The Wonder of Chai

My absolute favorite tea is Masala Chai. If you go to India and just ask for chai you will just get tea. If you ask for Masala Chai you will get a wonderful blend of black tea and a variety of spices. The spices most often used include cinnamon, cloves, and cardamon. (Other spices can be added, but later in the blog.) These added to black tea give a wonderful, aromatic adventure in the taste of another world. The first time I had chai ( I am simply going to call it that for quickness....) it was iced with milk and sugar. Little did I know it was even better hot.

Over the years I have attempted to widen my horizons with different brands of chai. Some are good, some are not. I am still trying to find the perfect combination before I start making my own.

• Celestial Seasonings: (Bags) This is actually pretty good, but it can be somewhat weak. I like mine fairly robust with lots of flavor. If you brew it, don't let it brew longer as that makes it bitter (true of any black tea), but rather brew with more bags. The spices are discernable but not overpowering.
• World Market Brand: (Loose) Masala Chai This is packaged by Costco for WM stores and is their brand. Not bad, but again a little weak. I think making chai for the American Market is like making curry recipes - don't make it too strong, Americans don't like strong tastes. (When I make curry and the recipe calls for 1T I usually use 2 - 3T.)
• Honest-T: (Bags) Kashmiri Chai Again, I like it, but brew it a little stronger. IT is better than some, not as good as others. If I am not mistaken, it is organic.
• Twinning: (Bags and loose) It is difficult where I live to find loose tea and I much prefer it to the bags. Much better quality. Anyway, the loose is much better than the bag here. With the loose you can see the spices and the leaves are fuller and not the 'fannings' one finds in bags. I guess Twinnings would be my second most favorite.
• Mawker: Mexican Chai I visit the produce market in Dallas when I can and it is here I found a small family owned tea/coffee company. They blend their own teas. Some chai have a bite from pepper added to the mix. I like bite. Unfortunately, this has more bite than I like. Sorry, too much pepper. I know, Mexican is spicy, but I do like to be able to taste the tea and other spices and not just the pepper. (They have a website if anyone wants to order and try - http://www.mawkercoffee.com/)
• OregonChai: (Bags) I found this one at Marshall's - on sale - and it is good. Organic and robust. The bags are not the usual paper flow-thru. They are the nylon pyramid bags. These allow the tea to seep much better because they are not restricted to just 'sitting' in the water. In the past OregonChai has come in the concentrate and in the mixes. Now it is in the bags. Much better control over taste. The spices are very apparent and very visible. I would have to rate it up there with Twinnings.
• Boston: (Bags) Now, I really like this one. It is not weak as many other bag teas become. It holds its flavor well and gives good aroma whether as latte or not. I have tried several of their flavored teas and they are really quite good.

Okay, these are the ones I have tried so far, still looking for more. And this is just personal preference. And I like mine latte, but don't use anything less than 2 percent. Some people will like different ones. Just thought you would like to know. And the more I think about it, the more I would have to put my 3 favorites so far on an even footing.

As to the spices I have also seen some with ginger, nutmeg, vanilla bean. I will have to try those. One thing, if you are going to make your own make sure you use a good brand of black tea.

While on the subject of Chai. Try using the mix to make chai cookies, or chai tea loaf. GOOD!!

So long for now. Time for a spot of chai.

P.S. Almost forgot, I have also tried some flavored chais, but they, to me, take away from the basic flavor of the original spices. More later.