I have been trying these different tea blends from the TeaBox Verve GiftBox I received. It is a super amazing gift box, with a different tea blend for each day. The packaging steals my heart, it is the best thing about the box, apart from the lovely blends inside, of course! Teabox, go on, take a bow.

So, last Thursday, I sat down to try their blend prescribed for a Thursday – the Kesar Delight Chai. I personally am good with saffron, it wouldn’t be my favorite flavor, but I do find it refreshing and nice. I could say I am somewhere above neutral for saffron. So, when I took out this blend, I was eager to know how kesar and chai would sit together in my cup. When someone says Kesar to me, I can think of only two things – ice cream and fairness creams. Ice creams, because, as a kid, I have seen dad love Rajbhog ice cream, and since I wanted to be like him, I would order whatever he was eating. Fairness creams because our advertisements have hammered it into my head, that Kesar is a must ingredient to go fair, which is very important in this country.

Back to my tea, the Kesar Chai Delight. The Kesai Chai Deligth is a delightful white tea blend, and TeaBox says, and I agree, it is quite ceremonious. Saffron is a royal ingredient, isn’t it? This blend is an exotic medley of pure saffron, delicate white tea and tangy lemongrass. The very first sip of the cup, even the aroma, is a burst of flavors. The saffron and spring flowers make up the top aroma. The taste of the tea starts out as a bit spicy, followed by a sweet aftertaste of maple syrup, and the tangy lemongrass kicks in at the end and fills up the senses. The finish is sweet and smooth. It is low on caffeine and best consumed hot.

The chief ingredients of this blend are lemongrass, chamomile and saffron. The dry leaves are dry and woody with a heavy scent of chamomile flowers. The leaves are greenish-black and tippy. One could also notice bits of lemongrass and whole petals of saffron and chamomile.

The infusion prepared for this blend has a heady ascent of lemongrass and one can also feel notes of a flowery perfume. The infusion is black with beautiful hues of bronze.

The chai liquor is an iridescent orange with a sweet aroma, akin to a floral perfume with notes of roses, lily and tulip, with just a hint of saffron that flirts with the senses. It has a mild sweet taste with notes of saffron and a hint of lemongrass.

I did not add any condiments to the tea, and had it plain, without milk and hot. It would best be had in the evening, after say a long day at work. It is a very refreshing tea without being too sweet, has a great aroma, a unique flavor profile and a smooth body. It could get a little bitter if oversteeped, I made sure I steeped it only once. It could be had as a dessert tea or just as a standalone calm evening sip. A white chai is unique in itself, not a blend commonly encountered. This tea definitely helps you relax. It wouldn’t be the usual chai one encounters every so often, chais are generally quite strong. On the contrast, this one is a much milder version, which allows flavors of chamomile, saffron and lemongrass to sing through, and overall balancing all the flavors, without any particular flavor overpowering the rest. Chais are generally a ‘wake-me-up’ kind of teas, while this one is floral so it is something very different. But if you are not picky about what goes into your cup, and are open to experiment, this would be a good mild blend to try.