Exploring more bagged tea options, this blend was what ended up next on my list. I decided to try it on an unseasonably pleasant day, figuring the cinnamon would make it too warming to enjoy in the high summer temperatures we’ve had.
Tazo’s Cinnamon Chalet is a rooibos blend, something I’m incredibly grateful for, since something came up right in the middle of brewing my tea and I didn’t get back to it until well after the five minute maximum recommended brewing time. Fortunately, rooibos holds up well to over-steeping, and without tannin, my cup of tea wasn’t bitter–just incredibly orange.
The fragrance of this blend is overpowered by cinnamon, making it hard to pick up any hint of the other ingredients. Despite the advertised mix of rooibos with apple, cranberry, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger and clove, most of these flavors fall by the wayside. Cinnamon is the most pronounced, followed by a strong flavor of sweet apple. Cranberry provides a pleasant tartness that helps offset the cinnamon, but I didn’t find it quite enough to balance the flavors to my liking.
The cardamom was a subtle tone beneath the cinnamon, but mostly invisible. I didn’t notice the taste of ginger or clove at all, nor did I detect them in the aroma.
Since cinnamon isn’t high on my list of preferred spices, I cut my cup with a bit of milk and found the flavor much improved and better balanced. The sweetness of the apple was a little more pronounced, while the cinnamon settled to more of a warming taste than the biting flavor it bore when I tried this tea straight. This would be a pleasant drink to serve in cooler fall days, especially if served with coffee cake.