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I was afraid to try this tea again. It’s a CTC blend that I used to drink every day, and it was my fancy version of Lipton. It was fantastic brewed strong with milk and sugar at breakfast.

But then I started drinking these fancier teas, and I found that what I used to love was one dimensional or just plain bitter. So I held off reviewing this (my goal is to review everything in my cupboard at least once).

I was happy to find that I still had a taste for this. Sure, the depth is nothing at all like a Yunnan black. This tea is malty as hell, bitter, and extremely astringent. But it stands up well to milk and sugar, making it a great breakfast tea. It’s extremely tannic with notes of a wet pile of autumn leaves.

I’m glad that I haven’t yet lost this friend.

There aren’t a lot of caffeine free teas I can turn to before bed. This is one of them. Unfortunately, it smells a lot better than it tastes.

I was able to get the color of the water to change at least…5 minutes after boiling water. The smell of the tea is a pleasant hot apple cider smell, sugary sweet and tangy with a touch of cinnamon and clove. It’s like hot apple pie.

But then when I take a sip, I get an immediate hit of apple and cinnamon, then a fading to something a little on the sour and unpleasant side. It’s lacking depth, or body, or something. I know! Tea! It’s lacking tea!

But in all seriousness, it would be rated much higher if that sour note could be eliminated. I don’t think the artificial flavoring would lend well to something like honey, either. Maybe I’ll try sugar next time.

It’s malty; it’s tannic. It’s not a bad tea, but I have sipped from the Fountain of Knowledge that is Yunnan black tea, and now I can’t return. This tastes pretty one-dimensional to me now. I find it better than Twinings, but that’s about all I can say for it.

I might still enjoy it oversteeped with some milk and sugar.

I’ve been drinking through my lower end stuff to decide what to trade/give away and what to keep, in case you haven’t noticed from my recent reviews.

I was pleasantly surprised by this one. I’ve had a couple of mid-level jasmines by now, and I was always put off by how strong the jasmine was. Though the scent of the dry leaves is definitely strong, what comes out in the brew is much more subtle.

I don’t have a lot of experience with Chinese greens, so I’m not sure of the differences in flavor profiles yet for a good green and a bad one. This was…okay. It was a little astringent with some bitterness, which I don’t think was as a result of my brewing, but I suppose it’s possible. Mostly it was a very mild…tea flavor. Like I said, not much to write home about when it comes to the base.

All in all, it was still a pleasant surprise for how cheap this tea is. Though I probably won’t be keeping it, it was sill a pleasant experience.

Unidentified Dr. Tea from Gray Line Bus Tours

I’m guessing this little paper pot is rather old, because when I stick my nose in there to smell the dry leaf, I get practically nothing.

Got this in a strange swap, and I was expecting it to be the crap of crap. I was pleasantly surprised. There were some chocolate notes in there, as well as that tangy, leathery shou flavor.

The brew was smooth, with no astringency or bitterness. I might, however, have gotten a slight headache from it.

Chaiday 6 of 6:
Let me start by saying that I am a tea lightweight. I usually only drink 3 teas a day. I knew it was going to be crazy of me to try 6 in one day, but I really want to make some headway into my stash reviews.

I knew that at this point, with my blood made more of cinnamon and black tea than platelets, that I would be tired of tasting and reviewing chai. Even now, the idea of Christmas spices makes me want to run and hide. However, I promised that I would review 6 chais today, so the show must go on.

This tea has always smelled wonderful to me. The blend smells spicy and sweet. I’m wondering what the leaves are coated with—they’re sticky with whatever it is. The spice is nice and strong, and the base makes itself well-known. There’s also a sweet, kind of caramel flavor. I’m glad the orange isn’t too strong, as I like to stay away from citrus, as you’ve probably heard by now.

Chaiday 5 of 6:
I have to admit that I chose this tea because I already knew what it tasted like. I don’t usually enjoy teas with fake chocolate, but I know that I like this tea.

Especially compared to the last tea, this is definitely a chai. I can smell strong notes of cocoa, clove, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, and something a little spicy.

