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“I should have shaken up the bag before I scooped out this tea… not tasting any cumin, and I wonder if that’s why. The coconut is just starting to go off, but this is still pretty drinkable;...” Read full tasting note
“So apparently i love 52’s chais :) This one is even better than the toffee bar chai imo. I don’t typically love a lot of coconut in my blends, but this is downright the perfect blend of spices to...” Read full tasting note
“Just got home from being away for a bit and this is my first tea back at home. I had been so careful about my away-travel tea selection, but, you know, spoiled. It is good to be back home to...” Read full tasting note
“I enjoyed this, which is a big surprise because while I love coconut, it tastes a bit too oily for me in tea most of the time. I couldn’t really actively taste cumin, but I feel it was probably for...” Read full tasting note
Tea of the Week For October 5, 2015!
I love coconut and I love chai – and while there are a few coconut chai teas out there – I wanted to make one too.
While I was playing around with the cumin in my last attempt with my Masterpiece Chai (Yeah, I’m still working on it) I started wondering what kind of flavors I’d like to pair with cumin. It’s one of my favorite spices. Since it has that smoky, spicy note, I wondered how it would taste when paired with the creamy sweetness of coconut.
So I went there.
I took my rich black tea base, added a touch of honeybush for added sweetness, added chai spices including a bit of toasted cumin, and sweetened the mix up with some yummy coconut. Delicious!
All Organic Ingredients: Black Teas, Honeybush, Coconut, Spices, Vanilla Bean & Natural Flavors.
Steep: 1 1/2 tsp. of tea to 12 oz. 205°F water. Steep 3-5 minutes. Allow tea to cool 10 minutes after brewing for best flavor.
http://52teas.com/coconut-cumin-chai-taster/
At 52teas.com, you will find unique, hand-blended artisan loose leaf teas: a new limited edition creation every week of the year. We pride ourselves on offering truly unique, one-of-a-kind tea blends that you won’t find anywhere else.
I should have shaken up the bag before I scooped out this tea… not tasting any cumin, and I wonder if that’s why. The coconut is just starting to go off, but this is still pretty drinkable; however, I’m just not getting enough chai from it. Like, it’s weak enough that I feel it would be completely overwhelmed by milk. It’s also feeling a bit astringent to me, which I’m not a big fan of.
Some quick research tells me that this tea is at least 3 years old, so that’s probably partially why it’s not as flavourful as it could be, but I feel like it may not have quite been the chai blend of my dreams that I had hoped it would be. Have about a cup of this left, so will endeavour to finish it off quickly, and re-rate if indeed I can get more flavour out of it.
So apparently i love 52’s chais :) This one is even better than the toffee bar chai imo. I don’t typically love a lot of coconut in my blends, but this is downright the perfect blend of spices to go with the coconut. Anoher sample from Evol Ving Ness the cumin and cardamom are lovely here. In a way i’m greatful that there isn’t any left on the website – yay for saving money but boo for not seeing this one again for a while unless it comes back as a reblend. At least i’ll know that i like it :)
Hurray for tea love!
so nommy.
52’s newer chais do sound awfully delicious.
i haven’t loved many of the new blends from 52 teas…well at least in terms of dollar for value given our shitty exchange, but the chais are yummy…and nearly worth it (though sold out heh)
Really wish there were a Canadian company that made intriguing chai blends.
there was one at the tea festival but they only did one kind…course that’s ALL they did.
Hmm, the Victoria tea festival had Vastu Chai but it wasn’t terribly impressive. Guess the hunt for delicious, reasonably-priced chai continues.
The tea festival had two serving up chai. Their tables were right beside each other. I know because I sampled both to death. There is also Tea and Its Splendour with some enthusiastic and inspired chai blends there. I bought two.
Just got home from being away for a bit and this is my first tea back at home. I had been so careful about my away-travel tea selection, but, you know, spoiled. It is good to be back home to choices, choices, and more choices.
It was a bit hot and humid when I fell asleep last night, but then I was uncovered and chilled when I woke up this morning. This is the tea I reached for. Delicious, warming, and lovely, especially when strains of autumn are slowly peeking through early summer mornings.I enjoyed this, which is a big surprise because while I love coconut, it tastes a bit too oily for me in tea most of the time. I couldn’t really actively taste cumin, but I feel it was probably for the best. I am sure it added subtle flavor, as it is a very pungent scent/flavor. Overall, I am glad I tried it. Not my favorite version of chai, but I love tasting all versions of chai.
