Frontier Co-op Fairtrade Certified Organic Assam Loose Leaf Black Tea, TGFOP Grade, 16 oz Bag

I grew up on Southern style Lipton and generic black tea bags. I didn't know what I was expecting getting this, but it makes Lipton taste and feel like tea's equivalent of instant coffee, and I say this as no small thing. The flavor is deep, and rich, and goes perfect on it's own or with cane sugar. The aftertaste is pleasant, and has a slight floral note. The energy you get from drinking the tea is also much more potent. I've had three heaping cups since it arrived yesterday and I've been satisfied with every sip. This is what tea, even sweet tea was meant to taste and smell like.

The first time I had chai was when my Indian neighbor made it for me with fresh ginger root, tamarind, cardamom, etc. It was incredible. I used to make it like she did; however, I'm no longer inclined to put in the work. I decided to take a leap, expense wise, and try Frontier Co-Op's chai; because I don't care for the trendy, mass-produced brands. (Tazo was quite good in the early part of the millennium, btw.) Fortunately, I'm DELIGHTED by Fairtrade's chai! It's fresh and robust, though somewhat heavy on the cinnamon and cardamom, so other flavors struggle a bit to get through. It recommends 1 teaspoon per 8 oz of water, but I use 1 1/2 teaspoons, which may be why subtler flavors struggle to get through. : ) I make my own teabags with small tea filter bags, which I staple closed. In addition to my delight in finding a delicious chai, I'm thrilled to find one that's mostly fair trade and organic. These products, along with the companies that produce them, are rapidly disappearing at the time they should be proliferating. Fwiw, I'm a random customer who gets nothing for this review.