Tasting: Dona Chai

Now that we've learned all about Dona Chai, it's time to talk more about the taste! This product is easy to prepare. It can be made hot or iced by adding equal parts chai to equal parts milk of your choice. I tried it both hot and iced, with organic cow's milk. The chai tasted very similar at both temperatures, but I preferred the flavors when hot. I think warming lets everything blend better into a smoother brew. My only concern would be for health- all of that lovely cold pressed ginger would probably lose some potency during the heating process. But I'm going for flavor, so hot is definitely what I prefer. I also just like hot tea in general, I drink hot tea all throughout the summer.

The flavor in the brew is all about the ginger, strong and zingy. But it doesn't overpower, the other spices shine through as well. The flavors are very well balanced. Spicy ginger, warming cloves and cinnamon, the tingly hum of cardamom and black pepper.  Even a mellow vanilla flavor comes through, and most of all you can taste the black tea! It's rare to find a chai concentrate that let's the tea have its own voice. My one criticism is that the brew is a bit sweet for me. I do enjoy the sweetness of chai, but with a bit more subtlety.

I usually make my chai from scratch, but this is a lovely treat for lazy (or crazy) mornings. I often crave chai while I'm out, and I would order this over any other I've tried at a cafe without hesitation. I'm excited to see that at least one of my local cafes carries the brand. Keep an eye out, it's starting to pop up around Brooklyn and Manhattan! You can find all the locations here.

Spotlight: Dona Chai

I love masala chai and often make it at home. It's rare to find a pre-made or cafe created chai that doesn't disappoint, so I always have low expectations. I recently had the opportunity to try Dona Chai, a new bottled chai concentrate starting to pop up in NYC area markets and cafes. The invigorating aroma straight from the bottle smells like a homemade masala chai. After mixing with milk, the flavors are still fresh, zingy, and well balanced. This is definitely the best chai concentrate I've had, and I was eager to learn more.The founders Amy and Peter Rothstein were more than happy to answer a few questions for me, so read on to learn more about their product.


Why did you start Dona Chai?

Several months after moving to New York City, I realized that there wasn’t a local company making a chai concentrate. Especially, in coffee shops, where everything is locally driven, I saw a need for this product. I wanted to offer a local and better option for chai lattes.

Where do you source your ingredients from?

Unfortunately, my ingredients do not grow locally. I choose the next best thing: a local supplier. The owner of Dual Special Store - an Indian grocery in East Village - provides me with all of my ingredients from his Brooklyn warehouse.

Actually, fun news! I’m working on donating my compost to the Brooklyn Grange.

How did you decide on the flavors to add to your recipe?

I started with a list of around ten spices. I played around with brewing techniques and flavor combinations before landing on my recipe. I ultimately decided that I wanted to create a chai that was refined in flavor - not too complicated, and instead, perfectly balanced. What I came up with was my version of a masala chai: black tea, cold pressed ginger, cinnamon, green cardamom, vanilla bean, cloves, and black pepper.

Why did you decide on a concentrate, and not a powdered product or loose tea blend?

When baristas make chai with loose leaf blends, the tea only steeps for a few minutes before getting to the customer. Instead, Dona Chai is brewed for nearly an hour. This yields a tea that is powerful in flavor.

As far as powdered mixes, I’m not even sure how you make them! I think it’s some kind of dehydrated product that can dissolve in water. Reminds me of the chocolate milk I drank as a kid! Or Tang,

Coffee shops and markets throughout NYC. Check out my site, donachai.com, or follow Dona Chai on instagram, twitter, or facebook. All of our locations are listed on our website.

Why is the company called Dona Chai?

When I chose this name, I didn’t think that I’d have to explain the history! Most people ask if my name’s Donna.

So, I wanted to call my company something abstract, but with meaning. Dona is taken from the name Donna. My mom had a childhood doll who she named Donna.

Do you have any personal tea rituals? Are there any family tea rituals that you had growing up?

