I had originally received this product in a gift box. This past afternoon I attended a Victorian High Tea ceremony with my mother and some friends. I would never have purchased this product of my own will, as I am not particularly a fan of chai tea and I do not support Lipton's mother company, Unilever. I was skeptical to try it because I have only ever had chai tea once (from Starbucks) and have not yet had the desire to do so again, however, I decided that since it was free, I might as well. When I attempted to look this product up on the LiptonTeas website, I discovered that the company no longer sells this particular product. They do carry a variation of it, called Lipton Spiced Cinnamon Chai, a name much more fitting to the flavor of this tea. The tea also no longer comes in a standard tea bag. Lipton has made the switch to pyramid tea bags and increased the quality of their products in my opinion.

When I opened the packaging, the cinnamon hit me dead on like a freight train. I was impressed by the initial strength of the aroma. It smelled like the entrance to grocery stores around Christmas time, loaded down with overpriced and strong smelling cinnamon pine cones. I always attempt to avoid stores around this time, but it was a surprisingly pleasant experience nonetheless. I brought the tea bag up to my nose and took a deep whiff, trying to get a feel for the full aroma (and hoping to catch a hint of some of the underlying ingredients, much to no avail) and my eyes began to water, the spices were so strong.

I put the teabag in a hot cup of water, heated to 210° F. I let the bag steep for approximately 3 minutes while watching the most recent episode of the Walking Dead. The bottom of the cup was immediately turned a deep redish brown color and the smell of cinnamon spread throughout the entire second floor of my house. I even attracted the attention of a friend, who left the safety of the computer room to come and investigate the strong aroma. I was impressed with how well the scent from the tea bag appeared to transfer into the cup, the taste of which was no different. After brewing, the tea was a dark reddish brown and held a strong cinnamon aroma.

My initial tasting of the tea was mildly pleasant. I tried the tea plain, with no sweeteners or cremes, and it tasted much like any traditional black tea. The taste of cinnamon only hit as an aftertaste and I was shocked. I added a bit of Perfectea German Rock Sugar that I had purchased from Teavana a while back, which seemed to accentuate the cinnamon flavor a little better. The tea had

Read Full Review

Add your own review

Login or Sign Up to comment on this review.