Spice Dragon Red Chai

I would really like a good rooibos chai and this is mediocre at best. I don’t really need to be buying more tea myself until I drink down a bunch of stuff I already have. Still mediocre tea is a bummer. This has a lot of cinnamon and clove but I wish it had other chai spices too, especially ginger and cardamom. I’ll probably still be looking at the box of this for the next 5 years at the rate I am drinking it. ;)

The spices are nicely blended, but it’s just missing something… it’s like the bottom just falls out towards the end of the sip. I fear the rooibos isn’t a strong enough base, leaving the chai feeling kind of thin. It gets better as it cools, though. The ginger comes out to play and there’s a touch of sweetness to compensate for the weak base.

Overall – meh. There must be a better non-black-tea chai out there. I wouldn’t refuse this if offered, but there are a lot of bagged teas I would choose first.

sipdown

Do your less-tea’d friends make assumptions about your tea preferences? Mine often jump to the conclusion that “You’re a tea person, so you must like chai.” So I’m usually overstocked on gifted chai versions I might not select for myself.

(That said, the thoughtfulness of a coworker who brought me this little box was a pleasant surprise during a week throughout which I have been feeling like a cranky dragon.)

This dragon breathes cinnamon, and lots of it. But as that is my favorite chai ingredient, no harm there. It’s a nice counterpoint to the rooibos, and with a little concentration, you can pick up the remaining spices. A little milk and sweetener would have improved my first cuppa, but it was pleasant and drinkable without.

February 2024 Steepster Sipdown Challenge — Your cheapest tea

2/11/24 Sunday – I tend to not discriminate and buy all kinds of tea. After all, Celestial Seasonings Bengal Spice is one of my boyfriend’s favorites.  Was trying to find some easy options for the weekend in my stash and found this unopened box. I’m always work at a hotel, but working the front desk on the weekend is not the same as my office job on the weekdays. Also, it was a nice play with the name of the tea with Chinese New Year this weekend.

I brewed three teabags in a large DT to go tumbler (using the hot water in the lobby!) and it was honestly very pleasant to sip on, enjoyed the spices (I’m a fan of ginger, and not sure if cinnamon and clove were distinct) and the fact the rooibos gave it a base as I was sipping it towards the end of my evening shift and didn’t want caffeine to keep me up.

Mastress Alita’s Monthly Sipdown Challenge
October 2022 → A de-caf/caffeine free tea

I had hoped this would be a nice option for a caffeine-free chai, but it’s not great. It has a strange taste that I can’t quite place. I can taste the rooibos and the cinnamon. Tried to finish this one but it’s just not good enough to push through. Dumping.

I had snagged these at the local Christmas Tree Shoppe when I was crafting my Christmas Tea Gifties. The tea bags were inconsistent through the box. Some were strong with cinnamon and others heavy on cardamon.
Today’s mug was heavy on cardamon and it’s the last of it. I won’t be purchasing it again. I sweetened it up with a drop of honey and enjoyed the warmth on this snowy day

One of the simplest tisanes-called-chai I’ve had, consisting of only cinnamon, red rooibos, ginger and clove. I really enjoy the cinnamon but it’s all I taste. Some rooibos in the undertone and maybe clove but I’m not sure. No ginger to be found. So it’s basically cinnamon tea with rooibos lending some color.

It is nice to have a cinnamon tea that doesn’t get a strong sweetness and all its flavor from cinnamon oil or flavoring. A little sweetness builds up while I sip the cup; a mild spiciness lingers with the cinnamon taste. There’s nothing glaringly bad about this cup and I am enjoying it for what it is, though with a name like Spice Dragon, am I wrong to want more from this?

This is tea 4/50 I bought in a Stash Assortment. Since I am not a huge chai fan, the weak taste was less of a problem for this tea. Mediocre tea not enough body.

I received a box of this for Christmas last year, and I didn’t love it, so I gave most of it away. I have two bags of this left, so I figured I’d use it up. I feel like you can taste the cinammon, ginger, and clove all quite well. I’m not sad that I have only a little of this left, but it’s not the worst. It gets more bitter/tangy as it cools. Hot, it’s decent, but don’t let it cool down too much!

I can barely taste the ginger. Tastes like warm water. bleh
Thats steeping for 3-5 min.

Just tried steeping 10 min and wow, way more flavor. Updated my rating :)