Ingredients: White Tea, Ginger Root, Lemon Grass, Cinnamon Bark, Pineapple Pieces, Cloves, Dried Coconut, Cardamom Pods, Red Peppercorn, Apple Pieces, Natural Spice Flavor, Natural Cinnamon Flavor
Steep Time: 3 minutes
First Sip Thought: “Very different.”
Smell: It certainly smells like a typical chai but with a tropical twist. Pepper being the strongest here next to cinnamon, a sweet apple scent and toasty coconut join in.
Taste: I’m not sure what I was expecting when first going in to try a chai with a white tea base. All I knew was that with my recent masala chai kick, I was into anything and everything that had the typical spices added. This is definitely a funky twist on a classic tea. Given the tea base, I decided to not add milk and sugar as I normally would for a chai. It is a pale steep but the white tea is evident and I find it to be rather light and refreshing. I do think with a more delicate tea used here, it gives the spices the opportunity to shine. I was very impressed with the peppercorn appearing to be the star of the spice flavours. A nice sweetness was given through each sip from the additional fruit pieces as well. While this White Chai was enjoyable on many levels, I would prefer my usual with a black tea base for a much stronger cup made the traditional way. However, this white chai was great straight.
Verdict: 3 out of 5 tea leaves