Category: Review

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Zhena’s Gypsy Tea’s Chocolate Chai

Chocolate Chai by Zhena’s Gypsy Tea
Rooibos / Flavoured
$8.99 USD for 36g (for the entire sampler)

This is a review of a tea that I received for my birthday in 2015. I won’t be doing too much digging into the costs of the gifts that I’ve received.

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First Impressions

Chocolate Chai, the fourth and final of the Chai blends in the Zhena’s Gypsy Tea Chai sampler. The dry rooibos sachets have an odd smell. There’s the spicy notes that I would expect in a Chai, but there’s an odd aroma that I can’t quite place. It reminds me a bit of cough syrup, which is probably one of the least appetizing ways to describe a drink.

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Chocolate Chai’s ingredients are: cocao powder, rooibos, cinnamon, chicory root roasted, ginger, chocolate flavouring, licorice root, cardamom, cloves, nutmeg, shortbread flavouring, orange peel, and pepper. As with the other teas in this Chai sampler, Chocolate Chai’s ingredients are labeled as being certified organic.

Preparation

Zhena’s Gypsy Tea recommends steeping the sachet in boiling water for 3 to 5 minutes. I steeped my sachet of Chocolate Chai for about 5 minutes.

First Taste

Chocolate Chai steeps to an almost cloudy orange colour, it smells about the same after steeping as it does in dry sachet form. I can smell some spices, something that reminds me of cough syrup, and not much of anything that would scream chocolate at me. The lack of chocolate fragrance is disappointing, considering the tea consists of cacao powder and chocolate flavouring.

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The taste is lacking. Despite steeping to the directions, Chocolate Chai just tastes very watery to me. The spiciness of Chai that I know (and love!) is sorely lacking in my cup. There is no chocolate taste, and there is the flavouring that is reiminscent of cough syrup in the cup. I tried doctoring up the tea, in hopes that it would improve. Unfortunately, Chocolate Chai did not improve with any sweetener.

A Second Cup?

I did not resteep the sachet.

My Overall Impression

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I didn’t like Zhena’s Gypsy Tea’s Chocolate Chai. Since I love Chai, I really wanted to like this tea, but unfortunately it was lacking in aroma and taste. It was a watery disappointment that reminded me more of cough syrup than it did of anything remotely related to chocolate. That said, this is the fourth (and final!) Chai blend in this tea sampler, which I was pleased to have received as a birthday gift in 2015. It was enjoyable to try the different types of Chai, even if I didn’t like the last one I tried at all. I will not be seeking out Chocolate Chai to keep as a tea stash staple.

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DavidsTea’s Forever Nuts

Forever Nuts by DavidsTea
Herbal Infusion / Flavoured
$7.40 for 50g

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First Impressions

I bought a 10 sachet box of Forever Nuts when DavidsTea was discontinuing their sachet style, it was 40% off the original retail price, which made it cheaper than the loose leaf or new sachet style. The only downside is that the old style is not as environmentally friendly as the newer style with the biodegradable packaging. But an herbal infusion is an herbal infusion, and Forever Nuts is still Forever Nuts regardless of how you change the packaging. When I opened the packaging, the smell is delicious! The herbal infusion smells heavily of apples and cinnamon (what a perfect combination!) followed by the lovely fragrance of almonds. I tried Forever Nuts before with a store sampling, so I knew what crazy pink colour it steeps to.

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Forever Nuts consists of: apple, almonds, cinnamon, beetroot, and artificial flavouring.  The top three ingredients are noticeably present, but the beetroot not so much in terms of aroma. My sister commented that the ingredients made it look more like a trail mix than something to drink – she’s kind of got a point since it is an herbal infusion and not an actual tea, it has a lot of yummy bits in it that would look right at home in a granola mix.

Preparation

DavidsTea recommends steeping Forever Nuts in 96C (204F) water for 4-7 minutes. I steeped for close to 6 minutes in total.

First Taste

The colour of Forever Nuts can be surprising if you’re not really expecting it. It steeps to a deep pink, thanks to the beetroot as part of the ingredients. The smell itself smells of apples, cinnamon, and almonds. There’s also some hints of vanilla in the aroma of the steeped herbal infusion, which I quite enjoy.

