Perusing the ingredients label, I expected a cinnamon-heavy chai without actual tea, and that's pretty much what this delivered at every level. The list of components is astoundingly short for a Yogi blend at 6 (organic) ingredients: cinnamon bark, ginger root, cardamom pod, clove bud, black pepper, and cinnamon oil.

The dry-bag, in-cup and wet-bag aromas all were pleasantly potent, as is the case with any good chai. The taste, though pleasant and warming, was rather devoid of much beyond the quite-dominant cinnamon and the dash of pepper. Cardamom was noticeable with a little effort, but on a low level. I really couldn't detect the clove without considerable concentration, or the ginger at all. The aftertaste is decidedly more peppery than the smell or taste, but with cinnamon still jostling for supremacy, leaving a warm sensation from mouth well down into one's innards. A good deal of sediment did settle onto the cup bottom, and was visible through the translucent, tan-orange liquid.

If you want a chai experience without caffeine, this may be a suitable (if somewhat unbalanced) approximation. I'll gratefully accept this herbal blend if given, maybe buy some on deep sale. Yet I won't go out of my way to purchase it full-price, since better bagged chais with real tea are available at lower prices, and caffeine doesn't concern me.

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