My mom makes a pot of English breakfast tea every morning. But, growing up, I remember hating tea, for the bitterness. Now, I like tea. My favorite is a sweet herbal tea during winter.

Where can we find your product?

Coffee shops and markets throughout NYC. Check out my site, donachai.com, or follow Dona Chai on instagram, twitter, or facebook. All of our locations are listed on our website.

A huge thank you to Amy and Peter for the interview! For part 2 of this spotlight, stay tuned for a formal review of their chai (spoiler: it's very tasty) later this week.

Giving Oprah's Chai a Try

You've probably heard the news that Oprah Winfrey has created her own chai blend, sold through Teavana and Starbucks. I've read a few articles and watched a video of Oprah brewing her chai. Starbucks rolled out Oprah's beverages today, so of course I had to check them out.

I can't remember the last time I was in a Starbucks. Their teas are fine in a pinch, but I don't seek them out. A friend and I headed over to our local store to try out the chai. The drink is available hot or iced as a latte or just straight tea. Canisters of the blend are also available for purchase. I decided to try the latte, since I have a hard time finding one that I like. The last time I had a chai latte at Starbucks it was far too sweet for my taste. Oprah's latte is definitely a tad less sweet, but still a bit cloying. This could be easily remedied by asking for less sugar, or even going without it completely. The regular chai latte was a bit heavy, the foam masking some of the spices. But if you don't like your chai spicy it's not a bad thing. I will say I enjoyed the spice blend used in this chai. I could distinctly taste the ginger, clove, cinnamon and cardamom. The ginger and cloves lingered on my tongue long after I finished the drink. I think the blend is supposed to have rooibos as well as black tea, but I didn't taste the rooibos. This is fine with me, since I don't prefer it.

I enjoy creating my own chai at home, where I can control the spices and sweetness. Some mornings I'll make a large pot of it and take it to work in a thermos. But I will say this chai latte will definitely do if I'm out and about, craving something a little sweet and spicy. Perhaps now you'll spot me at Starbucks more than once a year.

A small portion of each chai product sold will be donated to the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls. Of course this is great press for Oprah but it's nice to know you're doing a little bit of good while sipping your latte. Like her or not, it's wonderful that Oprah is putting tea in the spotlight. Hopefully it'll urge more folks to give it a try.

Caffe Bene

 

Caffe Bene is a South Korean coffee chain that just opened a branch in NY's busy Times Square area. Right on the corner of Broadway and 49th street in tourist/theater/office central, the place is difficult to miss. Since it's Korean chain, I was curious to see if they'd have some interesting tea and hopefully some tasty food.

Walking up to the cafe we noticed enormous coffee cup and waffle characters waving at the tourists walking by. My friends and I were turned off by this, and almost decided to keep walking. But then realized we were on a mission.  Maybe they'd have good tea!

The interior is spacious and airy, with lots of seating. The main focus appears to be coffee, but
there is 'Premium' Full Leaf Tea, Iced Tea, Iced Tea Lemonade, Green Tea Latte, Chai Tea Latte and something called a Misugaru Latte on the menu. I wanted to ask more about the teas and where they came from but a guy with a camera was focused on me while I was ordering, so I made it brief and ordered a Chai latte. He followed us around the cafe while we were making our selections, which was very annoying. I was starting to get angry but everyone behind the counter was so sweet, that I didn't want to cause a ruckus. I imagined myself on a Korean TV station with the headline 'Angry Tea Blogger Punches Cameraman'.

I was curious about the Misugaru latte, but wasn't feeling particularly adventurous. There was a sign posted near the registers giving a little more information about the roasted barley, rice, and grain powder in the drink. I may try it once the paparazzi are gone.

The Chai Latte was pleasantly sweet but not cloying. I prefer a bolder, spicier chai, but the mild spices with gentle sweetness was comforting. I could taste cardamom, but it wasn't the dominant flavor, which is a good thing. Cinnamon and a tiny hint of pepper and clove were in the background. This is a good choice for a Chai Latte if you are in Times Square.

