David Rio

Sipdown! (47 | 92)

This one actually got dumped. :(

I found this in the pantry and realized I had never opened it, and the “best by” date was later this year. So I figured I would try to sip it down by having a small iced chai every day as a little afternoon pick-me-up. Sadly, there was a very slight soapy taste at the end of the sip, and it just made me nervous drinking it because there’s coconut oil in this (coconut often tastes a bit soapy to me when it goes bad), and the expiration date is only a few months away. So in the trash it went, poor tea.

That being said, this is also way too sweet for me, as I don’t really drink sweet beverages at this point in my life. So I’m not too terribly sad that I won’t be drinking through this tin. :P

Sipdown (609)!

Finished this one off as an almond milk latte; which was pretty tasty but not all that different from any of the other Chais that I’ve had from David Rio. Perhaps a TINY bit heavier on the spice? Regardless, I think I’m done with this company again for a while – it was nice to do a bit more of a deep dive into some of their other offerings, but I’ve had enough at this point now…

Sipdown, but I don’t get to count the number decrease because I forgot to put it into my Steepster cupboard…

Made this as a latte using another of those “single serve” packets; I expected this to taste basically like every other David Rio chai I’ve had from them – creamy, sweet, sugary, and tinted with vanilla. I was surprised though; this was actually quite a fair bit less over the top sweet and sugary as the other’s I’ve had! Also, though, it just felt like it was lacking body!? Which is a really hard thing for a tea to do in latte form, I find.

I don’t think it’s because this was a sugar free sample – I tried the Orca chai which is sugar free and I didn’t observe any issues with that one or weird flavour decrease. So, then, the only thing that it seems could be the cause is the fact that this chai flavour is also decaf? Which does make some sense – the process to decaffeinate tea usually does strip flavour from the leaf as well. I just sort of expected that David Rio would compensate for that by really pumping up the vanilla notes.

And you know what? I can’t decide if I’m disappointed or not that they didn’t…

Latte Sipdown (612)!

I don’t know that this flavor was really much different than any of the other David Rio instant chais – they’re all pretty similar in terms of flavour: sweet, creamy, mildly spiced. This was the “sugar free” one, but it was still quite sweet. I think it’s sweetened with sucralose!?

I recently purchased a Breville milk frother though (up until now I’ve been making lattes at home stove top, and frothed with a hand frother) and so getting a couple of these “single serve” pouches of David Rio’s chai teas has been a really good excuse to just make a ton of lattes. Not that I needed an excuse to want a yummy latte, but also I’m not going to ignore having one…

Sipdown (1917)!

I found this little packet of instant Chai in our office on Friday way, way down at the bottom of a desk drawer. I didn’t actually check before making it, but something tells me that if this Chai had a “best before” date then it’s probably long past it. There was definitely a sort of funk to the aroma of the dry powder that got stronger as I poured water over it…

But I drank it anyway, because that’s what I do. It’s a little weird tasting in a sort of sour way, but not as unpleasant as expected given the smell that was coming off the mug. Mostly it’s incredibly sweet, with a standard spice mix save for the really strong peppery finish. It’s supposed to be a white tea based Chai but there’s really no way you would actually know that unless you’d read the packaging – it has no classic qualities of white tea.

Overall… I give it a meh out of ten.

It’s been a while since I explored anything from David Rio – years, in fact. I’m happy to see that they still seem to be doing pretty well though; I’ve always really loved their endangered animal species angel…

I don’t think this tea existed the first time I dove into their line up – but it’s something that I totally would have been interested in at the time. Drinking it now, mixed into hot frothed milk, and… I think I had forgotten just how sweet this one tastes. It’s not bad though; just MIGHTY rich. As a not overly big Chai drinker I am of course driven to this sweeter sort of flavour – it’s softer on the spice, decadent/indulgent, and creamy as fuck. So, basically like a sugar chai!? Not really a chai for a chai drinkers but something more in line for someone like me who isn’t really all that into chai in the first place.

