Chai (White Coffee Infusion)

Starting my day off with this sample from Craig Buntin@ Teabean. This chai flavor is really unique and really interesting.

First off, this is the first coffee-chai I’ve ever tasted. Second, it’s the first tea infused with coffee beans – black or white, regardless – that I’ve ever tasted. I had no expectations, although I was hoping for a spicy chai.

For a bagged tea, this chai brews up strong and bold. My first sip was full of coffee-flavor – the “good” parts of coffee, no bitterness and no heartburn for me. ;) In my second sip I tasted more spice and more nutty-flavor. I can’t tell which kind of nut (peanut or hazelnut), but it doesn’t matter – it’s a good flavor and utterly unique.

It’s not as spicy as other chais, but I don’t think that’s a bad thing in this case. Normally I frown on mild chais, but this one is different. Too much spice would take away from the coffee and nutty flavors. As it happens, all three flavors blend together happily.

Brewing time doesn’t seem to be an issue. I left the tea bag in for the remainder of my cup and from the first sip to the last drop, the taste was the same.

However, I’m not sure how to rate it. I really enjoyed my cup and plan on purchasing more in the future, but I can’t compare this to any other chai or even tea for that matter.

All I can say is that this is a terrific new spin on chai. Fans of chai, you’ll love this take, even if you don’t normally like coffee. Fans of hazelnut will enjoy this infusion as well.

Can’t wait to try other infusions by Teabean! This is a great new concept. Oh, and stay tuned to my blog, keenteathyme.blogspot.com; I will be featuring the company soon. :)

I really liked this tea. It is certainly very unique and fun. I love trying new products like this. It tastes like nothing I have ever had before. Although it does have distinctive chai and coffee tastes. It is lightly sweet, lightly spicy, and has a light coffee taste (without the bitterness), but that is not to say that it is light on flavor. If you get a chance to try this product out, I definitely would. Especially if you like coffee but aren’t really crazy about the bitterness.

I have a longer review with photos here: http://apurpledress.wordpress.com/2011/04/22/white-coffee-infusion/

This is another “tea” that I found after organizing my cupboard and I decided it would be perfect as my morning beverage. I used to be a coffee addict and I still drink coffee occasionally so I was excited to give this a try. It isn’t often that you see baked coffee beans rather than roasted ones. After brewing, this is super smooth with a kick of cinnamon. I love the aftertaste of this – it is a milder coffee taste than you get from drinking a cup of coffee but with a definite bakey flavor that I usually only find in certain black teas.

I’m quite liking this and I hope that the caffeine will help me to get going today!

Finally, I am trying this. My fear has been overcome by my desire to use up samples. I am still afraid, however. My pyramid satchet let out a lot of dust while steeping, even though I shook it out before hand. The contents looked oddly like crushed peanuts, and it has an unusual smell which I can’t quite place and honestly don’t really appreciate. It’s almost air freshener-esque. It smells very dry which might not make sense to many, but it does, I swear! The liquor is pale yellow and still leaves me uneasy…

First sips are surprising. Very different taste than smell. I get a weak chai flavour at first, but then a smoky flvour starts to build and dominates the sip, leaving a smoky mouthfeel. This smokiness intensified over the course of the cup and really dominates my impressions of the ‘tea’ as the smoke remains even after I’m done drinking – I really feel it in the back of my throat. I assume this is the coffeebean coming out. I don’t mind it, but I don’t particularly enjoy it. It almost makes me feel like I’ve been smoking, and my throat is a bit tickly. Probably my mind playing tricks on me… As a non-coffee drinker, I don’t really appreciate what I perceive as the ‘coffee bean’ flavour. To be fair, I am more than a non-coffee drinker, I’m a coffee hater, but this isn’t like standard coffee.

I am certainly capable of drinking this mug, but I don’t think I would do so again. I have one other satchet as well, and I think I will gift that along to a coffee and tea drinking friend. I appreciate the ingenuity of this and I have never tasted anything like it before, but unfortunately it is just not my thing. Also, this does not hold up well to a light steeping time at all. The packet says 5 to 10 minutes and it means it.

My biggest complain/concern? The dust. I hate powdery or dusty teas/tisanes/whatever we want to call it. I shook off a lot of dust and I still see a lot of sediment in my cup as well as the floaty stuff. I know that crushed spices, etc will cause a certain amount of powder, but I find it very unpleasant aesthetically and calls to mind cheap Tetley bags (even though this is nowhere near that level of ‘quality’).

I’m finally getting around to try one of my samples from Teabean. Every time I would go for it I recalled I had my one cup of coffee for the week. Yes this is also a tea, but I refused to lose a bet with my brother. Anyway…this is a really interesting blend of tea and coffee. In fact it might be the only way I ever drink coffee again.

I’m getting a hint of the chai flavoring. Really picking up the cloves, which I find a nice touch, but not overpowering. As others mentioned there is a lot going on in my cup here. All I can really say is I love it and may have to place an order! Hopefully this give me enough of a kick to get me through my last hours of Reunion related duties!

I got this in the mail the day prior to an early early morning shift. I only ended up sleeping two hours that night. So, before heading to work, I went for something stronger than tea. le gasp! Thankfully, this is close enough to tea to be justifiable. It possesses a wood-sweet front, a distinctly masala chai-ish middle, and a smooth/cooling finish. It reminded me of sweetened dandelion coffee, only lighter and spicier. A “coffee” I could easily drink again. (If only it had fennel, though. [le sigh])

Full Review: http://www.teaviews.com/2011/05/09/review-teabean-white-coffee-infusion/

I was so excited when this tea arrived in my mail box. It was a great way to start off the morning for my last day of my second year of College!

Are you looking for a way to stay up and feel inspired throughout the night and day? Are you looking for a healthy way to do so? Look no further. I think this tea idea is absolutely brilliant. It’s the perfect warm cup of tea and will definitely attract a wide range of consumers – Coffee & tea lovers. I prepared my tea with no milk or sugar and it was a nice soothing beverage that easily slid down my throat.

When you first open the package, it smells delectable. The innovative transparent pyramid tea bag offers the largest volume for the tea to unfurl releasing it’s rich, smooth flavor. My boyfriend tried some too and is currently off to purchase some online because of how natural the taste is. We’re both big fans.

It is definitely a perfect cup of tea for sitting down and having a deep conversation.

I tried a sample of this tea today. It has a nice chai flavour. It also has a nice, non-bitter, coffee flavour. If you enjoy chai tea, you should try this one.

I can honestly say that this is the best coffee bean-based beverage I’ve ever tasted.

Admittedly, this infusion is my first experience with white coffee as well.

The chai is spicy — not my favourite chair ever, but still quite a good brew. The scent is a little strong for me, but the same can be said of some chai teas as well, and I love them just the same. Perhaps not my favourite beverage in existance, but saying how well this rates against anything else coffee I’ve had EVER, this is a huge success in my books.

Alas, I am confused. I don’t really know what this is. Chai Coffee tea! Baked Coffee beans so it doesn’t taste like coffee. It actually doesn’t. I get Chai.. and I’m not sure what else.

On another note, I actually got this sample from Craig Buntin himself last summer and forgot about it until I discovered it today (perhaps past the freshness peak). Story is he showed up for one of my Marketing classes and asked for help with marketing the product. It’s a pretty interesting concept but I think I would still need to be convinced that this is a “premium” product.