Bombay Chai - Organic
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Commercial Description
Bombay Chai tea with a melange of spicy notes conjures the steamy, aromatic delights of an Indian street market. Black tea leaves with subtle hints of pepper, orange, cinnamon, cardamom, and clove make up our chai, the Indian word for tea. Bombay Chai tea is delicious when brewed fresh and blended with heated milk and sugar to taste.
Ratings & Reviews
Page 1 of 1 page with 2 reviews
61 Aroma: 7/10 Flavor: 4/5 Value: 2/5Tchuggin' Okie (379 reviews) on Jan. 30th, 2020
I love chai overall, so they tend to skew high in my ratings unless they either simply suck, or as in this case, are "just" decent while being overpriced. [Though I was served a couple bags of this tea at a Corner Bakery outlet, I based "value" on the online pricing.] My version came in a rectangular sachet sewn on three sides with cotton thread (fancy pants!), with a sewn cotton string leading to a purple paper tag. The tea itself is something of a paper tiger.
If this was the first chai I ever tried, I'd probably like it more, and rate it higher on "value". The best experience is the dry-bag scent at the start, but because of its complexity, is misleading. To badly paraphrase Engelbert Humperdinck, the scent writes checks the flavor can't cash. I couldn't taste a lot of the base tea, and the spices were remarkably mellow compared to the best chais I've had. Mostly this was a pleasant, very drinkable, smooth beverage, heaviest on cardamom and cinnamon (two spices I do love) in taste and wet-bag aroma. The flavor doesn't have any of the "bite" or sharpness I like in chai, despite pepper and cinnamon as ingredients. I know the pepper is there, for it wafts into my nostrils during dry-bag sniffing. What happens to it thereafter is a mystery.
This isn't a bad drink, and I'd accept it if offered for free. It's just underwhelming as a chai for which one would pay actual money. A store-brand chai, Trader Joe's, is much cheaper, a *lot* richer on the base (Assam) tea, and a good deal sharper and more warming in mouthfeel.
47 Aroma: 4/10 Flavor: 4/5 Value: 2/5Alex Zorach (1448 reviews) on Feb. 12th, 2010
This tea brews a light amber color, much lighter than I had expected. Spice dominates the aroma...mostly fennel and cinnamon, with some clove and other spices. There is a much weaker black tea presence. The aftertaste suggests tarragon; this tea leaves a clean and tingly sensation in the mouth.
People who like spiced teas with a weaker tea presence might enjoy this one, but I would have prefered more black tea and less spice.
I also found this to be expensive. There's some complexity to it but it's just not strong enough for me.
Page 1 of 1 page with 2 reviews
