Chocolate Marshmallow Spicier Chai

Mastress Alita’s Monthly Sipdown Challenge
January 2022 → A spicy tea

When I saw the prompt for a spicy tea, my mind immediately went to this blend. I have other teas that are spiced but this one is actually spicy. It smells chocolatey, but it goes beyond chai spice and offers up some heat at the end of the sip.

This reminds me of Mexican hot chocolate – dark chocolate/cocoa, lots of spicy cardamom and ginger, some cinnamon, a nice black base. My one problem with this blend is that the marshmallow doesn’t come through for me, and I was really hoping for a lot of marshmallow flavour. Otherwise, I thought it was a great dessert blend and went well with milk.

I’m trying to write tasting notes for anything I haven’t yet, even if I received them months ago. I like to write at least one tasting note for each tea I try! I’ve sipped this one a few times and believe me, I LOVE chocolate marshmallow combinations. There is such a lovely mix of ingredients here and I usually go with two teaspoons because there are SO many goodies here compared to black tea. It’s hard to tell what exactly is here in terms of spices. I think I see cinnamon, cardamom, black pepper, probably ginger. Chocolate chips both white and typical chocolate chips which add the perfect amount of sweetness and sugar for balance. This actually has a very spicy flavor to it I can appreciate… almost like cayenne is present but it isn’t. The result is plenty spicy in flavor with hints of chocolate… I wish there was a TON more marshmallow but that is usually how it is. ha. Lower rating because I wish for more marshmallow but it is plenty spicy so points for that.
Steep #1 // 2 teaspoons for a full mug// 8 minutes after boiling // 3 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 5 minute steep

Sipdown (339)

This sample from Evol Ving Ness got the chocolate milk latte treatment. It is awesome given it tastes like marshmallows melting in a hot chocolate with some chai spice to make it interesting. The cardamom is what stands out most to me but there is a fair dose of ginger at the tale end of the sip too. Thank you Evol Ving Ness for the chance to revisit this in a new way.

Spiccccccccy!! I had to add milk, or else I’d have never gotten through my mug comfortably. Chai is preferable with milk for me so I was ok with that.
Dealing with my headcold still, my ‘buds must be dampened. I wonder if I’d have found it overly strong otherwise.
I really enjoyed the marshmallow notes. Didn’t see any “chocolate” though.
Would I buy it again? probably. I really dig the blend of spices. No peppercorn. yay! It was the perfect mix. But I have so many chai varieties in my cupboard at the moment. Responsible me says no. Le sighs. This is easily in my top five chai faves so I’m a bit sad to say its a sipdown.

Another blend I couldn’t resist from 52Teas.

Now, honestly, I thought this was gonna have actual marshmallows in it. (You know, because I’m a 30-year-old that sometimes lets her 6-year-old self choose teas.) But it has marshmallow root. The things I thought were marshmallows in the picture are actually white chocolate chips. There are also regular chocolate chips mixed in, great big cardamom pods, cloves, the chai spice works.

Much like Adagio’s Chocolate Chai, the chocolate is not in the forefront of the flavor. With this chai, it’s ginger. Bright, fierce, burning ginger. Oh hell yes. A chai that is actually spicy. Then comes the chocolate. It’s mostly in the nose and the aftertaste, but it’s very present and natural. It’s not that artificial chocolate flavor you get in cheap dessert teas. The cinnamon and cardamom come in next with the clove and the rest of the spices. It leaves my mouth warm and tingling.

Like I’ve said, I love a bold tea experience, so I didn’t go by the instructions. I doubled up on the scoops of leaf. And it was great that way. This would make absolutely killer dirty chais. ♡

My first cup of this was plain, straight up and unsweetened. I know, I know, this is not the way this tea was designed to be drunk. Still, it was nice and spicy with ginger, cardamom, and cinnamon notes although both chocolate and marshmallow tastes were missing. I did indeed see the chocolate chips in the dry leaf, but the taste didn’t translate steeped.

Now I have begun to tamper with the tea a bit. My daily coconut oil quota is not always that easy to include in food. I tend to favour Mediterranean flavours and coconut taste doesn’t tend to work well in combination.

Enter chai tea. Coconut works beautifully here. Somehow the oil slick of the dollop gets gobbled up or, at least, is not even slightly apparent in the sipping, especially compared with other teas that I’ve added the oil to. Here, the coconut sweetness of the oil makes the spice flavours pop and the lovely brisk black tea base nicely holds it all up. The chocolate and marshmallow are still not coming through for me.

Recently, I’ve discovered a gluten-free bakery in town, so I am enjoying this tea with a breakfast cookie filled to the brim with nuts and seeds. A lovely combination.

Nice blend, truly. I imagine it would be beautiful with milk and honey.

52teas does a stellar job with chai teas. This one is no exception.

I was gone for a week in Cozumel, Mexico (where I got engaged!), and had my lovely 52Teas order waiting for me when I returned!

I got a cold on the way back from the trip, so I’m not sure how well my taster is working. That’s part of the reason I went with a chai. Nice strong flavors and some spice to clear out the sinuses! Also, unlike most black teas, I like to take chai with milk and that just sounds soothing on my sore throat.

This is definitely spicier! The chai spice flavors are nice and strong in this one. Weak spice is my biggest complaint with chais so I’m happy about that! Without milk, the spiciness was all that I could taste. However, after adding milk, I get a bit more sweet creaminess of the chocolate and marshmallow. I don’t get a ton of flavor, but that may change when the cold is gone. Definitely enjoying this one either way though!