Comfy Chai

Last week was its usual mad rush leading up to Christmas.  It just doesn't seem possible that everything will get done before disappearing off for the break.

To help get me through I love the smells and taste of Christmas such as cinnamon, mixed citrus peel, cloves and mixed spices.  So, on Friday I did something I haven’t done for a long time. I bought a chai latte.

Now, as much as I occasionally begrudgingly accept the sugary confection that forms most chai lattes today (which incidentally don’t actually have any tea in them – just sugar and flavours), I infinitely prefer something that has some basis in tea. This one was made with chai tea from T2.

I have, in the distant past, when I was a huge fan of chai, attempted on many occasions (working through about two boxes of chai) to make a good tasty chai latte. Unfortunately this skill continues to evade me to this day. It is always too strong (and bitter) or too weak or too watery or too milky. I just can’t get the right balance. So I decided some things are best left to the professionals.

Downstairs at my local work café I noticed they had the T2 chai available as a latte. I felt like a comforting blast from the past.

It was perfect. Sweet but not sickly like many of today’s chai lattes. Spicy but not too spicy like may of the leaf-based chais. It had the perfect amount of milk so that it was flavoursome but still milky. Yum!

So bravo to anyone out there that has perfected the elusive chai latte! But if, like me, you haven’t, when you can find somewhere that does a good leaf-based chai, don’t let them get away!

Super Spearole

Tea blends come in all tastes and remedies.

Dr Red's Spearole Tea falls into the remedy category.

Apparently scientific tests have been done on this tea which proves that provided you drink enough of it, you can eat whatever you want and not get fat!  Now wouldn't that be super!

Somehow I imagine that you would have to drink so much that you wouldn't actually ever be hungry and that's how the effect would work...just a theory.

Anyway, on my mother's recommendation I picked up a packet of this new miracle tea.

For tea, it is actually pretty expensive. At my local health food emporium, 150gm sets you back almost $30.

I open the foil bag and take a huge whiff - smells like chewing gum.  The spearmint kind.

It is actually a blend of gunpowder green tea, olive leaf, spearmint oil, olive skins, grape seeds and spearmint spouts.

I pop a teaspoon full into my infuser after letting my boiling water cool a bit.  After a minute, I whip out the infuser and inhale deeply.  It smells, nose-clearingly like spearmint.  Yum!

The taste is quite strong and quite astringent.  It is a darker colour green tea.  It has the lovely minty finish which is rather nice.  Maybe suitable for a little after dinner tipple for those of a healthier disposition.

I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it either.  It was a little strong for my liking and I imagine if you left the leaves in for longer than a minute, the astringency would deck you.  I don't know if it is really endowed with magical waist-whittling powers but it is a good one if you like a strong green.

Dr Red also does another tea blend called Purple Carrot Tea.  I think I'll have to work my way up to that one.