Comforting Chai

This is a pretty cardamom-heavy chai on a green base. You can really taste the green tea, but I don’t notice any of the other spices other than the cardamom. I don’t prefer green chai, but it wasn’t unpleasant. The green tea did get a little bitter as it sat, but some oat milk and sugar brought it together decently well.

Show of hands…how many of you have zoned out while pouring water for a green tea and realized after the cup was half full that the water shouldn’t have been boiling? (Please let there be somebody besides me!) If there is a method for un-pouring improperly temp’ed water, please let me know!

Ah, well.

Fortunately, Cuppa Geek’s Comforting Cup turned out to be a Very Forgiving Cup as well. The orange and chai spices covered for any bitterness I may have caused by my blunder. Marshmallow root is fast becoming one of my favorite tea ingredients as well; it gently blunts the sharp edges of spices and tart things. All in all, this is tasty and reminds be of a spicier, edgier counterpart to old faithful Constant Comment (my barometer for all teas orangey and spicy).

CuppaGeek Advent Calendar – Day 25

Merry Christmas Steepster!

I am starting my day with this bonus tea from the Cuppa Geek advent. Unfortunately, I don’t love this one. I blame the green tea base but also maybe the cider component. Something is just throwing me because I expect spices and then it cuts through with a different flavor that isn’t for me.

day 12 advent

Soooo chai needs to be on a black base for me. While i was ok with the spice blends in this one – nothing about a green tea will ever be comforting OR chai like to me lol.

I woke up this morning with a heavy, unsettled feeling. I don’t really know why. Overthinking? Bad dream I don’t remember? General Covid dreams? Sometimes that’s just how it is.

I couldn’t decide what to have for breakfast. I paused, stood on tiptoe (yes, I am really short) and said a quick prayer. “Lord, I could really use some tea that would feel comforting this morning.”

Reached in and pulled out THIS TEA. I kid you not. I thought, “Well, yeah, okay, it says it is comforting but now what do I eat with a chai when I am tired of waffles?” Then I remembered some fig jam I had made a few months ago. Fig jam is a very cuddly food to me.

Ding ding ding! Toast with fig jam and Comforting Chai! Things were looking up.

This had all the attributes I expect in a chai, like cinnamon and cardamom and a mouth tingle from the clove, but all slightly softer. The green tea is softer than the Assam tea most companies use as a base for chai, too. It was all nice and warming and….comforting. Just like it says. The spices gave me a good wake up and lots of flavor, with no harsh edges.

Cardamom and clove chai? Yes.
Comforting? Maybe.
I wish this had more cinnamon or ginger, it’s kinda boring. I added some new sweetener I’m trying out, agave inulin powder, to the second steep. I’m more interested in how slightly sweet this is than the tea.

Advent Day 6, From the Depths of the Grab Bag.

“Alright! Its got cinnamon and cloves, maybe some star anise, lot of clove though. Maybe orange, I’m not sure. Maybe it’s a little… Maybe it’s got a little fennel seed in it. I won’t be able to tell more until after I taste it, so don’t ask me cackle

It’s very holiday like. A lot of clove which is not my favorite thing but I can appreciate the clove quality. It’s alright. It’s.. it’s drinkable. I taste the flavor of green tea. I think it needs sugar. It’s ok, it tastes like a tonic. I’d say it’s like a 3 (out of 10) on the scale. I’d only recommend it if you like clove. If you like clove, it’s highly recommended. "

<me, poking> You pretty much just repeated yourself there.

“That’s right, except I said highly. burrp burrp sips Ohh ohhhhh.”

This wasn’t bad tea per se, but I had higher hopes.

It was mellow green tea with cloves, but that’s all I have noticed.

This blend isn’t too spicy and has the added caramel and cider flavors to give you the sense of fall without being overwhelming. I don’t noticed any caramel nor cider flavours. But certainly it isn’t overwhelming and isn’t too spicy. Bit boring.