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The third in my review series of Bristol Chai’s products. Again, Eva is a completely different beast. Simply put, Eva is basically Bristol Chai’s answer to “golden milk”. It has a green tea base, which is fairly unusual for chai, but comes out very nicely once brewed, especially considering I’m very picky when it comes to green tea.

From the bag, you immediately get ginger and turmeric with a slight hint of green tea. Once brewed, it makes a beautiful golden liquor which turns very turmeric-forward with hints of ginger. Once you taste it, you get that slightly peppery finish which is rather nice. With milk, it turns into this golden latte which to my surprise is absolutely delicious. They call it “tonic chai” and I definitely understand why. You feel energized after drinking this! Good stuff.

This one came to me as a surprise. Like most of Bristol’s, this chai is quite interesting. It has a rooibos base, with right from the start made me wary. I am not quite fond of rooibos in general, to be honest. However, as soon as I opened the bag, a very pleasant, fruity and spicy smell filled my senses. I hadn’t looked at the ingredients yet because I like to make my idea first and right from the get go, I picked up orange, cinnamon, clove and the unmistakable smell of rooibos. Once infused, it was definitely very cinnamon and clove-forward, with the orange flavoring giving it a nice finish, surprisingly not “fake” for flavoring. The cardamom and pink peppercorn are pretty faint, I could only taste them when I brewed it with no added milk or brown sugar. All in all, a pleasant surprise. This is a chai I’d reach for after dinner since it’s caffeine-free. Definitely the best rooibos chai I’ve had.

This unusual, woodsy chai is probably not going to be for everyone. It has the typical notes of a good chai (ginger, black pepper, clove) but it adds an unexpected twist with black cardamom, adding a smoky scent and some empyreumatic flavors to the mix. It’s probably not the chai I’d reach for in the morning but in the afternoon when it’s cold and I have a chill down my spine, this chai with a dash of milk and a tiny pearl of brown sugar is absolutely delightful. My favorite chai of this season and a fantastic discovery, truly.

This came as a surprise for me. You’d expect the multiple varieties of tea being chaotic but it all fits in quite well, with the pu’ehr slightly dominating with its typical earthy notes followed by the spices giving it a bit of a chai feeling, which I really like. Very nice on cold winter days.

The initial aroma is rather strong, especially if you’re not used to lavender. However, I find that once steeped, the lavender settles down and doesn’t overtake the oolong’s natural notes, which is both surprising and pleasant. Quite relaxing for a late-night tea, as anything with pure lavender usually is.

Not for everyone, as the rose presence can be a bit overwhelming. I tend to steep this one a very short time to avoid making it overpowering. Your water shouldn’t be too hot ideally, if you want to avoid unwanted bitterness. Other than that, I find it a nice change of pace once in a while, especially with something flavored with rose water, such as a laksi.

Rather dark amber liquor, woodsy and deep, yet smooth and fruity. I’m rather fond of this one, since I tend to go for deeper, slightly more oxidized oolongs. A nice alternative for those who find fresh oolongs too buttery/milky.