Mint Chocolate Chai

Homemade Advent Day 16
from AJRimmer
These advent teas have been amazing so far and so fun to try!
Read the tasting notes before I prepared this one to help me decide on a steeping temperature. The clove and cardamom are the strongest spices that I taste in this one and are quite strong. I can’t taste the ginger but perhaps it’s just hiding beneath the other two spices. The mint comes through and is a cooling peppermint. I can taste the chocolate faintly as well. The spices do linger on your tongue but initially, I did try this without milk. I added milk halfway through my cup and this one would make a nice cup of chai with a little honey. In terms of a mint chocolate chai, I think the spices are a little heavy compared to the chocolate.
This one actually reminds me a bit of AU’s Combray tea just because of the cardamom and green tea base pairing. I also think that I found Combray a little drying as well. Chai teas are so soothing to drink throughout Winter.

I had to order this one because the combination of flavor profiles sounded so interesting. The main flavor seems to be cardamom, but that’s as far as it goes in the chai direction. Other than that, there’s plenty of mint and the mildest chocolate. I added a little milk to the cup and found it to be pretty pleasant, though I think the cardamom flavor is too strong and the chocolate not strong enough. I would have enjoyed some other chai spices peeking through.

derk:

Smells like somebody dropped an Andes mint into dirty chai (chai with a shot of espresso), tastes kinda like a dirty chocolate chai or mexican hot chocolate but with a green tea taste and body. It sips like thin peppermint chocolate that moves into a clean, mineral-dry grass base green tea mid-mouth, then with the swallow, it’s again like that Andes mint dropped in a dirty chai.  I can taste cloves – strongly – but I personally think it’s in good proportion to the chocolate.  I taste a good amount of cardamom, too (I get Turkish cardamom coffee vibes!); a hint of orange zest, no ginger.   The peppermint is clean and cooling in the mouth, but overall the tea is very drying.  Interesting! and kind of true to the name. I like it but it’s just so drying. There’s potential with this blend. Wish I had some koulourakia to dip. It’s your basic Greek butter cookie that people have with coffee.

Kiki:

“Hmmmm.  Is that clooove? hehehe  It smells like some Greek cookies baking in the oven. sips, does a double take HA!! that was a surprise! ooh.  It kinda smells like some incense.  Yeah that’s a surprise!  Am I getting a little chocolate in taste, some carob or something?  I’m getting the clove flavor – numbs your mouth.  Smells like my grandma’s medicine cabinet.  Is it carob and peppermint?  I get like a Tootsie Pop, uh chocolate pop and then a c-cool one.  Maybe it’s mint chocolate, I dunno.”

For the record, the package I received was labelled Mint Chocolate Chip with less ingredients but it’s definitely the Mint Chocolate Chai on the website.