Chai Bright

Assam tea is the biggest, brightest, richest and most astringent tea made. It is the backbone to breakfast style teas of nearly all brand and quality although it is also used in many blends for body and top notes. Assam is less floral and has more bread or biscuit-like flavor than other origins, and is often described as malty or coppery.

The Dimbula region is directly opposite the Uva region in Sri Lanka. Dimbulas are often called “Westerns” in the tea trade. They have a reddish amber color in the cup, with a medium to full body, slightly fruity flavor and mineral notes. Ceylon Dimbulas are often used in medium bodied blends, Earl Grey formulas and other flavored teas. The best Dimbula teas are produced from December to February.

The original Lapsang, the most sought after smoked tea in all of China. Delicate and wiry black tea leaves are smoked with pine boughs for a complex and full yet smooth experience.

Ginger, used in many cultures to enliven food and drink, is also known for its healthful qualities. A light stimulant, it can treat cold symptoms and sore throat. Ginger is cultivated most prominently in India, China, Indonesia and West Africa. After the plant flowers and the leaves die off, the roots are dug, washed, peeled and sun dried. Ginger’s spicy-sweet flavor adds spark and complexity to our Big Hibiscus.

Often called cinnamon, cassia is a spice with a significantly different flavor profile than true cinnamon. Grown in subtropical climates, its taste varies widely by origin, and quality is judged by the volatile oil content. In Kerinci in Sumatra, cassia bark is stripped and dried year round from a revolving crop of 10 – 12 year old trees that are continuously replanted. Cassia is sweet, hot and spicy and adds fragrance to our chai blend.

Known as the “King of Spices,” the best black pepper is grown in southern India near Cochin. The berries of the perennial black pepper vine are harvested when unripe, then sun-dried until they blacken. Quality is determined by oil content and appearance. Black pepper is spicy, pungent and often has a light salty characteristic—an important feature in chai blends. After the black pepper has been harvested, it is steam distilled to produce the essential oil.

Dried orange peel is a by-product of the most commonly grown fruit in the world. It has long been coveted in cooking and natural medicine for its bright flavor and health properties. When used in a tea application, dried orange peel adds body and subtle citrus notes that often bring balance to blends.

Mace is a spice made from the lacy red aril that surrounds the seed of the Myristica fragrans tree. Once dried, it naturally curls into delicate blades and develops a warm, aromatic flavor with notes of cinnamon and pepper. 

Cloves come from the dried flower of a subtropical evergreen tree that can grow to heights of 40 feet in Madagascar, Southern India, and Indonesia. Dried in the sun, these buds become their signature dark reddish black. Cloves are highly aromatic and are used in mulling spices, cooking, and enlivening various tea blends.

Seductively fragrant, with floral notes and a menthol bite, cardamom is a bush in the ginger family that grows to 10 feet high. Popular in Persian and Indian cooking, it is also widely used in tea and chai blends. We believe the best is produced by indigenous Mayan farmers in Alta Verapaz, Guatemala. Its pale yellow flowers turn into clusters of cherries that are dried. These whole green pods or the dark seeds inside are removed to spice tea.