I don't generally drink much Celestial Seasonings tea, but when I first had their Bengal Spice blend last month I was nicely surprised by the rich and sweet-spicy taste. Doing some on-line review research shows that Bengal Spice is quite popular, particularly for fans of chai who want the same flavors but not the caffeine. One thing to keep in mind, though, is that I double-bag almost every teabag-type tea that I drink if I'm steeping anything more than 6 ounces. So my cup of Bengal Spice was double-strength, and I drank it straight without any milk or sugar (it really doesn't need sugar, perhaps due to the cinnamon). But I never felt that it was weaker or "less" than black tea chai, just different, like the spices and vanilla seem to dominate more in a kind of heady way. It's a good wake-up brew if you're cutting down on caffeine and -- since we're still in the Year of the Tiger for a few more months -- it's a fun tea with a beautiful striped feline mascot on the box to celebrate all that.
