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Golden Masala Chai Loose Leaf Black Tea

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€9,95
€0,00 €9,95
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We’ve taken our Rare Masala Chai loose leaf tea to a whole new level of flavour and complexity, by blending in whole pieces of Himalayan turmeric sourced from small holder farms in the state of Sikkim, India.

Bright, spicy and stimulating.

Shake well before use to distribute the spice and leaves evenly. Due to the size of the grind, some sediment from the spices may get through and we would suggest using a fine strainer.

Tasting Notes

Malty black tea with peppery spice and a deep earthiness. This tea infuses to a deeply aromatic and richly spiced cup.

Cost Per Cup

€0,00 per cup based on 2.5g of tea per 150ml of water and 2 infusions.

Origin

Satemwa Estate, Shire Highlands, Malawi
Sikkim, India

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Recommended Infusion Guide

  • Quantity

    Use 2.5g of tea per 150ml of water.

  • Temperature

    For the optimum infusion use 85°C water.

    To serve with milk, infuse at 100°C.

  • Time

    Infuse for 1 - 2 minutes and taste regularly to find your optimum infusion time

  • Infusions

    You can infuse these leaves at least twice. With each careful infusion, different subtleties of flavour are revealed.

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More infusion tips

How to infuse your tea is very personal, and these are just our recommendations based on experience. Please experiment with these variables to your heart's delight. These are our recommendations, not hard and fast rules. The most delicious tea is the one you love.

Our guide uses a standard tea cup size (150ml/5.5 oz) as a measure, please adjust the quantity of leaf accordingly for less or more water. Our whole loose leaves are of such a high quality that you can infuse our teas at least twice, and the second infusion is often better than the first, with different flavours revealed as the leaf softens. If you prefer your tea stronger, add more leaf, don’t leave it for longer (this will just make it bitter).

If you want to make your Golden Chai, latte style - we recommend making a strong two-minute infusion of 60ml of boiling water with 2.5g of tea and then adding hot full-fat milk.

You could also try infusing the tea in hot full-fat milk - fat carries flavour and is delicious - heat 2.5g of tea per 150ml of full fat milk until just below simmering point, infusing until it reaches the required strength. You might want to sweeten with a little honey or sugar.

Origin & Craft

This tea was inspired by a great friend and benefactor of Rare Charity - Lekha Singh.

The black tea base is a single estate, hand-crafted tea from Satemwa in Malawi. To this we have combined our unique blend of spices – ginger, green cardamon, black pepper, cloves, and cinnamon. To guarantee the spice mix is as fresh as possible, it is blended by hand in small batches.

To elevate this Chai to its ‘Golden’ status, we’ve added whole pieces of Indian turmeric from Sikkim. It is sourced from small holder farmers in the foothills of the Himalayas. The state is entirely organic, and the turmeric has a unique depth of taste and power from this unspoiled terroir.

Turmeric (Curcuma longa)

"Curcumin (diferuloylmethane) is a yellow pigment present in the spice turmeric (Curcuma longa) that has been associated with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, antiviral, and antibacterial activities as indicated by over 6,000 citations. In addition, over one hundred clinical studies have been carried out with curcumin."

Some research suggest it is best ingested with pepper to bring out its full benefits, making our peppery masala chai the perfect medium for a delicious and beneficial tea.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3918523

What is masala chai?

Masala chai means spiced tea. The world chai comes from the Chinese word for tea "cha" and masala refers to a blend of spices. Masala chai originates in South Asia and is a blend of black tea leaves and spices usually drunk with milk and sugar. Traditionally, it was a way of making the lowest grade of tea, which would otherwise be too bitter and unpalatable, into a delicious drink.

Our Golden Masala Chai tea offers a whole new level of flavour and complexity. We use tea bought for the highest quality, not the lowest price and highest quantity. This is the antithesis of modern tea bags. To our traditional masala recipe, we have added whole pieces of Himalayan turmeric, sourced from smallholder farms in Sikkim, India. This adds a rich, earthy depth to the malty black spiced tea. Aromatic and fragrant, it is a warm infusion that offers a caffeine lift, the health benefits of turmeric and a truly comforting experience - both soothing and refreshing.

What is the cultural significance of this tea in India?

Masala chai symbolises hospitality, warmth and comfort. It's often drunk by Indian families first thing in the morning to start the day, and to welcome guests.

Hot masala chai is widely available from street vendors in India, know as chaiwalas - for those travelling or working away from home. The cup used by chaiwalas was often made from unbaked clay so that it could be discarded after use and returned to the earth.

Each South Asian family often has their own spice recipe where ratios vary. Some use a little more cardamom, others more cinnamon. We have spent many years blending and reblending to find what we believe is the perfect balance.

What are the ingredients in masala chai?

The key ingredients of masala chai, alongside black leaf tea, are cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, and ginger. Black pepper is often included and we agree that (especially in combination with the tumeric we blend into our Golden Masala Chai) it adds deliciously to the taste and aroma.

There is some research that suggests that the pepper and fats from the milk also help make the health benefits of turmeric more bioavailable to the body.

How to store masala chai?

How you store masala chai is very important because it contains a golden blend of precious spices and tea that will deteriorate if left to oxidise. It is absolutely essential to keep your tea airtight and in a cool place.

At Rare Tea, you can order our Golden Masala Chai in a beautiful tin - giving you the perfect storage container that is both elegant and functional. Our tins not only decorate your kitchen but keep each golden infusion in perfect condition.

The unopened packets of tea can be kept for long periods, but once open, its best to consume your masala chai within 3 months.