Also, I feel like I detected a citrus note too, and I loved that little aspect in the cup.

So if this the highest quality chai tea in the world? Oh heck no. However, it definitely works for what it’s intended for – a sweet, instant chai that is probably more for someone who isn’t a typical chai tea drinker.

Beautiful orange flavors

Very good for re-steeping (considering it is a bagged tea). I usually get 3 cups/small pots out of it. Balanced mint and chocolate flavour. Not my favourite mint chocolate, but I really enjoy this tea.

Andrew recommended it, and it turns out to be a familiar friend from Grand River Coffee. I don’t like chai powder chalky mixes, but I really liked this one. I think the mango makes all the difference. And the sugar. Mom even liked it and she is not a chai fan.

Oddly enough, I normally like green chais just a little more than the blacks on occasion. I got this at one of the coffee shops I used to go to in East Lansing (now closed, which greatly irks me!) and I would get it with steamed almond milk. It is really good with that combo. I could see why it might be better with regular milk, because this latte mix is very sweet, gingery, and green. Yet that might depend on preference.

This is the chai for green tea lovers, especially green tea with some sort of cream and sweetener. The biggest drawback is how sweet it is, and possibly the ingredients for people who want to eat cleaner.

Backlog.

Blech. Of course, as I was writing “blech”, I actually looked at the teabag wrapper, and apparently this is a green tea…… whoops. So perhaps I shouldn’t be so quick to judge, since the boiling water I poured on it yesterday might have been a touch harsh. My recollection is of astringent vague-berriness… so perhaps I wouldn’t like it even if brewed correctly, but hopefully I have another one of these somewhere to give it a second chance. I feel like I may have done this to the tea previously as well…

Bleh, it’s wet and miserable outside today so I treated myself to a chai latté. This is apparently David Rio’s default mix and it’s quite nice, I had it will 2 oz boiling water and about 6 oz hot skim milk that I’d given a bit of a froth. The downside of using skim is that it doesn’t stay foamy for very long due to the lower fat content, but that means I just have to be quick about enjoying my latté, right? ;)

There’s a good , well-balanced mix of spices and it gives this mix a pleasent warmth. It’s maybe a bit sweeter than I care for but most mixes are I’ve found (I’m the person who always has her sbux drinks half-sweet). It’s a nice mix to have on hand for days when you don’t want to fiddle with making chai the old-school way.

Brewed this with cashew milk and it was incredibly sweet. This is definitely best paired with traditional milk.

I brewed this up the same way I made the Elephant Vanilla Chai and I expected something more green tea tasting. In reality I just got a less vanilla-y version of the elephant chai. Weird but delicious! Thanks Roswell Strange.

So I realized today what I was really tasting…snickerdoodles complete with vanilla icing. Oh so delicious. Thank you for sharing Roswell Strange!! I think I may be taking a trip to Sobeys to get more of this in the future.

My tea twin Roswell Strange sent me a sample of this and it was sooo good! I wasn’t sure quite how to make it so I put two tsps in hot milk and let it stir in my machine. The result? A super creamy cup of awesomeness. It tasted somewhat like vanilla frosted Cheerios and it was amazing. I will definitely be having more soon. Thanks Roswell Strange!!

Thank you to Liquid Proust for sending this my way.

I made this in my travel mug yesterday as I was running out the door. The directions on the website seemed a little excessive (3-4 tbsp for 7oz of liquid??), so I went with 3tbsp for about 12oz of hot water, plus a couple of spoons of powdered milk (all out of the fresh stuff.)

It was quite potent at that concentration, and didn’t even fully blend. There was no distinct matcha taste, just lots of nice, spicy chai flavour, predominantly cinnamon.

I will need to try this soon with fresh milk, as I’m not a fan of powdered, and with a bit less mix – maybe as a latte in the blender.

Enjoyable, and I think this will probably go fast.

I have purchased this chai multiple times because it is popular among my friends. This chai is one of the strongest chais I have tasted so far. I am not sure if this product has changed in the last few years since the last reviews, but this product is absolutely amazing. Adjusting the flavor by powder to water (or milk) is very simple and provides a variety of strength for other drinkers.

