Haute Cocoa Chai Tea

Cocoa chai is a chai blend that adds cocoa powder and chocolate flavor to the traditional chai spice mix of ginger and cardamom. Our version uses a South African rooibos base instead of black tea, which means zero caffeine. The result is a spiced chocolate drink that brews like tea and behaves like a latte when made with warm milk. Think dessert in a mug, minus the sugar crash.

Yes, completely. The base is rooibos, a plant native to South Africa that contains no caffeine. Not a trace, not a decaffeinated version of something that did. The spices and cocoa powder are also caffeine-free. You can brew this at 9pm without consequences. It's a popular nightcap in households where someone's trying to cut back on coffee but still wants something warm and ritualistic before bed.

Yes. This blend contains soy lecithin, used as an emulsifier to keep the cocoa powder evenly distributed through the cup rather than sinking to the bottom. Soy lecithin is a known allergen. If you have a soy sensitivity or allergy, this blend isn't the right fit for you. Our other teas, including Blue Butterfly Pea Flower and Good Morning, do not contain soy.

Brew a cup at the standard ratio: 1 to 2 tablespoons of leaves per 8oz of hot water at 212°F, steep 3 to 5 minutes. Then add an equal part of warm milk or a dairy alternative. Oat milk works particularly well. No espresso machine, no special equipment. Half water, half oat milk, steeped for 4 minutes, with a small drizzle of honey is the version worth making.

All of our teas are naturally gluten-free. The catch is that not all of our teas, botanicals, and other ingredients come from gluten-free certified suppliers, so we can't make a certified gluten-free claim on the label. For most people that's a non-issue. If you have celiac disease or a severe gluten sensitivity, factor that in before ordering. We'd rather tell you straight than dress it up.

Yes. Mix and match any 3 or more jars from our tea collection and save 15% at checkout. The discount applies whether you're stocking your own cabinet, splitting jars with a few friends, or putting together a gift set. Our blends are packaged in small batches in Owings Mills, Maryland, and the variety holds up well over time when stored properly. Try a few. They play well together.

Keep the jar sealed and store it in a cool, dark cabinet away from the stove, the fridge, and anything strongly scented. Tea absorbs odors easily, and light and heat dull the flavor over time. Skip the fridge entirely. Condensation does no favors to dried leaves or flowers. Stored properly in its glass jar, your tea stays fresh and full-flavored for a year or more.

Tea bags are typically filled with broken leaf and tea dust. Quick to brew, fast to turn bitter, limited in flavor complexity. Loose leaf gives the leaves and ingredients room to unfurl and release their character gradually. You also get to see exactly what's in the jar, whether that's whole flowers, real dried fruit, or full leaves. It's a small change in how you brew. The cup tells the difference.

Yes. None of our teas contain honey, dairy, or any animal-derived ingredients. Every blend is plant-based: tea leaves, herbs, flowers, dried fruit, and spices. If you add honey from our shop to your cup, that's no longer vegan since honey is an animal product, but the loose leaf tea on its own is. The same goes for milk or cream you might add yourself. The jar is vegan. What you do with it is up to you.