I was disappointed with this tea. I had a sample of it and thought that I was probably putting too much tea into my blend, but I wanted to use the entire sample. I thought it ended up being very insipid.
I’ve had tea-bagged Chai that is more flavorful than this chai, which tastes mild and characterless to me. I do like big, bursting, pyrotechnics in my chai and have a plan to try to make my own blend ultimately. I like my Chai to be a big brass band and this is a leeeettle tiny piping from a tiny piccolo.
I feel rather tragic that I cannot appreciate the little things. It reminds me of Jack Osborne fighting with Kelly because she did not appreciate the “little things” in life, like the return of the McRib to McDoof’s. Or maybe I’ve just grown to expect the whole hog instead of a riblet?
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My general opinion w/ chais, especially if you add milk/creamer is that they require a lot of leaf. If I’m drinking an unflavored or other flavored black, I use 2.25g/6oz, but w/ chais I measure them w/ a tsp…. a heaping tsp. (a heaping tsp of my Mayan Chocolate Chai weighs 4g, almost double my norm). I can do simple, light, delicate flavors, but I do agree that chais must be “go big or go home”… I will drink this, and enjoy it if that’s what I have in the house. This is my “CRAP! I’m completely out of chai, but I have no money to spend so I’ll use some points to get some” chai.
For many teas, I actually double or even triple the prescribed amount. I think that 1 tsp. is probably meant for one of those elegant little bone-china tea cups. With a larger mug, I always make adjustments. With the Adagio sample, I really did use about the equivalent of 3 tbsp. for one 8 ounce mug, But I certainly agree with your comment.
My last few bags of tea that I’ve ordered have almost all come with instructions for 1 tsp tea to 6 oz. I usually make 10-12 oz cups so I double it to 2 tsp by default.
3TB?!?!?! WOW! That’s a lot of tea! I can’t believe it was still mild and characterless…
Oh Doulton, I do think we would be great friends outside of the web. I love your posts and your ability to quote Walter Pater and then the Osbournes. lol…fantastic.
As for the chai, I agree that this one is a bit lacking. While I don’t like the throat burning chais, this Masala still manages to fall short. I’m still on the hunt for the perfect chai.
Yes Doulton does come up w/clever references/allusions….
Lena- have you tried Samovar’s ? I really liked that one…
Ditto the Samovar. Not a chai expert at all here, but I thought it was wonderful.
“a leeeettle tiny piping from a tiny piccolo.” — I love that! I understand perfectly! :)
My general opinion w/ chais, especially if you add milk/creamer is that they require a lot of leaf. If I’m drinking an unflavored or other flavored black, I use 2.25g/6oz, but w/ chais I measure them w/ a tsp…. a heaping tsp. (a heaping tsp of my Mayan Chocolate Chai weighs 4g, almost double my norm). I can do simple, light, delicate flavors, but I do agree that chais must be “go big or go home”… I will drink this, and enjoy it if that’s what I have in the house. This is my “CRAP! I’m completely out of chai, but I have no money to spend so I’ll use some points to get some” chai.
For many teas, I actually double or even triple the prescribed amount. I think that 1 tsp. is probably meant for one of those elegant little bone-china tea cups. With a larger mug, I always make adjustments. With the Adagio sample, I really did use about the equivalent of 3 tbsp. for one 8 ounce mug, But I certainly agree with your comment.
My last few bags of tea that I’ve ordered have almost all come with instructions for 1 tsp tea to 6 oz. I usually make 10-12 oz cups so I double it to 2 tsp by default.
3TB?!?!?! WOW! That’s a lot of tea! I can’t believe it was still mild and characterless…
Oh Doulton, I do think we would be great friends outside of the web. I love your posts and your ability to quote Walter Pater and then the Osbournes. lol…fantastic.
As for the chai, I agree that this one is a bit lacking. While I don’t like the throat burning chais, this Masala still manages to fall short. I’m still on the hunt for the perfect chai.
Yes Doulton does come up w/clever references/allusions….
Lena- have you tried Samovar’s ? I really liked that one…
Ditto the Samovar. Not a chai expert at all here, but I thought it was wonderful.
“a leeeettle tiny piping from a tiny piccolo.” — I love that! I understand perfectly! :)