India is known for their chai teas. So, when I saw that Teabox had a handful of chai blends, I was very excited, especially since none of them had cinnamon (which gives me a headache). I will be trying three blends – one green, and two blacks. Let’s jump in!
Tulsi Green Chai
Description: “Like a medieval gruit; strong yet embracing.”
Review: When trying new blends, I do my best to not look at what the ingredients are because I don’t want it to colour my feelings. However, since most of the blend contained “tulsi,” and I’ve never tried it before, I wasn’t sure what to expect.
The dry blend was made out of small little pieces and had an earthy aroma. The earthy fragrance remained with a hint of mint after steeping. It reminded me slightly of medicine.
The liquor was a dark orange, with an earthy and floral fragrance. This blend had a very strong taste and not one that I am fond of. It tasted earthy, medicinal, with a hint of savoury. However, the liquor was smooth and I didn’t taste any astringency which was a plus. I found that the tulsi tasted too strong for me. The label did recommend adding honey and lemon, but I’m not sure if that would help (1/5 rating).
- Type: Green tea
- Origin: Unknown
- Caffeine: Low
- Ingredients: Green tea, rama tulsi, krishna tulsi, vana tulsi
- Other: Organic
- Company: Teabox
Bombay Cutting Chai
Description: “For a soul-warming, wholesome sip on balmy day.”
Review: I’m not sure if this is why the blend is called ‘Bombay Cutting’ but, it reminded me of grass sprouts and seeds in the dirt, so, maybe after a lawn cutting? Despite it reminding me of grass, the dry blend actually smelled heavily of ginger and fennel. It tickled my nose smelling the blend!
To continue with the dirt analogy, the wet blend clumped together and was a dark chocolate brown. The dark brown liquor had a rich earthy and cardamom taste. The liquor was slightly murky. However, I found that the cardamom overwhelmed the other flavours (3/5 rating).
- Type: Black tea
- Origin: Unknown
- Caffeine: Medium
- Ingredients: Black tea, ginger, fennel, cardamom
- Company: Teabox
Spice Sparkler Chai
Description: “Exploding with spicy flavors, this chai breathes new life to a balmy day.”
Review: This blend lived up to the description of being very spicy since it had a very strong cardamom and peppery smell. It also smelled slightly savoury. As with the Bombay Cutting Chai, the blend tickled my nose and made me sneeze because of the spices.
The savoury component of the blend came through in the aroma, with some earthiness. The reddish-orange liquor tasted strongly of cardamom and pepper with tail notes of ginger. Of all the chais teas that I have tried from Teabox, this had the strongest flavour (3/5 rating).
- Type: Black tea
- Origin: Unknown
- Caffeine: High
- Ingredients: Tea, ginger, cardamom, black pepper, red pepper
- Company: Teabox
Final Thoughts
Aside from the first one, I enjoyed the other two. Especially since I don’t always get to drink chai teas because they contain cinnamon. I’m not the biggest chai fan, so if you want something without cinnamon, maybe give these a taste!