All of those spices come out in the brewed tea without being overwhelming. The chocolate comes through as dark cocoa notes, covering the bitterness of the base and subduing the sharpness of the spices.

It’s warming. This cup reminds me of snowy winter days and a fireplace I don’t have. This is my favorite so far of the chai blends, but I still have one more tea left.

Chai day: Blend 4 of 6:
After the disappointment that was the Thai chai, I decided to drink something with coconut and no lemongrass. I’m getting the scent of vanilla, coconut, and cinnamon from the scent of the dry leaves, so perhaps it’s safe to drink without any more unpleasant surprises.

Another note to make is the physiological effects of drinking too much chai in the span of a couple of hours. I am sneezy, runny-nosed, and getting a little warm. I could, of course, stop drinking chai teas, but I think instead I am going to turn down the air conditioning and continue drinking. Of course I might not ever want to drink chai again after this evening is through.

There’s something about the aroma of the brew that is stirring something from long ago, but I can’t place my mind on exactly what it is. My brain keeps sending the word “wax” to the forefront, but this tea doesn’t smell like wax. Am I veering into territory that is better left to the psychologists again?

The base of this is a bit stronger than the last. There’s no astringency, but it’s rather bitter and tannic. The spices in the chai blend barely come out at all. I’m getting the cinnamon as usual, but I cannot taste the cardamom that is clearly visible in the dry leaf. There’s also vanilla and coconut, but the black tea base pretty much drowns out most of the flavor.

I wouldn’t call this a chai either. There’s nothing spicy about it. It’s more like cinnamon coconut black tea. Examining the leaf after brewing I see that it is much greener than the other chais I have had. Perhaps a lower temperature would make this tea better.

Chai day: Blend 3 of 6:
I chose this blend because it was the next least favorite smelling one. Though I enjoy coconut, this one had a very strong citrus scent, perhaps lemongrass? I can’t stand citrus.

The citrus smell is subdued in the brew, but still present. It is accompanied by a sort of creamy scent that reminds of me of Thai tea. Thai chai and Thai tea—coincidence? I’m mostly getting the lemongrass and coconut in the scent, and I’m wondering how spicy this is going to be.

The base is nice after the monstrosity that was the vanilla chai. It’s smooth with no astringency, no bitterness, and very little of the tannic flavor. It doesn’t, however, make a bold statement below the other flavors.

This is my first experience with lemongrass in a tea, and I have to say that I don’t like it. It makes for a citrusy, aromatic, woody kind of flavor that I don’t care for. It kind of reminds me of a furniture store for reasons I cannot explain. Or maybe a kind of bathing product. The coconut flavor sits below the lemongrass, which makes it a bit harder to detect and makes me a bit sadder.

As far as the chai part goes, I am getting a little of the cinnamon, maybe cardamom? It’s difficult to penetrate below the lemongrass flavor.

It’s not Adagio’s fault, but this tea is not for me.

There’s something dangerous about tea people on the weekends. They have more time to think of weird things to do. My project for today is sipping through my chai collection—all six of them. I chose the second of the six again based on the smell. This was a little perfumey smelling, and I haven’t been a big fan of Blue Turtle as of yet. Actually now that I take a second whiff (and sneeze yet again), it reminds me of an old lady’s attic. No Tahitian vanilla beans here.

The brew smells nice though, no more old lady attics. The fake vanilla smell is tempered a bit so it smells more like a cinnamon cookie, dare I say Snickerdoodle? What I find surprising is the lack of spice smell. Beyond the cinnamon, I cannot detect clove, cardamom, pepper…any of the traditional spices.

I know that Blue Turtle does not use high-quality bases. I AM surprised to notice that it makes itself more well-known than the Adagio Masala Chai blend. It’s a little on the bitter side, however. Less astringent, but more tannic.

Besides cinnamon and vanilla, I am not detecting any additional flavors. It makes for a pleasant, if somewhat fake experience. But is it really a chai? Isn’t it just a cinnamon and vanilla blend? Of course, there is no information available on what is in the tea…

It’s pretty decent with milk and sugar.