I was in the mood for a thick latte this morning, but was feeling indecisive about the tea. I saw this come up in my morning Steepster reading from Kittenna and thought, “That will work.”
I got this pouch in a mystery box and have put it off because a) I am a major spice wuss and saw “cayenne pepper” in the ingredients, and b) let’s be real here, I put off all my tea until it is ancient because I’m a bad tea parent. But perhaps the addition of milk will tame the spiciness? Time to find out!
The dry leaf certainly has a spicy aroma… mostly of cinnamon leaning peppery rather than sweet. Steeped half a packet (7.5g) in 12 oz 205F water for 4 minutes, and added 4 oz of warmed vanilla almond milk. The finished cuppa has a warmth to the aroma, but aside from ginger I’m not making out any other particular spices on the nose. As the cup cools, the cinnamon is starting to come out in the aroma. Actually, the smell I’m getting is gingerbread?! I’m getting the chocolate in the tea and vanilla in the almond milk are adding that sweet edge, and the spices paired with it are creating a strong gingerbread association to my sniffer.
Ooof… My prediction was right, the levels of spice in this go above my spice wuss threshold! There is definitely some burning sensation at the back of my throat after the sip. Without milk, I never would’ve gotten this down; with milk, it is tolerable, but still a bit spicier than my preferences. I do taste a creamy chocolately note to the base tea, but the spice is strong enough that the sweetness doesn’t add much. I do taste the cinnamon, ginger, and pepper.
Likely without the cayenne, I’d be fine with this, but it is making the cup a little too mouth-burny for me. Perhaps I’ll try stronger milk (half water/half milk instead of my typical 3/4 water/1/4 milk) and add some honey when going through the rest of the leaf.
I imagine this would be a hit for spicy food/spicy chai lovers!
Flavors: Chocolate, Cinnamon, Cookie, Ginger, Pepper, Spices, Spicy
Preparation
People who liked this
Comments
Ha yep I love spicy food and I love this one!
Haha, yes, this one is seriously spicy! I think it surprised me the first time I had it (Frank version). I find it tasty with milk, though.
Frank used cayenne powder. I didn’t like that idea because while you can get some of the powder to cling to the leaves as well as stay distributed throughout the blend (depending upon the size of the leaves) my thought was – a bunch of cayenne powder waiting at the bottom of the pouch for a way too spicy cuppa. So, I instead got the whole, dried cayenne peppers and cut them & I removed the seeds which eliminated a lot of the heat (mostly because I enjoy the fruitiness of the peppers & I wanted to bring those flavors into focus. I also find the seeds to be a bit bitter – in addition to providing most of the heat of the pepper) – as a result, the heat of my blend isn’t as scorching as Frank’s. I personally don’t mind that – but I’ve heard from a few that would have rather had it be spicier. I guess you just can’t please everyone. :|
Ha yep I love spicy food and I love this one!
Haha, yes, this one is seriously spicy! I think it surprised me the first time I had it (Frank version). I find it tasty with milk, though.
Frank used cayenne powder. I didn’t like that idea because while you can get some of the powder to cling to the leaves as well as stay distributed throughout the blend (depending upon the size of the leaves) my thought was – a bunch of cayenne powder waiting at the bottom of the pouch for a way too spicy cuppa. So, I instead got the whole, dried cayenne peppers and cut them & I removed the seeds which eliminated a lot of the heat (mostly because I enjoy the fruitiness of the peppers & I wanted to bring those flavors into focus. I also find the seeds to be a bit bitter – in addition to providing most of the heat of the pepper) – as a result, the heat of my blend isn’t as scorching as Frank’s. I personally don’t mind that – but I’ve heard from a few that would have rather had it be spicier. I guess you just can’t please everyone. :|