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If you’ve stood in the tea aisle wondering whether lemongrass green tea or a milky lemongrass CTC chai suits you better, you’re not alone. Both use the same fragrant herb, but they deliver completely different experiences in the cup. As Gujarat’s late monsoon rain tapers off and humidity lingers at 26-34°C, this is exactly the season when people start switching between light green tea and heartier spiced chai. This guide breaks down the real differences so you can choose with confidence.
Fresh n Flavour, the Ahmedabad-based chai brand known for its tagline Enjoy Goodness in Every Sip, makes both styles approachable — through hand-blended CTC chais using real Lemongrass and whole spices instead of essence or artificial flavouring.
What Is Lemongrass Green Tea?
Lemongrass green tea is unoxidised Camellia sinensis leaves blended with dried lemongrass stalks, brewed without milk, giving a light, grassy-citrus cup with lower caffeine than black tea. It’s typically drunk plain, often after meals or in the evening.
How It’s Made
Green tea leaves are steamed or pan-fired immediately after plucking to halt oxidation, preserving a pale liquor and higher catechin content. Lemongrass is added dried or as essential-oil-infused flakes for aroma.
Typical Taste Profile
Expect a light, slightly vegetal green tea base lifted by citrusy, floral lemongrass notes. There’s no milk, no sugar tradition here — it’s meant to be sipped clear, almost like an herbal infusion.
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Shop now →What Is Lemongrass CTC Chai?
Lemongrass CTC chai is a black tea blend made from Crush-Tear-Curl processed Assam or Dooars leaves, mixed with real lemongrass and spices like cardamom, then boiled with milk into a classic Indian cutting chai. It’s stronger, creamier, and more filling than green tea.
The CTC Process
CTC tea is fully oxidised and mechanically processed into small granules, which brew fast and strong — ideal for milk chai. Harold Mann’s 1918 study of Assam tea documented how the region’s climate and soil made it naturally suited to bold, malty black teas (as recorded in The Early History of the Tea Industry in North-East India, 1918), the same character that still defines Assam CTC today.
Why Fresh n Flavour Adds Lemongrass to CTC
Fresh n Flavour’s Freshful Chai blends Assam CTC Tea with Darjeeling CTC, real lemongrass and green Cardamom using a distinctive Mamri Dana (granular) cut. This coarser granule releases flavour more gradually than fine dust CTC, giving a rounder, less bitter cup even with a longer boil.
That’s a detail only a blender who controls the cut can tell you — most home kitchens using loose masala and packet tea dust don’t get this same balance.
Lemongrass Green Tea vs Lemongrass CTC Chai: Full Comparison
The core difference is oxidation and preparation: lemongrass green tea is light, plain, and low-caffeine, while lemongrass CTC chai is bold, milky, and spiced. Here’s how they stack up side by side.
| Factor | Lemongrass Green Tea | Lemongrass CTC Chai |
|---|---|---|
| Base tea | Unoxidised green leaf | Fully oxidised Assam/Dooars CTC |
| Caffeine strength | Lower, milder | Higher, robust |
| Served with milk? | No, taken plain | Yes, classic milk chai |
| Best time of day | Evening, post-meal | Morning, tea-time |
| Flavour intensity | Light, grassy-citrus | Bold, malty, spiced |
| Who it suits | Light-tea drinkers, weight-conscious sippers | Traditional chai lovers, strong-tea fans |
Which Has More Health Value?
Both offer genuine value: lemongrass green tea leans on antioxidant-rich green tea catechins plus lemongrass, while lemongrass CTC chai combines black tea polyphenols with lemongrass and cardamom for a warming, digestion-friendly cup. Neither is medicine — both are food-based, traditional wellness habits.
Lemongrass Benefits in Both Styles
Lemongrass is traditionally valued in Ayurveda for digestive comfort and immune support, and is naturally rich in Vitamin A, Vitamin C, folic acid and magnesium. According to Wikipedia’s entry on lemongrass, the plant has long been used across South and Southeast Asian cuisines for both flavour and traditional wellness practices.
Cardamom’s Role in CTC Chai
Green Cardamom in blends like Freshful Chai is traditionally valued for digestive comfort and freshening breath, complementing lemongrass rather than competing with it. This is why lemongrass-cardamom pairings appear so often in Indian chai culture.
Why CTC Chai Feels More Filling
Milk and sugar in CTC chai add calories and creaminess that green tea simply doesn’t have. If you want a light evening sip during this humid late-monsoon stretch, lemongrass green tea works better; if you want a satisfying, food-pairing cup during Ganesh Chaturthi or Onam gatherings, CTC chai wins.
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Delightful Chai
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Shop now →Which One Should You Pick?
If you want a light, low-caffeine evening cup, choose lemongrass green tea. If you want a classic milky chai with citrus lift and gentler acidity, choose Fresh n Flavour’s Freshful Chai. If you specifically dislike tea-related acidity, their Delightful Chai is built for that.
- Prefer plain, light tea: Lemongrass green tea, brewed 2-3 minutes without milk.
- Want classic Indian chai with lemongrass freshness: Freshful Chai, boiled with milk and its Mamri Dana granules.
- Sensitive to chai acidity: Delightful Chai, where lemongrass, mint, cardamom and nutmeg work together to soften milk-tea sharpness.
- Want a bolder, spicier CTC cup: Flavourful Chai, built on Dooars CTC with lemongrass and spearmint.
Not everyone needs to choose just one. Many households keep both — green tea for a light afternoon reset, and a lemongrass CTC chai for the classic morning cup that Ganesh Chaturthi and Navratri mornings usually call for.
A Quick Note on Brewing Ratio
Fresh n Flavour recommends roughly one teaspoon of Freshful Chai per cup of water, simmered 3-4 minutes before adding milk. This ratio lets the lemongrass and cardamom open up fully without turning the cup bitter, something plain black CTC dust often does when oversteeped.
Whichever route you take, look for real dried lemongrass, not “natural flavouring,” on the ingredient list. That’s the difference between an authentic lemongrass green tea and one that only tastes like lemongrass on paper.
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Frequently Asked Questions
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Flavourful Chai
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