I drink variations of chai all year round, but it's in fall and winter that I really get in the mood for nice spicy teas, something a little richer to shield me from the cold outside. In preparation, I ordered Adagio's Chai Sampler, looking forward to its unique spectrum of chai.
Adagio's Masala Chai is a Ceylon black tea with cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, whole cloves, and other spices. I love the inclusion of ginger in chai, because it gives the tea a completely different profile of spiciness than the more traditional peppercorns, more broad than sharp. This masala also has an almost woody taste, like the cinnamon bark was still in my cup. It almost reminds me of mulled cider in the combination of spices. It leaves the tongue slightly tingling.
I have had two cups now of this tea without milk and sugar, and decided to try adding a little bit of rock sugar and vanilla almond milk, to see how things changed. Depending on the tea, additives can either mask the flavor, or enhance different flavors than in the plain liquor. In this case, the milk lessened the tingling sensation, and masked the woody flavor.
This tea would not be my choice for an everyday beverage, as the flavors linger for quite awhile. But I think it would be a good tea to bring out around the holidays, perhaps to cut the sweetness of endless numbers of holiday cookies.
