One of my great discoveries last year was a company called Yogic Chai. They offer a wide range of interesting takes on this beverage. I recently received some new samples of their products to try and I've been looking forward to experimenting with them.
Today's chai was a Coconut Masala Chai. I had tried some outstanding coconut teas from Spotted Leopard Teas in 2008 so I was excited about this tea.
The dry leaf was gorgeous - reminded me of snow. There were dark rolled Assam leaves mixed with fine flaked coconut, pieces of clove and cinnamon sticks, dried ginger, and green cardamom. I love that this company uses Fair Trade tea and organic ingredients. Bonus points. The scent of this leaf was of cardamom and ginger. I placed 1 tsp of the tea in 8 ounces of water in a pan and brought it to a boil. For my first batch, I simmered it for 3 minutes.
The scent of the brewed tea was warm, spicy, and full of cloves. The liquor was the color of apple cider. A few sips of this tea, both sweetened and unsweetened, convinced me that I had underbrewed this tea. The flavor was too weak and bland.
I started over. I again placed 1 tsp of the tea in 8 ounces of water. This time I simmered for 4 minutes. This method produced a much better tea.
Unsweetened - I detected a very distinct ginger bite and the rich spiciness of cloves. The coconut was there, very subtly, in the background.
With 1/2 tbs maple syrup - The ginger was even more apparent. I was really tasting the elements of the masala blend. It was an excellent masala chai, but the coconut just wasn't bold enough for me.
With the maple syrup and milk - The milk simply washed out the flavors. I think I will have to try substituting some milk for some of the water in the brewing if I wish to have this with milk. Alternately, the instructions on Yogic Chai's website suggest adding 1/4 cup milk after the tea has simmered and bring it to a boil without letting it boil over.
With sugar instead of maple syrup - The sugar dampened the bite of the ginger. It provided a flavorful, yet less spicy version, of this tea.
With sugar and milk - Sweet and smooth chai. Flavorful, but it tasted a bit more like commercially sold chai drinks.
Tea: Coconut Masala Chai
Source: Yogic Chai
Type: Chai (black tea base)
Brewing details: 1 tsp in 8 ounces water in a saucepan brought to a boil then simmered 4 min.
Comment: A lovely spicy chai. I'm going to have to go back to Spotted Leopard for my coconut fix, but Yogic has still produced a nice blend.
Taken from http://teapages.blogspot.com/
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