. Decant into a large glass w/ the milk. Reheat and add the creamer.
Spicy, rich, smooth, creamy, chocolatey, and sweet. (i.e. perfect).
Preparation
Ok, so as much as I LOVE my Mayan Chocolate Chai, I’ve never had authentic chai so I thought it was time that I go to our one Indian restaurant and try it. Unfortunately I think I’ll be saving the money (and the almost half hr drive one way) and keep drinking my chai at home.
It tasted like slightly chocolately chocolate sticky rice milk w/ a hint of cardamom… I love green cardamom pods in my chai, but I guess I don’t like them when they’re the only spice. Our waiter (of Indian decent) knew NOTHING about chai… he tried to tell me they put garlic in it. Yeah he got his spices fubared. The one thing I did appreciate is that it was not teeth rottingly sweet as I had feared. It was no sweeter than… well chocolate sticky rice milk. Note to self: I’ll never buy actual rice milk.
Ok… Hoping this doesn’t back fire on me. I dumped out my Mayan Chocolate Chai leaves last nite, but didn’t rinse out my ingenuiTEA. I figure there are white based chais, vanilla chais, and honey goes in chai- so this should be good, right?
Woohoo! It worked. A full bodied, smooth, slightly sweet white tea with just a hint of kick. If you have both of these teas I suggest you try them back to back.
Preparation
Ack! Forgot mom made mac n cheese so I only have a 1/2 cup of milk left:(
1 heaping tsp tea
4oz just below boiling water
4oz cold Fat Free Smart balance milk
1tsp Creme Brulee creamer
Served regular latte style.
YAY! The creamer isn’t sickeningly sweet this time! There’s a bit of sweetness, but I wish the brulee aspect was stronger. I think 1tsp/6oz will be the perfect ratio.
Preparation
1TB tea
just enough just below boiling water to cover the tea while it steeps (4oz worked for me)
enough cold water that the total water volume is 1c.
1c. Fat Free Smart Balance Milk
2TB Creme Brulee Creamer
Steep tea and decant, add cold water, milk, and coffee. Serve James Bond Style.
Whoa… unlike the chocolate chip version of this creamer, I can VERY much taste it’s presence. Both the (extremely) sweet creme and the caramely burt sugary aspects are very much here and have no problem fighting thru the cayenne, spices, and chocolate- but they don’t hide them either. This is DEFINITELY a dessert type chai. I love the burt sugar taste, but the creme is way too sweet for me. I wish the brulee came across stronger in the chocolate chip version.
Preparation
Dirty Chai Misto!
2 individual packets decaf instant coffee (it’s what I had)
1TB tea
just enough just below boiling water to cover the tea while it steeps (4oz worked for me)
enough cold water that the total water volume is 1c.
1c. Fat Free Smart Balance Milk
Steep tea and decant, add cold water, milk, and coffee. Serve James Bond Style.
I’ve been using Taster’s Choice brand coffee- I gotta find a different brand, this is so bitter.
Preparation
What do you mean when you say “serve James Bond style”?
I’ve put that in several tasting notes and you’re the 1st one to notice. Or at least voice that you did. The same way he likes his martinis “shaken, not stirred”. I can’t wait to get my milk frother, but I’m gonna miss saying that lol.
With a spoon, not a shaker ?
Kaiten_Kenbu, just the opposite actually.
:) nice way of calling that
That’s awesome. I did pick up that youentioned how frothy milk gets just shaking it cold in a post, so now this makes sense. I like it!
It’s funny that I say it since I hate Bond movies.
Bond movies aren’t movies I rewatch, but I’ve sat through most of them. I’m going to see if my cold brewed chai with chocolate turned out and will serve it bond style. Did your cold brewed Mayan Chocolate chai turn the milk dark at all? Mine still looks the color of skim milk. Maybe I needed to rinse the leaves with hot water first…hrmmm.
I wouldn’t rinse the leaves, I’d be terrified of wasting some of the chocolate. Yeah the milk did change color, but really only after it’s shaken or stirred. I was kinda tempted to get this one, and may eventually since it’s a permanent collection tea, but I’m hesitant because I’m almost certain I’ll have the same reaction I’ve had w/ nearly every black based chai since I’ve tried this one. “It’s missing something!” This chai has me so insanely spoiled that it’s not even funny. I’m definitely a chai snob now. I just hope the cheesecake in the chocolate cheesecake chai is enough to make me not miss the cayenne. Although a Mayan Chocolate Cheesecake Chai would be AMAZING. Have you tried cold brewing it yet?
I did. I just tried some off the top of my French press I stuck in the fridge and I think I may let it go overnight. It was a bit weak. I think I used too much milk. 34 oz to 4tsp. But if it doesn’t get stronger it will sure make my plain oatmeal taste better.
I looked for smart balance milk at two grocery stores today and nada. Hoping the place by work may have it. Otherwise I’ll try a new brand of soy!
Did you use all milk or milk and water? Yeah I think you way over did the milk lol:) at least for my taste. I’d use 24oz (total liquid, I suggest half water and half milk) for 4 heaping tsp. Hope that works better!:)
I used all skim milk, figuring it was pretty watery in itself. Only milk product I had left. I think I’ll try it with a smaller amount next time, although it was a pretty tasty glass of spicy chocolatey milk this morning. Just not as good as the hot brewed method.
Yesterday ya might as well’ve called me Alexander. It was definitely a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. I mujst have slept on my neck wrong cuz I woke up in severe pain. Moving my neck at all was impossible. This meant no tea. It was literally impossible. Inspite taking 2 Motrin IB every 4 hours, my pain wasn’t touched. The simple act of getting into bed last nite caused the most intense pain I’ve ever experienced- and that’s saying a lot. By 11am, I was finally feeling a little improvement so I decided to make a variation of my dreamsicle koicha. 20ml each vanilla coffee creamer and OJ to 1tsp sifted matcha. The difference of the creamer is amazing. So much thicker! Almost like melted ice cream, if not thicker, vs a thin milk shake or flavored milk. The matcha holds up nicely, but unfortunately the OJ gets lost.
Preparation
OMG I loved that book when I was a kid!!!
Sorry to hear about the neck pain, though :( Are you feeling better today?
Yeah, I can’t make any jerk movements and it hurts if I lift myself up quickly w/ my arms- but at least I can move which is good cuz I’m going to a concert tonite. Can’t wait to see what teas they offer (it’s a tea and coffee cafe)- I know they have blooming teas which isn’t real common.
Sounds like fun! :)
Are you going to move to Australia? :-)
Morgana, huh? No. Where did you get that idea?
I like this because it has so much protein and still tastes delicious. I get this and will normally just enjoy a half bottle at a time due to calories. However, this is tasty for a RTD option with about 15grams of protein per serving. That is a lot!
half a bottle at a TIME??? Whoa that’s a lot! I just drink 8oz at a time. I’m looking for a soy based chai latte mix. I prefer mixes over this.