Chai Guarana

I asked the lady at the counter for something strong this morning because my mind was foggy from too little sleep this week. She suggested this and it smelled good, so I got it to-go with a little with soy milk because, hey, it’s chai!

This was an ok chai. I’ve had worse and better. It was fairly smooth and I liked that the cinnamon was prominent. A little ginger added some heat. I’m finding that I don’t like anise in Davidstea blends.

Also I really don’t know if it woke me up very much because I’m still wondering vaguely whether it’s Wednesday or Thursday. Then again, caffeine has never really had an overwhelming effect on me, which is why I can drink black teas at night and still sleep soundly.

This tea is one of my absolute favorites. Wakes you up in the morning without the jitters that coffee gives me and tastes like a cinnamon bun.

My new go-to-tea for energy boost! The blend of black tea, guarana and roasted mate keeps me going without the jitters. (sometimes keeps me up all night, so this is my morning tea!) It’s so delicious and i looove having it the Indian way, with lots of brown sugar and milk. It is so yummy and spicy it keeps me warm in the fall weather. Iced latte of this was my fave all summer, and just stocked up for the cold weather too :) highly recommend if you’re not a morning person like me

Second steep is just as yummy, I added too much sugar, I need to start slowly weaning me off of a teaspoon of sugar for every cup of tea. Maybe after I’ve mastered steeping and resteeping, I’ll move on to sweetening ;). But the leaves are still going strong, and I think I’ve got at least one more steep, if not two, in them.

Another sample to try, compared to the saigon chai this one is like… powder. It doesn’t nearly smell as spicy either. Personally, I hate tea dust. It’s hard to clean up and even using a french press doesn’t always stop bits falling in. So the kicker is that this chai comes with what.. guarana berries? Personally I have no idea what that is supposed to taste like (even after drinking energy drinks) so I was curious to see which one between this and the saigon chai to buy.

So disappointed in this one. Ho hum. I’d been wanting to try it for quite a while and finally got around to picking up a 25g bag last time I was at davids. I was surprised at how heavy it is, the 25g really doesn’t go a long way. But on to the tea itself.

Like a bunch of others, I was surprised at how…powdery..this tea is. Looks almost like the contents of a traditional tea bag. I’m also wondering if mine is from the bottom of the wall tin since it looks like mostly pieces of cinnamon. I was skeptical but I gave it a good long steep and hoped for the best. After a 5-6 min steep it was still looking pretty weak and watery. It smelled delicious, but when I added my usual chai fixings (milk & sugar) it was clear that there was very little actual tea in my cup. With even just a splash of milk, the brew looked like, well, water and milk. Hoping to save my cup, I desperately threw a bag of cheap orange pekoe into the mix. This made it drinkable, but still disappointing. The chai spice blend was really nice and I know I would have enjoyed this a lot if it hadnt been lacking the actual tea element (which is, unsurprisingly, pretty important in a tea :P)

I think I’ll wait a while and try a cup of this in store, hopefully from a different batch. I’m not willing to give up on this just yet, and considering all of the glowing reviews, I’m thinking my experience may have been a fluke.

The lady in David’s Tea Peterborough recommended this when I asked for a coffee substitute for my 4:30am wake-ups, my body really can’t deal with coffee.

A good chai latté has long since been one of my favourite coffeehouse drinks but they are so often too ‘anise-y’ or ‘clove-y’ for my taste, or there was that one that tasted like dish washing liquid. I have had the same poor luck buying grocery store branded chai teabags.

However, this chai is perfectly balanced for my taste, I agree with the taster that said not one spice was sticking out or notably lacking. It has fast become a staple that I drink on the way to every early shift. My favourite way to drink it is steeped in half hot water, half unsweetened almond milk with lots of honey (honey and chai are the most delicious combo).

Black Tea, Mate and Guarana Seeds, are you tweaking yet? This tea may actually be considered a controlled substance in some places due to the amount of stimulant in it…ok well it might not be illegal but its potent!

Dry this tea looks like it could be used as a spice or a seasoning on some kind of steak its loaded with a little bit of everything. It has a strong but please aroma on the nose, even the smell is a potent pick me up. Steeping this tea gives off the same aroma, there isn’t too much with the tea leaves themselves to see open up or anything.

The final brew from is a dark and potent one, the aroma doesn’t seem to change much unless adding milk or sweeteners to this tea. I enjoyed it personally with two teaspoons of sugar and no milk. It has a great stimulant kick to it that makes it perfect for those mornings where you are dragging your feet or those nights were you want or have to be up late.

So far the best chai tea I have tasted, it is very flavourful. I think they got the spice ratio down pretty good. The gauarana gives you a nice kick in the ass in the morning without leaving you all jittery or having a big downer later on in the day.

I love this tea! My ultimate all nighter tea. As far as chai teas go I’d say it’s pretty standard. I prefer my chai teas a pit more cinnamony.
The energy it gives me is absolutley worth it not being my favorite chai taste (not that it’s gross, just a bit bland)
It holds milk well which makes for good chai lattes.

Also try as a latte with chocolate milk.