Republic Chai

This chai is very anise forward, with a bit of cinnamon and pepper in reserve. I’ll agree with the other reviewers here in that it is a rather weak cup. At least it is not bitter or clove heavy so I will say I like this one better than Twinnings Chai.

This is not chai. We don’t put orange peel and star anise in our tea—or cinnamon, but that might just be my family/region)—nor is simmering tea with water, milk, and honey a traditional preparation.

With that out of the way, this blend isn’t half bad. Like every tea so far in RoT’s 12 Days of Sipping box, it’s weak, but less so than the others. I’m on Day 11 and this is only the second or third blend I’d recommend. If you’re going to go with some form of cream and sweetener, I’d recommend two tea bags; the creamer mutes the flavour too much. I was pleasantly surprised that it tastes good plain and it tastes good cold—that’s definitely uncommon for a “chai” blend.

There is one thing I will say about RoT’s blends. I find cinnamon to be a rude spotlight hog in most cases, but in the RoT blends I’ve tried so far, it’s played surprisingly well with others.

Not even worth a note for this one. To be honest, this was a really old tea bag. But wow, it seemed like the teabag was heavier than the amount of tea they included. I like my chai STRONG. This is definitely not a winter chai. The brew was the palest of brown and had hardly any spice or flavor. meh.

Very good, but the flavor is not very strong. I found myself putting two or even three pouches to get the strength I wanted. Next time I’ll have to try steeping longer.

SSTTB #12.

Yes, another chai. :)

This one had coriander seeds and orange or lemon peel in it. Not so great on its own, better with milk. Due to the coriander seeds, I would not buy this one (I didn’t notice them until I added water, and by that point I just wanted my tea!).

The flavour was interesting, though. Slightly different than the usual. I’m just not a fan of coriander. :)

Continuing my quest for the perfect chai.
This isn’t it. It starts out nice enough, smooth – maybe just a little heavy on the cinnamon, but them WHAM the ginger/pepper (OMG spicy) slams into the back of your throat.
For my taste the spices aren’t balanced properly.

Oh well – the quest continues….

SSTTB

Hm. This is what I have, but in loose leaf format, purchased at Acquired Taste in Edmonton, AB. Well.. it’s okay. I’m finding something really acidic/drying in each of The Republic of Tea’s chai blends, something that I find really offputting because it lingers, and lingers,and lingers. It’s just…. ruining the enjoyment of my other teas, because of course I have another three on the go at the same time.

Subtle spiciness and strong hints of licorice (which I love, but isn’t really normal for chai).

This is by far my favorite chai. I’ve only tried a few, but this one is particularly spicy and soothing at the same time. It was the first loose-leaf tea I ever tried years ago, and got me hooked on the idea! Now, a whole world is open to me.
I steep it for at least 5 minutes and then mix in honey and almond milk. Yum! I wish I had some in the house….

Good but very weak.