Any Day is Tea Time - Chai Down

With all my traveling, my tea pots and posts have gotten behind.  So set the kettle on, drink up and read my latest finds!

T2 - Creamy Choc Chai and Spi Chai
(the outcome may surprise you)

First, the Creamy Choc Chai 

Ingredients:  Green tea, cocoa husk, ginger, cardamon seed, white chocolate pieces (sugar, cocoa butter, whole milk powder, lecithin), chocolate pieces (sugar, cocoa, soy lecithin), black pepper, cocoa beans, cloves, natural and artificial flavor

Looks delicious!

Fragrance:  Chocolate cinnamon brownie

Flavor:  I was surprised.  It did have a nice spice aftertaste, but not that chocolatey.  I even brewed it longer than five minutes.  Not that strong of a tea or flavor.  I don't know how it had a creamy added to the title other than the odd bits of oil shimmer floating on top. Bit disconcerting.

?!?!

Opinion:   The idea and the scent was better than the tea.  It did not taste better with the Coffeemate Sugar-Free Italian Cream, which you'd think would bring anything up to game.  Actually made it worse.  I was shooting for brownie a la mode.  #Fail

Rating:  1 for the concept...0 - not on my to buy again list.

The Spi Chai

Pretty!

Ingredients:  Cardamon, star anise, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, liquorice root, jasmine blossoms, rose petals.  (Note:  People suffering from hypertension could have issues with consumption of licorice)

Lots of huge whole star anise

Fragrance:  Wonderful!  Very complex, I couldn't stop from sniffing it.

Flavor:  Not that strong, but more on the subtle, "what is this" leaning and keeping drinking.

Opinion:  What a beautiful looking tea, with huge whole star anise!  Does Spi stand for Spice?  The rose petals give it additional sweetness.  It tastes good plain or with the coffeemate.  Because it is an herbal tisane, it is caffeine free so you can enjoy it all day.  However, if you are prone to high blood pressure, do not over drink.  Licorice can increase your blood pressure.  I am still drinking it after it has cooled so you may want to try it as iced or as an iced latte.  Seriously, it is tasting much better cool.  I may have to switch this back on my grab it list.

Rating:  3.75 ...I would consider purchasing again if needed to bump up to a certain $ amount.  But there are so many T2 teas, it will probably get pushed aside to try new ones.  What bumped it to a high 3?  It wasn't that strong, despite the sizes and amount of spices.     I will add this to the middle of my to buy list, because it did taste better as it cooled, and I like the idea of it as a spicy herbal iced latte as summer approaches.

Didn't help/Helped