So this is the second steep of the cup I had yesterday. I pretty much followed the same brewing instructions.
I’m getting more of the coconut today. The spices are still there, but they’re not overwhelming everything else this time. I can also pick out the cumin today, peeking out from behind the coconut and spices. Still subtle, and I still have to look, but it’s definitely there.
This cup was nice yesterday, but I’m enjoying being able to pick out all the different flavors today. It makes it a little more unique, whereas yesterday, I was getting almost coconutty chai. Today, it’s all there. And it makes me happy.
I think between the two, I’m going to go to 52Teas Smoky Spice Chai for my cumin fix, but I’m definitely going to enjoy the rest of this.
Flavors: Coconut, Spices, Tea
Second Steep
8 ounces water + 205 degrees + 10 minutes
This is my second cup of this, or rather my third since this is the second steep of my second cup. The cup I had yesterday I steeped according to the instructions on the bag – 1.5 teaspoons for a 12 ounce cup. It didn’t seem as flavorful to me as I though it would be based on the smell so today I shook the bag really well and dropped to my normal measurements of 1 teaspoon for an 8 ounce cup. The ratios didn’t change but for some reason the flavor is there now. I’m certainly not complaining about that! I’m sure shaking the spices around in the bag helped.
This really is a beautiful mix and so fragrant. The majority of the blend is made up of twisty black tea leaves. There is shredded coconut and something like bark which I am assuming is the honeybush. I don’t see any cumin seeds but it may be that ground cumin was used as part of the the mix of spices listed in the ingredients. Or maybe I’m just not seeing it. The tea smells sweet and mostly of coconut, but there is a spiced note as well. Maybe cloves? I’m not smelling the cumin just yet.
I’ve enjoyed both the first and second cups of this, though both were a little different. The first cup was dark and rich with more coconut flavor alongside the black tea base. The second cup is lighter but the spices are more noticeable. I’m still not tasting the cumin directly. I’m not picking up on any smokiness either, only sweet spices. I’m certainly not disappointed. This is a really good chai. It’s maybe just not as unique as I expected it to be. I plan on trying another mugful soon and will try shaking it more to see if I can pick up some of that smoky flavor I’m missing. I may also try the original instructions for steeping again to see if that might make a difference too.
Flavors: Cloves, Coconut, Spices, Sweet
I toasted the cumin seeds and then crushed them with my mortar and pestle. :)
Well that explains why I couldn’t see it! I’ll try shaking it more next time. I bet that will do the trick. I can’t believe you toasted and then crushed the seeds by hand. What incredible attention to detail! I’m so glad I’m getting the chance to try your teas.
I should probably be shaking the bags before putting the tea in the steeper. I bet that would even out the flavors (I didn’t actually check to see if any cumin seeds made it into the batch I brewed).
Yes, it would be a good idea to shake the pouches of any of my teas – but especially if they’re spiced/chai blends because the spices will settle to the bottom. If the ingredients list vanilla bean, I’d suggest shaking it. Anything where the ingredients would be small and easy to shift toward the bottom of the pouch.
This one is nearly 4 years old – I remember it was sometime in the fall/winter of our first year. :)
And yeah, shaking it probably would have delivered more cumin flavor as the toasted cumin seeds would be responsible for delivering the cumin flavor. I remember this tea pretty vividly because I was a little worried that the amount of cumin might freak people out a bit – I love cumin and this was really heavily cumin – I toasted the seeds and crushed them in the mortar. And it was really strong. However, since it was fresh spices that were delivering the flavor, because this is nearly 4 years old, I would think that some of the spices would have lost their impact by now. :(
I’m sorry that the flavor didn’t work out for you.
They can’t all be winners! We’ll see what cup #2 is like, which will happen soon because coconut. Reading other reviews, I’m fairly certain age has had a big impact on the spices here. I wish I could remember exactly what I thought of it when I first tried it! (I do have a large stash of unposted tasting notes that I jotted down at work, and I’m hoping that I wrote about some teas I otherwise have nothing for!)
Interesting. This is a coconut tea I could get behind.