President’s Choice – One More Steep

Chai by President’s Choice
Black Tea / Flavoured
$2.97 for 40g (20 tea bags)

First Impressions

I picked up Chai on a whim when I was at the grocery store, mostly because it had been on sale and I do like having a good cup of chai from time to time. This black tea blend came in a cardstock box that features a nice perforated opening, all the tea bag come individually packaged in coated paper packing. The tea bags feel papery with a string and tag attached.

The aroma of Chai is mostly cinnamon and ginger, which are nice warm spices. I don’t really smell much of anything else, but those are the primary spices that I enjoy in a Chai so they’re appreciated. Chai consists of: black tea leaves, cinnamon bark, black pepper seeds, cloves, natural flavour, star anise fruit, ginger root, and cardamom seeds.

Preparation

President’s Choice recommends boiling water (100°C/212°F), allowing the water to rest for 1 minute, and then steep the tea for 5 to 6 minutes. I did an initial steep of Chai for 5 minutes.

First Taste

Chai steeps to a reddish brown, the predominant aroma from the steeped tea is the cinnamon and ginger. I found that the tea was smooth, but there was a hint of bitterness at the end of each sip. Not quite sure where it comes from, but it’s obviously enough that makes me want to add a touch of sugar or cream to help temper the bitter flavour. I find the cinnamon and ginger to be quite strong, and I do get a hint of pepper in the background as it adds a nice warming quality to the tea. I don’t really taste the star anise or cloves, which I feel like should have been stronger and more in the forefront of the flavour profile.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Chai once, adding an additional 30 seconds to the steeping time. I found the taste of the tea to be very watery compared to the initial steep, and quite lacking in spice flavour.

My Overall Impression

I thought that President’s Choice’s Chai was just okay. The aroma of Chai was pleasant in the dry leaf and in the steeped tea, I found the warming qualities of the cinnamon and ginger to be pleasant. I was disappointed with the lack of cloves and cardamom in the flavour though, because I really enjoy those flavours in a cup of chai. I think it’s a nice black tea blend for an introduction to chai, but there’s certainly better ones out there. I think it’d be great to add some milk to it to make it into a latte.

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Chocolatey Chai by President’s Choice
Herbal Infusion / Flavoured
$2.97 for 44g (20 tea bags)

First Impressions

I picked up Chocolatey Chai on a whim when I was grocery shopping and there’s a few reasons why this purchase is out of character for me. I haven’t purchased a bagged grocery store tea in a while and I tend not to like chocolate flavoured teas so I bought it, not sure why sometimes – but here we are!

Chocolatey Chai came in a cardstock box, the individually wrapped tea bags come in paper packaging. The aroma of the tisane is quite chocolatey with spices – which definitely make me think that the name is accurate. I ripped the tea bags open to take a look inside. Very tiny pieces all around. Chocolatey Chai consists of: roasted chicory root, carob pod, spices, cocoa shells, natural flavour, ginger root, licorice root, and cocoa.

Preparation

President’s Choice recommends boiling water (100°C/212°F) water, allowing the water to rest for 1 minute, and then steeping Chocolatey Chai for 3 to 5 minutes. I followed the steeping instructions and did a steep for 3 minutes.

First Taste

Chocolatey Chai steeps to a deep brown, with a slight oil slick on top. The flavour is a mix of slightly bitter, sweet, and spicy. I definitely get a ‘chai’ feel from this tisane blend – there was a pleasant warming sensation from the ginger and the other non-described spices. I think there is some cinnamon in there, and perhaps cloves? The image on the packaging seems to suggest this, and I do think I might be tasting that. I didn’t find the taste of the chocolate to be very strong, a heavier hand with the cocoa might be needed to have a strong chocolate flavour.

I did try Chocolatey Chai with some milk and found that it really made it creamier and reminded me more of a spiced hot chocolate.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Chocolatey Chai and found that the flavour was quite weak compared to the initial steep. I would recommend steeping Chocolatey Chai just the one time.

My Overall Impression

I thought that President’s Choice’s Chocolatey Chai was just okay. I think that the aroma of the dry leaf was more enticing than the steeped tisane. The spices came through nicely, but the taste of chocolate wasn’t strong enough for my liking – and I do like chocolate! I think that the tisane works much better with a bit of milk to make it more of a latte. I do wish the chocolate came through more, because it seemed present in the dry leaf and it’s one of the features of the tisane that I wanted to experience the most.

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