How to make a chai latte

To make a chai latte with our Golden Masala Chai use 2.5 grams of tea per 50ml of water (0.1 oz of tea per 2 fl oz of water). Essentially, you are making a strong concentrate, like an espresso for a cappuccino. Please heat the water to boiling (100°C/212°F), infusing for 2-3 minutes. To make a latte, we do recommend this slightly longer infusion, which will bring out the tannins in the black tea, which will balance deliciously with the hot milk. Add 100-150ml (4-5.5 fl oz) of hot, frothed, milk to your cup and stir.

Alternatively, you can make our Golden Masala Chai the traditional way and heat the spiced tea in milk in a pan and bring to the boil.

Health benefits of masala chai

At Rare Tea, we are not doctors or medical professionals - drinking tea has many health benefits but tea alone cannot replace a healthy diet and lifestyle.

The black tea in masala chai contains antioxidants and minerals, while the spices used (ginger, turmeric, cloves, cardamon, cinnamon and black pepper)- are part of the Ayurvedic tradition, an ancient Indian medical practice.

Shipping, delivery & more...

EU Shipping Information

Europe Tracked Delivery from €6.95

FREE Europe Tracked Delivery when you spend €60 or more

Europe Express Tracked Delivery from €21.95

FREE Europe Express Tracked Delivery when you spend €120 or more

Europe Express Courier from €28.95

Availability of rates depends on location and order weight. For a complete overview of our shipping rates please see our delivery page. Prices displayed at the checkout are based on live currency exchange rates and may differ slightly from this list.

IOSS for EU Orders

Rare Tea Company uses IOSS (Import One Stop Shop) for EU orders placed on the website.

How IOSS works and how it is applied on the website.

The IOSS scheme allows us to collect VAT during checkout on your behalf, meaning that no VAT is due when your order is assessed by your local authority.

  • If the combined value of the products in your cart are equal to or below €150 (excluding tax), VAT will be included at the point of sale and you should not be charged any fees when your order arrives.*
  • Once the €150 threshold is exceeded VAT will be removed from the items in your cart and from this point onwards when your order ships you will be liable for local VAT, duties and import fees.**

To avoid unnecessary import charges, keep your orders under €150 (excluding tax and shipping). Tax is included on all applicable products at Rare Tea - if your order is applicable for IOSS tax will be shown at the checkout.

Valid for IOSS

Not valid for IOSS

Your order confirmation and shipping confirmation emails will also confirm whether your order is valid for IOSS.

As with all complex shipping methods, the IOSS system isn't foolproof, and orders that are valid for IOSS are occasionally incorrectly charged VAT by customs.

If an order shipped via IOSS and that you have paid VAT on does get incorrectly assessed by customs, please don't worry. It's usually just a mistake that can be fixed by contacting customs and explaining that the order shipped via IOSS with VAT already paid.

If this does happen to you then we suggest the following:

  1. Please contact us before speaking to customs.
  2. We will double check that the order was valid for IOSS.
  3. We will provide a VAT receipt and a shipping label as evidence.
  4. Contact your local customs for assistance, using the shipping label as evidence.
  5. If all else fails we will attempt to get our shipping provider to investigate, but this process can take a while.

*Please note - this does not include any applicable duty charged when the item is cleared. Within the EU tea is free from duty, but your region might have a different rules for non-tea items such as tins and teaware. Any duty charged is payable by you, the customer before delivery via your local customs authority.
**In special cases where custom fees have been unexpected we have retroactively refunded these in select cases. As of the 15th February 2023 (the start of IOSS) we have discontinued this process.

What is IOSS?

The Import One-Stop Shop (IOSS) is the electronic portal businesses can use since 1 July 2021 to comply with their VAT e-commerce obligations on distance sales of imported goods.

Up until the 1st July 2021, no import VAT has to be paid for commercial goods of a value up to EUR 22. New VAT eCommerce rules abolished this provision as of 1st July 2021. Thus, from 1 July 2021, all commercial goods imported into the EU from a third country or third territory is subject to VAT irrespective of their value.

What is IOSS for?

IOSS allows suppliers and electronic interfaces selling imported goods to buyers in the EU to collect, declare and pay the VAT to the tax authorities, instead of making the buyer pay the VAT at the moment the goods are imported into the EU as it was previously the case (for products over 22 EUR).

What are the advantages of IOSS?

IOSS facilitates the collection, declaration and payment of VAT for sellers making distance sales of imported goods to buyers in the EU. The IOSS also makes the process easier for the buyer, who is only charged at the time of purchase, and therefore does not face any surprise fees when the goods are delivered. If the seller is not registered in the IOSS, the buyer has to pay the VAT and usually a customs clearance fee charged by the transporter.

What countries does IOSS apply to?

IOSS applies to the EU member states of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.

It does not apply to the EEA.

How much tax will I get charged?

Tax will be charged at the base VAT rate of the shipping country.

Full details of IOSS can be found on the European Comission website.

Any questions? Please get in touch!

Send us a message using the form below, or call +44 (0) 207 681 0115 (9am - 5pm GMT, Monday - Friday).

Returns

The Rare Tea Lady believes that our teas are some of the greatest in the world, and that our range and service are second to none.

In the isolated case that you are not completely satisfied with any product you purchase from our website, please get in contact with our customer services team to discuss returning your order.*

In most instances, we will give you a full refund of the item's cost, excluding postage. We may ask you to return the item to us.** Customers in the UK & European Union have statutory rights not affected by this guarantee, but any tea pouches must remained sealed for this to be in effect.

*We only accept returns/refunds for tea within 30 days of receipt, because it is impossible for us to know if the tea has been stored correctly.

**We will endeavour to ask for pictures where possible - but if you have changed your mind and are outside of any statutory rights time period, return postage is payable by you.

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