I also had a sandwich, which was 'fine' but nothing to really mention. There was a green tea panna cotta that looked interesting, and the scones and pastries looked promising. We were really hoping for some Korean food and pastry, and not just a few pre-made sandwiches, salads and generic pastries.

The seating area is spacious and would be comfortable to sit while sipping a cup of tea, a rarity for the Times Square area. But this is only if they stop shouting 'WELCOME TO CAFFE BENE' to everyone that enters the establishment. I would have taken pictures of the decor, but I wanted to get away from the cameraman as quickly as possible.The prices were comparable to any midtown cafe. If I needed a quick cup of tea near my office, this is definitely a better alternative to the other chains in the area. But if I was willing to walk more than 2 blocks, I'd go to Argo Tea in Columbus Circle.

Caffe Bene: 1605 Broadway, NY, NY 10019
Recommended for a Quick Cup

My Favorite Masala Chai

Indian Masala Chai is such a delicious drink. I love the blend of spices with black tea, sugar, and milk. It's one of the only times that I like to add milk and sugar to my tea. Its effects are soothing yet invigorating at the same time. Perfect any time of the day, and in any weather. I prefer to drink it either alone, or after a meal since the spices can mask flavors in food. I started thinking about the many variations of the drink this afternoon, after picking up a perfect version at a local Indian take-out joint.

There are numerous blends on the store shelves, and even pre-mixed chai in containers. You can also find it at just about any corner cafe, usually billed as a 'chai latte'. I've had  many versions of masala chai, but my favorite is when I make it at home. I prefer it light on the cardamom, but strong with ginger, cinnamon and cloves. Cooking it down with milk and sugar is a must for me. I usually use this version as a guide but tweak it depending on my mood. Endless recipes exist for masala chai, and many that claim to be the most authenic. It seems that many people in India have their own favorite recipe. I love this article where filmmaker Mira Nair explains her version of the brew. This article is from a few years ago, but is actually a great little read that I often think of while drinking chai. She refers to the chai as Matka Chai, which appears to mean the type of vessel it is served in, but I'm not completely sure. If anyone knows please enlighten me.

Chai lovers, how do you make yours? Do you prefer if hot or cold? Do you use a pre-made blend, or make your own? Do you brew it in a pot with the milk and sugar, or add it separately? The flavors are versatile and even work well in everything from ice cream to cookies. Feel free to share any favorite recipes for chai tea goodies!

Chai on the parlor floor

This past weekend consisted of unpacking, moving boxes from one room to another, and cleaning our new apartment. To take a tea break, I decided to try a 'masala tea' that had been a gift from a friend who recently returned from India. I'm a big fan of masala chai, I would make it with whole spices when I had more free time on my hands. If I remember correctly, the recipe I used contained cardamom pods, a piece of cinnamon stick, a piece of ginger (when available), peppercorns, and a couple of cloves, along with black tea, sugar, and milk. I'm not sure what spices were with the tea inside the pink bag I was given, because they appeared to be ground up. According to the label there was cardamon, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, saffron, and black pepper. But the whole mixture just smelled strongly of cardamom. I should have boiled the tea and water together with milk, but I absentmindedly put the kettle on and put the tea in a strainer. So I just added the milk afterwards. I couldn't find the sugar (I thought we had unpacked all of our food?), so I added honey instead. Again, not the best choice, but it's what I had on hand, and I was eager to try the tea.

I don't know what authentic masala chai should exactly taste like, but I know how I like mine to taste. The tea basically tasted like cardamom and honey, which isn't really a bad thing, but I would have preferred a few other spices to come through. It was very thoughtful of my friend to bring back tea from India, so I'm sure I will continue to brew it. Perhaps I'll doctor it up with a few extra added spices when I have a little more time to spare.