Let me start by saying that I’m a fan of Verdant Tea. I have quite a few of their teas in my house.
I was really expecting this to be warm chai spices wrapped around the deep dark chocolate goodness of Laoshan Black. IMHO this is just wrong. When it’s really hot, the spices are overwhelmingly strong. There is no chance to pick up any of the wonderful tones of Laoshan Black. The base tea could be anything. As it cools the spices do mellow, but they go from “hitting you over the head with a baseball bat” to just “in your face”.
So now what to I do? Do I resteep it and see if the spice are milder on the second steep? How do I fix this? I pull out my package of Laoshan Black and toss about 1/2 tsp in with the chai leaves. (I should mention that I’m apologizing to the Laoshan Black as I toss it in – it deserves more respect than that).
Modified second steep, yeah no that didn’t work, there is lots of Laoshan Black this time, but the chai spices didn’t resteep well, it’s like they aren’t balanced now. Cinnamon and clove heavy on the second steep.
Sorry Verdant, this doesn’t work for me. :((
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this one was the same for me… just not the right balance. (i was sorry too)
Just in case, always stir up packets of chai because the spices get unevenly distributed during shipping. Use a little less leaf and steep time, add lots of warm milk or cream and honey (clover). This mellows chai.Traditional chai should be spicy…tempered with milk and honey.
Wonder which formulation this is. I loooooved the one I had originally but I can’t recall if I’ve had the new-er version
I’m not sure WHICH version it is, but I bought it early May…..
Agreed about lots of warm milk. I haven’t tried mine yet (it’s impossible to want chai when it’s 95F every day, alas), will be interesting to compare notes.
this one was the same for me… just not the right balance. (i was sorry too)
Just in case, always stir up packets of chai because the spices get unevenly distributed during shipping. Use a little less leaf and steep time, add lots of warm milk or cream and honey (clover). This mellows chai.Traditional chai should be spicy…tempered with milk and honey.
Wonder which formulation this is. I loooooved the one I had originally but I can’t recall if I’ve had the new-er version
I’m not sure WHICH version it is, but I bought it early May…..
Agreed about lots of warm milk. I haven’t tried mine yet (it’s impossible to want chai when it’s 95F every day, alas), will be interesting to compare notes.