Kimberley's Kyusu

Hey there Teacups! I’m back today with another instalment of my Let’s Talk Tea series this time around I’m going to be reviewing Aura Chai’s Original Masala Chai which is blended by hand in my home city of Manchester. Aura Chai are working so hard to bring authentic chai into the world of tea and in doing so they have created two chai blends an original one and a chocolate one that are all natural, completely vegan and free of any added sugars. I came across their account of Instagram by accident (that’s how I’ve found a lot of tea companies and tea events lately – god bless Instagram) but I’ve very happy that I found it and they wanted to collaborate with me for this series.

Dry Leaves

Sweet – Spicy – Malty – Fragrant – Heart Warming

Ingredients: Black Tea, Black Peppercorns, Pink Peppercorns, Green Cardamom, Cloves, Ginger, Cinnamon Bark, Fennel Seeds, Star Anise & Nutmeg. (Vegan Friendly – I made mine with Oatly barista milk which I think is the best milk alternative out there for hot drinks)I wish you all had smell-o-vision because its hard to put into words just how extraordinary this blend smells. I opened the packet and instantly my living room was filled with such a heart warming sweet & spicy aroma. I never normally judge a blend purely on its aroma but from the moment I first smelt this without even tasting it I knew I was going to love it. Aura Chai needs to make candles that smell exactly like this blend because I would honestly buy thousands of them. If their chocolate chai latte smells anywhere near as great as this one does I’ll be ordering vast amounts as soon as my tea buying ban is over.

(For this tasting session I used 1 small non-stick sauce pan a half and half mix of Oatly barista milk and water, my T2 Double Walled glass and 1 teaspoon of honey and 2 level dessert spoons of the chai mix – Tried both hot and iced) – (If any of you want me to write a post all about the way I prepare a tea lattes let me know it’s a post I would love to write if enough of you want to see it)

Tea Tasting Notes

This is by far the BEST chai I have ever tried you all know how much of a chai enthusiast I am and just how many different ones I have tired in the last few months so you know just how much of a big deal it is for me to say that this is by far the best and most authentic chai I have had in my entire life. It’s blended impeccably, and both the spices and the tea are given their time to shine and they thrive together almost strengthening each other’s flavours. I did what I would normally do with chai and tried this hot done on the stove top (of course) but because I’ve being drinking a lot of iced chai recently I thought I would experiment and see if it was just as amazing iced as it was hot.After trying this both hot and iced I would say that while it is amazing either way I think I enjoy it just a bit more when it’s iced the spices just seem to come through a bit stronger when it’s iced, and I love that. Also, when it’s iced a natural sweetness comes through which wasn’t present at all in the hot latte that I made and meant that I had to add a little honey to round it out. As much as I love to add a little honey to lattes I make it was nice for a blend to be naturally sweet enough that I didn’t have too. Hats off to Aura Chai for getting creating such a flawless chai latte blend it’s going to take something pretty incredible to knock this off of my top spot and I think it’s safe to say that I’m very excited to try their chocolate chai latte blend because if their original blend is anything to go by it’s going to be astonishing.

Overall Teacup Rating: 5/5

If you want to find out more about AURA Chai and purchase their latte blend for yourself, you can do both here. As always Teacups if you have any questions at all either stick them in the comments or send them to me on Twitter/Instagram @teaisawishblog and I’ll answer them all as soon as I can.

Speak to you all again soon. Happy Steeping – Kimberley