May 01
Dan’s Teaview Snapshot
 | "An Indian Green tea with generous almonds and varied spices - but overall too gentle to be categorized with other spiced chais. A nice nightcap with a bit of milk and sugar."
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Tavalon is a cool company that I discovered via this very website. They are a hip little boutique outfit out of Manhattan, with a passion for music as well as tea: a philosophy mirrored by my own vices.The most notable thing about this Kashmiri Chai blend is the omnipresence of giant almond slices. In addition to this generous helping of nuts are some of the usual suspects you would expect in a chai spice blend: ginger, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, clove, safflower, and (of course) cardamom. I've seen other Kashmiri Chai blends and this one is visually the most interesting - and impressive. It just *looks* like it's rife with high quality ingredients. Although a typical spiced chai is centered around a strong black tea, this varietal is based with an Indian green tea.
During the brew, the tightly-rolled dark leaves unfurl to reveal a more blanched green leaf. After the brew time was up and I was left with the tea remnants in my brewer, seeing all those delectable almonds just lying there, going to waste... I couldn't resist: I had to fish them out of the mix and munch on them. This makes for an added bonus treat with this mix: if you enjoy almonds, as I do, they are delightfully infused with spices from the added Chai ingredients and make for a whimsical mini-snack while waiting for your brew to cool to drinking temperature.
The tea itself was a bit of a surprise. I had expected the spices to come shining through, but in fact they are quite subdued. The odor from the dried mix is almost a milky, nutty, sweet aroma, but also subtle, so perhaps this was fair notice. As most spiced chais are meant to be enjoyed with significant portions of milk and sugar, I added a splash of each to my second cup, and it was much more enjoyable. The subtle flavors were significantly enhanced with just the slightest touch of sugar and milk. Overall though, this is still a very subtle spiced chai when compared with virtually every other chai I have tasted. As such, it doesn't rank very high up on my list - when I want a spiced chai, I want something bold with a true spice kick. The flavors here are nice enough, but too gentle for the chai category. Unsurprisingly, the almonds take a good percentage of the flavor, which is enhanced greatly by the addition of milk for a creamy, nutty delight. Perhaps part of the "problem" is that I taste-tested this tea first thing in the morning, when in reality it would make a sublime nightcap.
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