Morgana Send Message

570 Followers / 390 Following

__Morgana__ drank Masala Chai by American Tea Room

2037 tasting notes

Today, I opened up the sample I found of this post-project chai sipdown to give it a whirl. Made on the stove top using the Samovar method.

The tea blend doesn’t give off much pepper, and if you know me you know I rather like black pepper in chai. This is true after steeping, as well — mostly I smell ginger and cinnamon.

The flavor has these, and also a discernible cardamom. Not so much clove, which is fine with me. There’s a slight spicy hotness on the tongue in the finish that is likely the pepper asserting itself, but I would have preferred a bit more in the pepper department. I don’t taste a lot of vanilla, but that’s ok with me. What is there adds to the creaminess of the milk.

That said, it’s very tasty. I think a lot of its tastiness comes from the tea base. ATR does (did) good base.

I’ve settled on a couple of favorites in the chai department, but this probably would have come in third or fourth if not for the fact that ATR is gone and it is no longer available.

Flavors: Cardamom, Cinnamon, Ginger, Pepper, Vanilla

I Like This

5 likes

0 comments

People who liked this

Profile

Bio

I got obsessed with tea in 2010 for a while, then other things intruded, then I cycled back to it. I seem to be continuing that in for a while, out for a while cycle. I have a short attention span, but no shortage of tea.

I’m a mom, writer, gamer, lawyer, reader, runner, traveler, and enjoyer of life, literature, art, music, thought and kindness, in no particular order. I write fantasy and science fiction under the name J. J. Roth.

Personal biases: I drink tea without additives. If a tea needs milk or sugar to improve its flavor, its unlikely I’ll rate it high. The exception is chai, which I drink with milk/sugar or substitute. Rooibos and honeybush were my gateway drugs, but as my tastes developed they became less appealing — I still enjoy nicely done blends. I do not mix well with tulsi or yerba mate, and savory teas are more often a miss than a hit with me. I used to hate hibiscus, but I’ve turned that corner. Licorice, not so much.

Since I find others’ rating legends helpful, I added my own. But I don’t really find myself hating most things I try.

I try to rate teas in relation to others of the same type, for example, Earl Greys against other Earl Greys. But if a tea rates very high with me, it’s a stand out against all other teas I’ve tried.

95-100 A once in a lifetime experience; the best there is

90-94 Excellent; first rate; top notch; really terrific; will definitely buy more

80-89 Very good; will likely buy more

70-79 Good; would enjoy again, might buy again

60-69 Okay; wouldn’t pass up if offered, but likely won’t buy again

Below 60 Meh, so-so, iffy, or ick. The lower the number, the closer to ick.

I don’t swap. It’s nothing personal, it’s just that I have way more tea than any one person needs and am not lacking for new things to try. Also, I have way too much going on already in daily life and the additional commitment to get packages to people adds to my already high stress level. (Maybe it shouldn’t, but it does.)

That said, I enjoy reading folks’ notes, talking about what I drink, and getting to “know” people virtually here on Steepster so I can get ideas of other things I might want to try if I can ever again justify buying more tea. I also like keeping track of what I drink and what I thought about it.

My current process for tea note generation is described in my note on this tea: https://steepster.com/teas/mariage-freres/6990-the-des-impressionnistes