This was a sample from Roswell Strange. I’ve tried the vanilla and maple versions of it, and this one is a “plain” version but it has a green tea base instead of black. I mixed the whole sample, which looked to be about two tablespoons, with 8 ounces of hot unsweetened soy milk.

I must say, it’s just okay for me. The level of sweetness is somewhat high, but I tend to like sweet things so it’s not really a problem for me. I do find the spicing to be a bit too mild, I would call it more of a mildly spiced creamy beverage than a chai. I also can’t taste the green tea, which makes me question the point of doing a green tea-based version. It’s perfectly drinkable and tasty and decadent, but I see no reason to purchase this version over the black tea one.

Made this as a latte, because it’s getting chillier here lately and because I can!

Anyway, this is a delicious mug of sugar bomb. I also used vanilla almond milk, so extra vanilla! Mostly it tastes creamy and über sweet with vanilla and mild spicing. I definitely get clove, anise, and maybe ginger, not so much cinnamon. There’s a tiny bit of warming heat on the back of my palate too, so perhaps black pepper or chili?

Mostly it tastes like a mugful of cookie, and I’m fine with that.

Oops, just realized the tin is expired by about two weeks. So now another tin is on its way to me! XD I chose the plain Tiger version this time…

365 Days of Tea Challenge – Day 32

I added a canister of this to an Amazon order to reach the $35 free same-day shipping threshold. So I decided to have some today, since it’s been chilly everywhere lately and a cozy latte sounded nice! I actually prepared mine with vanilla oat milk, which I haven’t tried before and bought to try out. (I really don’t enjoy dairy milk, so I like to try different alternatives. But honestly I don’t use milk for anything other than tea and matcha lattes…)

So this is a delicious sugar bomb. But I’m okay with that, because it’s exactly what I was expecting. Plus if I’m going to have a decadent chai latte, I want it to be sweet.

As far as the spices go, I would say there’s definitely cinnamon and clove here, and perhaps also some anise? There’s definitely a rich, creamy vanilla flavor as well.

Overall, it’s exactly what I was expecting – sweet and rich and not too spicy. Definitely hits the spot as a decadent and cozy latte! :)

https://www.instagram.com/p/BtWkDU9FgPS/

Miss Roswell Strange was nice enough to send me a sample of this and the Green Tortoise version. She works at a grocery store and they carry David Rio chai mixes. I’ve tried the Maple Moose flavor before and liked it a lot, though I will admit that these mixes are very sweet. However, I have a huge sweet tooth so I like sugary drinks sometimes. So I’m happy I get to try a couple more flavors! This powder is a pale reddish-brown color and it smells sweet and vanilla-y with some spice. I used the whole sample (somewhere around 2 tablespoons I think?) in 8 ounces of hot vanilla soy milk. Double vanilla!

Mm, so thick and creamy and decadent! Sometimes it’s nice to have a sweet and super rich beverage, although I suppose that’s why so many people go to Starbucks. I’m not one of those people, so this is a nice treat for me! It’s very vanilla due to the soy milk, and I love vanilla. The spicing is present but still mild enough that it doesn’t overpower the vanilla flavor. I would say there’s definitely cinnamon and clove, possibly anise? Overall, yums! :) I would totally keep some of this around for a treat every once in a while. And I bet mixing this half-and-half with the maple would be amazing!

I gave this one to my mom years ago, and she still has it! I guess I can’t judge too much; I totally still have the Elephant Chai from this company that I bought at the same time…

Just like old times, I actually used this one as a popcorn topping; mixed a tiny bit into some melted butter that I drizzled over the popcorn and then sprinkled a bit of the loose powder on top of the popcorn as well. I really, really enjoy that sort of sweet, buttery (literally) chai flavour on popcorn; it perfectly rode that line between sweet and savory for me and made for a GREAT snack.

Thanks for letting me steal some of this from your stash, mom!