Shafa Blends

From the Samurai TTB.

I made a mistake. I’m not sure what I was thinking. I just ate a jalapeno lime chip right before taking my first sip of this chai and now I don’t know if the chai is spicy or if the chip is responsible for setting my mouth on fire. Resisting the urge to eat more chips.

After several minutes, I’m trying this again and I do believe this tea has a kick of spice all on its own. It definitely hits you right in the back of the throat. I noticed mostly cardamom in the dry blend, but I don’t taste any of that now. There’s definitely cinnamon, but it’s of the red hot variety which is not a favorite for me.

Many thanks to SkySamurai for the spicy experience!

It’s been fun trying all these chai blends from the tea box! The main flavor in this one seems to come from the black pepper. I find the spiciness to be very enjoyable. It’s good both with and without milk. The flavor could probably be a little more complex, but for now, I’m enjoying the strong peppery spiciness.

‘Samurai’ Traveling Teabox – Tea #6
I had this one yesterday. I love a thoughtfully spiced chai.  This is one on a CTC base.  It’s funny because SkySamurai included two chai blends that look exactly the same in spices… even though they’re different…but one has a CTC base and the other has a longer leaf black tea.  I bet I end up loving both of them.  This one is very spicy.  It must be the spiciest chai I’ve ever had without actually including chili of any kind.  How is it this spicy!?!?  1 1/2 teaspoons is probably too much.  So much heat only from ginger and black pepper?!  I’m usually fine with spiciness, but towards the end of the second brew, I’m all spiced out. Shafa might need to tame this one a bit. The resulting brew isn’t too dark despite the CTC leaf. 
Steep #1 // 1 1/2 teaspoon for a full mug // 5 minutes after boiling // 3 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 4 minute steep