Tag: Chai Castle

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Chai Castle’s Masala Chai

Masala Chai by Chai Castle
Black Tea / Flavoured
$15.00 for 100g

Chai Castle has provided me with Masala Chai for the purposes of providing an honest review.

First Impressions

Masala Chai is one of those drinks that I can never get right on my own from scratch – I think that I’m just too heavy handed with certain spices when I try to figure it out by myself. This is primarily the reason why I leave that to the experts and use prepared blends because I never get it quite right. Chai Castle was kind enough to send me a sample of Masala Chai to try in a shiny resealable packet.

The aroma of Masala Chai is incredibly fragrant – I can make out the ginger, cardamom, and cinnamon when I take a sniff after opening the packet. I’m almost certain that I can identify all of the ingredients as well in this blend: black tea, ginger pieces, cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, fennel, and aniseed.

Preparation

Chai Castle recommends steeping Masala Chai in 100°C (212°F) water for 3 to 5 minutes. My initial steep of Masala Chai was for 4 minutes.

First Taste

Masala Chai steeps to a beautiful deep reddish-orange colour. There’s some strong fragrances from the steeped tea – primarily that of the ginger, cardamom, and ginger again. This Masala Chai has some very nice flavours. I found a good balance between the ginger and cinnamon. I find the cardamom wasn’t as strong as I usually prefer, and the fennel was very noticeable at the end of each sip.

I found that the initial steep had a nice, light sweetness to it. I brightened up the flavours a bit by adding a small bit of local honey. It helped to bring out the cardamom flavours in the tea blend.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Masala Chai once, adding an extra 30 seconds for the resteep time. I found that the flavour was pretty consistent with the initial steep, with all the flavours slightly weaker. However, the balance of the flavours held up well with being resteeped and it was palatable for a resteep.

My Overall Impression

I loved Chai Castle’s Masala Chai. I really enjoyed the flavours of the spices in this black tea blend, it really did hit the notes that I’m looking for in a chai. While the cardamom could have been a touch stronger, it was brought out by that little bit of honey that I had put into the tea, so I really did like how the flavours were susceptible to being coaxed out by a bit of sweetener. If you’re not too into sweet teas, Masala Chai does have a light sweetness to it, so the honey isn’t necessary.

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Chai Castle’s Dream of the Orient

Dream of the Orient by Chai Castle
White Tea & Green Tea / Flavoured
$8.50 for 50g

Chai Castle has provided me with Dream of the Orient for the purposes of providing an honest review.

First Impressions

Dream of the Orient was a sample pick from Chai Castle that I was really excited about. This white tea and green tea blend smells delightful – there’s a light fruity aroma and I can smell the mango and jasmine. I find the mango is the most prominent aroma with the jasmine in the background.

Dream of the Orient consists of: white tea (pai mu tan), green tea (darjeeling), green tea (fog tea, lung, jasmine jade pearls), candied pineapple, papaya, mango pieces, natural flavour, orange peels, strawberry, apricot, sour cherry pieces, and red currants. So many fruits!

Preparation

Chai Castle recommends steeping Dream of the Orient in 79°C (175°F) water for 2 to 3 minutes. I did an initial steep for 3 minutes.

First Taste

Dream of the Orient steeps to a very pale yellow after a three minute steep. The aroma is mostly fruity with a hint of floral notes in the background – that jasmine is quite strong to stand against all those fruit ingredients! The flavour of mango is quite strong, there’s some vegetal notes in the background, with the floral/jasmine notes lingering on the tongue. It makes for a nice flavour – the ingredients play nicely with the tea base.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Dream of the Orient twice, adding an extra 30 seconds per steep. The flavour remains quite well balanced with each steep. I found the fruit flavours (mango, apricot, pineapple) to be more pronounced with each steep and held up well with each steep.

My Overall Impression

I liked Chai Castle’s Dream of the Orient. I loved the mango flavour, and found that it worked really well with the jasmine and the green tea base. I would have liked for the other fruit flavours to come out a bit more – perhaps they just need to be more present to add in more sour cherry, red currants, and papaya. Dream of the Orient does resteep well, the green tea and white tea base makes for a delicious tea. I think with the fruity base, this tea would be good iced as well or cold steeped.

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Chai Castle’s Berry Blend

Berry Blend by Chai Castle
Fruit Infusion / Flavoured
$8.00 for 50g

Chai Castle has provided me with Berry Blend for the purposes of providing an honest review.

First Impressions

When Chai Castle first approached me about reviewing some of their teas, I was asked which ones I wanted to try – and honestly that kind of question makes me feel like a little kid in a candy store because I just get heart eyes about the idea of choosing teas. Berry Blend spoke to me because I’m pretty sure it was in the mid 30s (… Celcius…) that day and all I wanted was iced tea, or an ice bath. The aroma of Berry Blend really speaks to its name – it smells very fruity, you can see all the different fruit ingredients in the blend, and the aroma really reminds me of a mixed field berry jam or yoghurt.

Berry Blend came to me in one of Chai Castle’s sample baggies that are resealable. I really appreciate how clearly all the information is laid out about the teas on their labels. Berry Blend consists of: apple pieces, raisins, beetroot pieces, rose hip peels, elderberries, flavour, red currants, blackberries, black currants, and raspberries.

Preparation

Chai Castle recommends steeping Berry Blend in 100°C (212°F) water for 8 to 10 minutes. My initial steep of Berry Blend was for 10 minutes.

First Taste

Berry Blend steeps to a very bright reddish-pink, and I think we can all thank the beetroot for that amazing colour. The aroma is very fruity and still reminds me of mixed field berry jam like the dry leaf did. The flavour is sweet, fruity, with a touch of tartness that I believe can be attributed to the raspberries in the blend. The natural sweetness from the fruit is really pronounced, and I wouldn’t dare add any additional sweetener because it does not need any – and that really speaks to the ripeness of all the fruits used prior to them being dried.

I had Berry Blend both hot and iced. While it is quite delicious hot, I think it’s even better iced and that kind of mixed fruit flavour is just ideal for an iced tea.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Berry Blend, it didn’t do very well. However, I wasn’t particularly disappointed by it because most herbal or fruit infusions just don’t do well with being resteeped, since the flavours get tapped out with the initial steep.

My Overall Impression

I loved Chai Castle’s Berry Blend. Sometimes I find it rare that a fruit or herbal infusion smells the same from dry to steeped tea, and then tastes as what you’d expect it to. There’s usually something missing or less pronounced than what I’d like, but Berry Blend definitely surpassed those expectations. I agree with the 10 minute steep time, and would really recommend having this one iced because it’s so fruity and sweet. If you’re a fan of mixed field berry anything, this fruit infusion is essentially mixed field berry jam in a cup.

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