A sensual blend of exotic spices and rich black teas relieved of their caffeine. Tazo Tea Tazo Black Decaffeinated Chai Tea
s someone who does not drink caffeine, I am always challenged to find a great hot beverage. I picked up some of this tea on a whim because Amazon was having a special on it. I love it.
The tea is wonderfully spiced with a great aroma that makes you feel warm and cozy on a cold winter's night. And, since it's decaf, I don't have to work about it keeping me awake.
Tazo's Decaffeinated Chai Black Tea is an enjoyable chai experience for the most part. On the paper tea packet, Tazo writes, "a rich blend of full-flavored naturally decaffeinated teas and exotic aromatic spices." On their web site, Tazo describes the flavor profile of Decaffeinated Chai as "creamy, vanilla, sweet and pungent spices". Tazo describes the aroma as "sweet spice". Those are pretty accurate. The black tea "blend" is a little bitter, though, even with minimal brewing. It's a real trick to get it to brew long enough to get to experience the flavor from the spices without having the tea turn bitter.
The ingredients in Decaffeinated Chai are: naturally decaffeinated black teas, rooibos, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, chicory, cloves, black pepper, natural flavors, and star anise. It is caffeine-free!
Tazo is an interesting company that makes only super premium teas. They are socially responsible, based in Portland, and have the motto, "The Reincarnation of Tea". Tazo is owned by Starbucks. Their web site is fun and quirky, with a Zen-type focus, definitely worth checking out. It is unclear, though, from their web site, how many of their ingredients are organic or kosher, and they do use some "natural flavors" in their teas--this wording seems a little vague for a super premium tea.
I would rate this tea, and Tazo in general, as good---better than premium teas like Stash or Celestial Seasonings---but not as good as Numi. I'm soooooo spoiled by Numi teas, which is why Tazo Decaffeinated Chai gets only four stars.
