Tasting Notes
Malty black tea with peppery spice and a deep earthiness. This tea infuses to a deeply aromatic and richly spiced cup.
Quantity
Use 0.1 oz of leaf per 5.5 fl oz of water (2.5g per 150ml).
Temperature
For the optimum infusion use 185°F (85°C) water.
To serve with milk, infuse at 100°C/212°F.
Time
Infuse for 1 - 2 minutes and taste regularly to find your optimum infusion time.
Infusions
You can infuse these leaves at least twice. With each careful infusion, different subtleties of flavour are revealed.
Cost Per Cup
27¢ per cup based on 0.1 oz of leaf per 5.5 fl oz of water and 2 infusions.
If you want to make your Golden Chai, latte style - we recommend making a strong two-minute infusion of 60ml of boiling water with 2.5g of tea and then adding hot full fat milk.
You could also try infusing the tea in hot, full fat milk - fat carries flavour and is delicious - heat 2.5g of tea per 150ml of full fat milk until just below simmering point, infusing until it reaches the required strength. You might want to sweeten with a little honey or sugar.
Origin & Craft
This tea was inspired by a great friend and benefactor of Rare Charity - Lehka Sing.
The black tea base is a single estate, hand-crafted tea from Satemwa in Malawi. To this we have combined our unique blend of spices – ginger, green cardamon, black pepper, cloves, and cinnamon. To guarantee the spice mix is as fresh as possible, it is blended by hand in small batches.
To elevate this Chai to its ‘Golden’ status, we’ve added whole pieces of Indian turmeric from Sikkim. It is sourced from small holder farmers in the foothills of the Himalayas. The state is entirely organic, and the turmeric has a unique depth of taste and power from this unspoiled terroir.
Turmeric (Curcuma longa)
"Curcumin (diferuloylmethane) is a yellow pigment present in the spice turmeric (Curcuma longa) that has been associated with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, antiviral, and antibacterial activities as indicated by over 6,000 citations. In addition, over one hundred clinical studies have been carried out with curcumin."
Some research suggest it is best ingested with pepper to bring out its full benefits, making our peppery masala chai the perfect medium for a delicious and beneficial tea.
