Aviva Chai Yerba Mate Tea Review and Celestials Seasonings Giveaway

Aviva Yerba Mate Review Week Day 2.  I’m going to be reviewing Aviva’s Chai Yerba Mate tea today because I need to warm up and I think a tea would spices is just what I need.  Last week it was so sunny and hot that I was wearing a t-shirt outside, now fast forward to this morning.  When I woke up, I saw SNOW.  It’s APRIL!  Come on!  As I’m typing this review, there is about 2 inches of snow on the ground and the flurries are coming down hard. ;(

Look my cup is almost empty!

The ingredients of this tea are wild harvest grown yerba mate, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, allspice, cloves and black pepper.  Yerba mate is hard to use as a base in teas because it’s so overpowering, you really have to use a lot of flavouring, herbs and spices to counteract the mate.  It is definitely a difficult base to blend with.  The aroma and flavor of the yerba mate a very potent, there is only a slight spiciness that comes through with this tea. It really helped warm me up!  I’m also getting a caffeine type rush though from the tea, phew.  I think this tea missed it’s mark as a chai, but if you like a strong mate with a hint of spiciness or you’re just drinking it for the numerous health benefits then this tea for you.  It’s also on sale right now; $18 US will get you about 207-214 teabags!

To enter follow me on Twitter or comment on my blog for the month of April until the 20th.

I’m very excited to announce Rocking the Republic’s first tea giveaway.  I hope to give away many more teas in the future from various tea companies.  For the month of April, Celestial Seasonings and I are partnering to do a giveaway.  The winner will be drawn on April 20th 30th 2009 before I leave for the World Tea Expo.  To enter please start following me on twitter or comment in the month of April on my blog on or before the 20th 30th.  And the contest is open to anyone and everyone.  The mystery tea gift package will be mailed out after I draw the winner!

Good luck everyone!

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Oregon Chai The Original Instant Chai Tea Latte Mix Review

too bad it leaves a film on your tongue =P

Tea review number two from the CRFA show on Monday.

Just add water, is the claim that the Oregon Chai Mix makes.  It’s that simple.

The ingredients are: Sugar, dried whole milk, dried nonfat milk, dried honey, tapioca maltodextrin, natural flavours, dried black tea and salt.  Yes it contains milk, so this instant tea is not for the vegan.  The directions on the packet state: Add Oregon Chai Mix to 8oz hot water.  For a cold chai, add ice.  For a creamier experience, add a splash of milk or your favourite dairy substitute.  For me this would be almond, rice or hemp milk.

It’s important to note that 8oz is equivalent to about 237ml, roughly about a regular sized cup of water.  I don’t like my drinks too sweet so I used maybe 330ml or so of water.  My review is based on a “watered down” version of the chai, the way I like it.

When I first added hot water, I found the powder wasn’t dissolving too well.  I stirred the chai with a chopstick and a spoon and let it sit for a while before it “seemed” like everything was mixed in well (when I poured out the tea later, I found a lot of sediment was at the bottom of the cup).  Upon initial wafting of the steam, the chai smelled like milk more than tea.  The essence of the tea was not very strong even when I drank it, and the milkiness of the tea definately came out more than the tea taste itself.  This shouldn’t have been surprising though as tea is the second last ingredient next to salt!  Also, the chai left a film on my tongue and coated it like paint on a wall.  Yuk.  I think it may have been the maltodextrin or the dried milk that was causing the problem.  Not a fan, sorry.  Making your own chai from scratch although more time consuming would be more rewarding and worth the effort.

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