The Chai Investigation

This is the tea that started it all. Well, not my love of tea, but my investigation into Teavana and discovering the world of tea, tea companies and even tea fraud. (I'll get to that in another post.)

This tea is one of my most favorites on the planet, and one I have not yet been able to replicate. Anyone who shops for tea knows that Teavana may have high quality teas and tisanes - but it comes at a price. A hefty price tag doesn't work with everyone's budgets, especially nowadays.

I have searched and searched for a comparable chai to this one because $16.20 for 25 cups of tea doesn't work. But there isn't anything like it out there.

The chai blend is amazing - spicy, cinnamony and with multiple layers of flavor. It's a complicated tea. Teavana gives you some instructions like a teaspoon of tea, brew for, what, eight minutes or so and ta-da! It's ready.

But I do my own thing. Rarely do I follow instructions when it comes to tea. I'm a tea rogue. I use at least two teaspoons for my small mug (it's a Fiestaware chocolate mug), and I (wait for it)....leave the tea infusing for the...entire length of the cup. So at the end the tea filter is soggy and pitiful looking but I am enjoying a spicy sip.

Harney & Sons has a great alternative: Hot Cinnamon Spice black tea. It's decent and I like it. But it's not the Chai blend I start every workday with...

I kept on my search, looking for a cheaper version of chai - from big companies like Bigelow (Vanilla Chai, which is decent) to smaller companies like Harney & Sons. I have yet to find a comparable alternative. So I am a slave to the Teavana corporation...like many others.

To Be Continued....