Coconut Chai Black Loose Leaf Tea

It’s really cold and windy today, so I’m continuing with my chai quest.

Thank you jeweledthumb for sending me a sample of this one.

This is really good, nice light chai with just a hint of coconut notes. I’ve tried a few Zhena’s Gypsy Tea’s now and have been impressed with them. This isn’t complicated, it’s really good,“everyday” chai.I would be perfectly happy drinking this anytime. Will keep my eyes open for it out there. :))

I followed the instructions to the “T” even though 4 tsp in my 16oz steeping mug seemed a little ridiculous for a chai.

It was pretty good but got a little bitter towards the end of the mug. I probably could have gone with less leaf. It resteeps pretty decently but might be because there was so much leaf.

Still, I can’t complain much since I got the jar for all of $4.99 the last time World Market put all of their tea on sale (50% off yay). It’s pretty freaking adorable, it’s glass and comes with a little scoop!

This was my first loose leaf tea and it’s sadly unimpressive. The black tea is very bitter and doesn’t have much body and the coconut is overpowered by the other spices in the flavor. I felt like I was drinking more of a diluted black tea with cinnamon water no matter how long I steeped it. All in all it’s not really worth the price and many chai flavored bagged teas are better than it.

I really love Cost Plus World Market’s coffee (the pumpkin seasonal one is divine!), so when I first got into loose leaf tea and saw they had a bunch of jars of tea, I figured I couldn’t go wrong with any of their offerings. Ultimately, I grabbed this Coconut Chai. I haven’t quite hit the best by date on it yet, but I’m getting close, it’s been so many years and I’m still trying to finish it off, I dislike it that much. It is a really weak chai. The base of the tea even looks weak in the cup, and there is just something that tastes sort of… chalky or barky about it. It just doesn’t have a nice, smooth blend of spices like other chais I’ve been spoiled by, and for a coconut chai, it doesn’t even have coconut in it! The coconut notes are only imparted through flavoring. Would adding some coconut flakes have been too much to ask for in a coconut chai blend? There is a mild spiciness to the cup, but the whole thing is just underwhelming. In order to finish it off, I’ve mainly been massively overleafing the brew and making it by the quart iced, and then adding a bit of vanilla almond milk and coconut milk creamer to actually give it some coconut flavor. It’s still not the most exciting chai latte, but it is tasty enough to drink (the coconut creamer is a definite improvement!)