Chai Baby was founded by an ex-lawyer who gave up the courtroom to focus on bringing back the masala chai of her youth, since no other purveyor seemed to get the mix done right. After long, hard research and creating blend after blend with the help of a "masterful tea blender", she arrived at the perfect concoction. Thus, the Masala Chai here is the flagship blend of Chai Baby. They have since branched out into many other interesting-sounding offerings, but surely, this is "the one", right? It should knock my socks off as being the best of the best, no? We shall see...

The first thing that irks me about this is: why is this tea not offered in loose-leaf format? On the one hand, perhaps that's a good thing, as this leaves all quality control to the "designer" and ensures the proper mixture of spices and tea. But on the other hand, it just bothers me, as a true tea connoisseur, that this is, essentially, a tea bag. There is a stigma associated with that - whether it's an old-fashioned paper-style bag or some newfangled mesh pyramid (which this one is the latter), I still can't help but think that I am getting a low quality product when it comes packaged in a bag or satchel or some other controlling method. I endured 3 cups of tea this way before remembering that I could do something about it. So what to do? Well, bust out the scissors, of course...

The aroma from the satchel is enticing, with the spices producing a pungent, fresh scent. Close inspection of the mix reveals a great concoction of spices - numerous whole cloves, chunks of cinnamon bark, hunks of dried ginger, bits of cardamom and coriander, and probably some other spices as well. The aroma was very nice - not too strong, but of apparent quality. Mixed amidst the spices are fair-to-middling sized tea leaves. Although there is a decent portion of long and wiry tightly rolled leaves, there is also a fair mix of tea leaf shake mixed in, denoting the possibility of some not-so-great-quality tea. However, for a "bagged tea" this actually appears pretty nice.

For my first few cups, I brewed up each satchel at a full boil and steeped for approximately 3 minutes. Since there were no brewing guidelines given by Chai Baby, some experimenting was warranted. The cup is quite light and balanced - an attractive coppery amber. My first reaction upon tasting this tea is that it was quite underwhelming. The flavor did not match the aromatic intensity given off by the spices. The flavor was not unpleasant, nor really watered down or weak -- just not what I had expected at all from a Masala Chai.

After a few cups of this, I came to my revelation to cut open the bag and give the leaves some breathing room. I also increased the steeping time to 5 minutes. This produced a MUCH better tea, for a variety of reasons. The freedom of the leaves allowed for more of the tea's character to come shining through. The longer steeping time was intended to bring a bit more spice into the cup, but as a result, I think it actually had the opposite effect! The longer steeping seemed to bring out more of the tea leaves, and counter-balance the spices even further. The overall result was quite pleasant -- and all the more frustrating that they coop this blend up in a satchel. I highly recommend letting this tea out of the bag. As the tea cooled, the flavor became more pronounced - sweeter and a tad spicier.

Perhaps I should cap this off with the caveat that I did not add any milk or sweetener to this tea. I am sure there are numerous die-hard Masala Chai fans out there who would think this is a travesty. Granted, milk/cream and sugar added to Chai tea is a wondrous thing, and sadly I don't have any more samplings to put this to the test, But I suspect it would enhance this already-delightful tea greatly.

Again, this is not the flavor I have come to expect from a Masala Chai. But the ultimate results are quite pleasant nonetheless, and a refreshing change from the typical overpowering spices that usually accompany such blends.

Side note: Although this tea stands up to multiple infusions, I must point out that this seems to be one of the pricier teas on the market -- $1.00 per cup. This is more expensive than almost any tea I have ever purchased, and works out to nearly $12/ounce. If you factor in shipping, you are paying $16/ounce. Ouch!! As such, they lose one full point from me in this review, as I cannot condone such a cost, and a 7.0 rating means "I would more than likely buy it again", which I would likely not at this price. Might I add that they also lose favor with me due to styling their website and products to apparently appeal exclusively to women. What, men don't like Chai tea??

— To purchase Chai, Baby! Masala Chai, or for more specific information on ingredients or the story behind this particular blend, click here to go directly to the manufacturer's web site.

Dan Teaviews.com Reviewer » Read more about this reviewer on Dan's profile page. » Find a list of recent posts by Dan.

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