Disclaimer: This E-liquid was provided to me free of charge for the purpose of conducting a review. This fact notwithstanding, I will, as best I'm able, provide an honest, accurate and unbiased assessment of this product.
"Masala chai is a flavoured tea beverage made by brewing black tea with a mixture of aromatic Indian spices and herbs. Originating in South Asia, the beverage has gained worldwide popularity, becoming a feature in many coffee and tea houses. Although traditionally prepared by decoction, retail versions include tea bags for infusion, instant powdered mixtures, and concentrates. In many places, there is a misconception that "chai" in itself is made with cardamom, ginger, and the other common spices. However, chai is simply the Hindi word for tea and can be prepared black, with milk, without sugar, etc." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masala_chai
Here's a recipe for "Chai Tea": http://www.chai-tea.org/rec/rec101.html
This is what the Vape Goddess website has to say about Drakes Vapes' Chai Town, "Forget the overly spicy alternatives, Chai Town is a smooth and creamy vape. Providing a sensory overload with flavors bursting out of every seam, it's hard to pinpoint exactly which flavors go into one bottle of Chai Town. For those looking for a smooth yet spiced flavor that won't bore your taste buds, you've found your go-to vape." http://www.vapegoddess.net/chai-town/
Drakes Vapes is based in Newport Beach, California and was founded by Kevin Drake, professional musician https://soundcloud.com/kevindrake-1 and partner Meg Strouse, photographer, freelance journalist and founder of Vape Goddess. http://www.vapegoddess.net
Like the vast majority of us, Drake adopted vaping as a means to replace his cigarette addiction with something a lot safer. He quit smoking at his young daughter's request. Like a number of his peers he found the available e-liquids (at that time) unsatisfactory and set about mixing his own. He was so enamoured of the results that he vaped bottle after bottle of his DIY efforts and proceeded to share the fruits of his labours with his friends. Suitably impressed, they encouraged him to make his juices available to the wider public. This he did and thus was born Drakes Vapes.
Drakes Vapes offer a catalog of ten e-liquids: Alchemist ("A unique blend of fruits and absinthe..."), Drakeula ("A refreshing mix of Blood Oranges, Black Cherries and Guava"), Echelon ("...pomegranate and sweet marshmallow..."), Figen Kanel ("...daring mix of fruits and cinnamons..."), Melon Fiasco ("...cantaloupe and watermelon..."), O-Face ("Sweet on the inside, sour on the outside; move over Lucille Ball, there's a new sassy Ginger in town"), Punky Bruiser ("Sweet and sassy...fruity tartness..."), Vanilla Trifecta ("A trifecta of vanillas and custards with a hint of magic"), Yolo! ("Lemonade with hints of Lavender...") and Chai Town.
Each of the liquids is available in a 30ml bottle at nicotine strengths of 0, 6, 12, 18 and 24mg. All liquids are mixed to a 50:50 PG/VG ratio.
The Drakes Vapes range is available online from the Vape Goddess website http://www.vapegoddess.net, Elevated Vaping http://elevated-vaping.myshopify.com, Vapor Solutions http://www.vapor-solutions.com, Electronic Cigarettes Inc. http://www.electroniccigarettesinc.com, et. al. Search Google for a more comprehensive list of stores selling the Drakes Vapes line.
The bottle is an Iodine Blue, cylindrical glass with a black plastic, screw top cap. The cap isn't childproof, so care should be taken in the use and storage of this liquid. There's also no dropper insert attached, so a syringe, eye dropper or pipette, all of which are readily available from your local pharmacy or online, will need to be used for transferring the liquid to your preferred atomiser. The label includes the following information: the brand/company name, the name of the liquid, liquid contents specified by a pictogram which I struggle to decipher, nicotine strength in milligrams, a description of the flavour profile, a list of ingredients, a warning to keep out of the reach of children and pets and an advisory notice specifying that the liquid is not to be sold to minors.
Given that the bottle is a dark blue and the liquid within appears black, I've used an eye dropper to observe and identify the colour of the juice. The liquid is a clear, light Carrot Orange http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrot_orange#Carrot_orange Opening the bottle some fifteen to twenty centimetres (6 - 8 inches) from my nose releases a potent aroma. Holding the bottle below my nose enables me to fine tune my perceptions. At first I detect cloves and nutmeg with a finishing trace of cinnamon. As I further investigate the aroma, I wonder if my senses are deceiving me, as I begin to sense caramelised banana. I close the bottle and rest for a moment before trying again; a volatile top note of nutmeg dissipates quickly and gives way to clove. Again there's the subtle trace of cinnamon finishing the inhalation. Brief, shallow inhalations appear to draw out a hint of ginger. I wonder if what I interpret as banana, might in fact be Ethyl Alcohol which is often used as a medium for organic flavours.
For the last week I've been vaping Chai Town in an Igo-L, a Killer and a Quasar. For the purpose of this review I'll be using the Killer which is built with a pre-made, low resistance coil/wick and is running on a GP Paps LUX powered by an 18490 battery.
As I fire the device and begin to draw the vapour into my mouth, I sense a medial sweetness washing throughout as well as a fine grained "sizzle" on the tip of my tongue. There's the broad apprehension of spices which lean towards those commonly found in Chai Tea; nutmeg, cinnamon and cardamom. As I chase the vapour into my lungs with a breath of fresh air and pause for several moments, the flavours of cardamom and nutmeg are fully realised alongside a whisper of ginger. These persist through the exhalation with the addition of a slightly fruity aspect and a sweet creaminess which lends body to the flavour. The aftertaste is where all the flavours come together and as they linger, there's a very pleasant, sweet, mild spiciness that is very redolent of South Asian cuisine.
I don't experience a throat hit, nor any sort of mounting of pressure at the back of the throat, but as should be expected from a juice that's 50% Vegetable Glycerin, the vapour production is very generous; especially so when vaped in the Quasar.
Apart from the name of the juice, it's not actually described by Drakes Vapes as being a Chai flavoured e-liquid; it's characterised as being a "smooth... creamy... spiced flavour". Neither I nor two other Chai drinkers felt that Chai Town tasted particularly like Chai. This pedantry aside, Chai Town is, in it's own right, a delicious vape and quite unlike anything else I've had the pleasure of tasting. It is indeed smooth, creamy and saturated with spiced flavours which are unsurprisingly, evocative of South Asia. Very highly recommended!