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The taste itself of Forever Nuts leans heavily towards the apple and cinnamon. The flavour of almonds is present, but it’s overwhelmed by the combination of apple and cinnamon. There is a level of sweetness to the infusion that I would say might be from the apples since sugar is not listed as part of the ingredients. With some blends that contain apple, there’s often a tartness from the fruit – I don’t find that with this one, which is good because it wouldn’t go well with the cinnamon or almonds. The overall smell of the tea reminds me a lot of apple pie, and the taste is delightfully pleasant. I do get the almond in the taste of the tea, but ultimately it’s the apple and cinnamon that stands out.

A Second Cup?

Forever Nuts does not resteep well – as an herbal infusion I also didn’t really expect it too since it doesn’t steep the same way that a tea does.

My Overall Impression

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I liked DavidsTea’s Forever Nuts. It’s a very fun herbal infusion, with the bright pink colour and the amazing flavour that reminds me a lot of apple pie (or apple crumble, or any other apple-and-cinnamon dessert that you can think of). I find that the almond gets overpowered easily by the apple and cinnamon combination, but the flavour is still there. If the almond was more present, I think I would have ranked it a bit higher. Overall, I think Forever Nuts works well as a dessert drink since it does have a level of sweetness that doesn’t require additional sweetener. The nice bonus is that as an herbal infusion it is naturally caffeine free and can be enjoyed throughout the day and won’t keep you up!

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Tazo Tea’s Chai Latte Concentrate

Chai Latte Concentrate by Tazo Tea
Black Tea / Flavoured
$5.75 for 32 fl oz

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First Impressions

My first Starbucks love was their classic Chai latte. Ignore the new one that came out a couple years ago with Oprah, and just focus on the original Chai latte. It’s creamy, spicy, bursting with great flavour and it’s also expensive after a while. At over $4 a cup (I usually get grande), I always wanted to be able to make it at home without having to fork over nearly $5 for every cup. The Chai Latte Concentrate is not a product that I’m new to, it’s something that I buy on occasion because it’s definitely cheaper and more budget friendly to buy the carton of tea concentrate than it is to pop into a Starbucks location every single time that I want a Chai latte.

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The tea concentrate is a dark, almost murky reddish brown colour. The aroma of the Chai Latte Concentrate is all of the familiar spices that you would expect to find in a Chai: cloves, cardamom, cinnamon. It also smells like it is very, very sweet. Deliciousness in a cup! The ingredients for the tea concentrate are as follows: water, black tea, black pepper, ginger, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, star anise, natural flavours, cane sugar, honey, ginger juice, natural flavours, vanilla extract, and citric acid. Everything from water to the first natural flavours is the infusion, and then the added ingredients after it. Cane sugar and honey would account for the very, very sweet aroma and taste to the tea concentrate.

Preparation

The directions on the carton from Tazo Tea is to shake the carton and then mix equal parts of the concentrate with milk (or dairy alternative of your choice). It can be served over ice, heated on a stove, or heated in a microwave. I mixed half a cup of tea concentrate with half a cup of 1% milk and heated it in the microwave.

First Taste

The colour of the Chai latte after it was done in the microwave (and I gave it a little stir) is a pleasant light brown colour that is very similar to the colouring of a Chai latte made in a Starbucks, if not the same. I had to let mine cool for a bit since it was too hot to sip coming from the microwave. While I don’t get the foam that I often have on top of my lattes that I get from Starbucks or other cafes, it’s quite good. If you’re not fond of sweet things, this product will probably not be for you (and perhaps making your own tea concentrate would be something you could try in the future). I personally really enjoy Chai lattes, so I really like the flavour of this tea concentrate. It definitely has the spice and heat that I would expect from a Chai (thanks to all that ginger!), the flavours of cinnamon really come out well and the creaminess that the milk adds really helps to cool down some of that heat.

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My Overall Impression

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I loved Tazo Tea’s Chai Latte Concentrate. As I previously mentioned, this was not my first time having this product (and it certainly will not be my last!). I find it really nice to be able to have my favourite ‘treat’ (a Chai latte) without having to spend the money in the local Starbucks. The unused portion of the carton keeps for up to 7 days in the fridge after opening, and for someone who really enjoys Chai lattes, it is cheaper to go with the carton of tea concentrate than it is to get it made in-store. That said, it would be even cheaper to just make my own Chai lattes from scratch (I know, I know), but for a quick, pretty fool-proof latte, this tea concentrate works really well as a nice treat from time to time.

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