Red Rooibos Cinnamon Chai

The strongest flavor here is the cinnamon. I thought the chai was sort of weak and boring at first, but then I added milk, and it’s way tastier now. I wouldn’t call it a spicy or complex chai, but it’s decently flavorful now that the milk is in there helping it out. Somehow, the second steep tasted even better? I feel like I got more spices and ended up with quite the pleasant milky cup of chai. So maybe this is one I’d try again.

Sipdown (233)

R is for…Red Rooibos Cinnamon Chai

I honestly thought I had more “R” teas than I do but oh well. Anyways, pulled this out first because it was caffeine free and an easy sipdown. I debated about making it as a latte but decided I would prefer to have a Root Beer Float latte later and didn’t want to have a bunch of lattes today.

Also, because I pulled this out, I decided to try the sample of Cinnamon Rooibos Chai by DAVIDsTEA that I have because (1) it was an easy sipdown and (2) seemed like a fun battle to pair these two teas meant to be similar profiles and see which company’s I prefer…if either. You can check out the note for the DAVIDsTEA tea here: https://steepster.com/rachel12610/posts/418086

The first thing I noticed in this one is the ginger burn that hits at the back of the throat. If I am being honest, that’s the kind of ginger I like in a chai so it was a super welcome experience. I am also getting a lot of the clove, another spice I like a lot of in my chai. Cinnamon comes in at the front of the sip and along with the anise sits as a sweeter top note to balance the ginger and clove beneath it. I am actually enjoying this one and the balance of spices much more than I expected I would.

Plum Deluxe Advent Day 12
(backlog)
Rooibos, red hot cinnamon, and a bit of ginger. Meh.

Plum Deluxe Advent Calendar – Day 12

This sounds good, actually. I like cinnamon and a caffeine-free chai sounds nice tonight. My sample smells very strongly of anise.

Hmm… This tastes a bit… flat? It has a lovely spicy cinnamon aroma, but the flavor is somewhat bland. I taste cinnamon in a spicy Red Hots way, and there’s definitely clove, anise, and black pepper. But even with all of the spices, it’s quite flat. The only thing popping out at me is the peppercorns, and they’re creating a tingling, slightly burning sensation at the back of my mouth and in my throat.

Not a fan, unfortunately. Too much pepper and not enough anything else…

https://www.instagram.com/p/CIuXY1ig9Gp/

(today’s advent teas: https://www.instagram.com/p/CItKDkWgMAT/)

Advent Day 12
Lots of cinnamon! Maybe some apple and some clove. I dumped the whole thing in my steeper, so it’s extra potent and harder to taste the Rooibos which works great for me. It came through more as it cooled, but the cinnamon was almost red hot candy strong. Not bad for a rooibos.

The dry leaf smells like a holiday candle… I know when most people say that they mean it in a bad way, but I like that smell! A comforting, familiar scent…

Brewed up, this is fine. Another one I personally would’ve brewed a bit stronger if I had a choice in the matter, just because the body is coming through a bit weak to me. The spice flavor is fine, though. Most strongly of cinnamon, but I’m getting some very nice clove notes, and a bit of ginger and pepper warmth at the back of my throat. Not too spicy that I need to douse my throat after each sip or try to tame the cup with milk (though I’m sure it would take milk fine, if I had more leaf to create a richer body for it), but there is enough that there is some lingering warmth after the swallow.

A perfectly satisfying cuppa on a cold evening, but not my favorite rooibos chai — that title goes to Rishi’s West Cape Chai.