Kishr Tea

Yeah, this is an awesome cold brew. That’s all I need to say.

The smell of this one is frickin’ awesome. What you see and what you smell is what you get. Mega gingery and peachy chai type blend that is great cold brewed or hot. Great for large thermo’s, tumblers, and convenience. Pricey for what you get, but effective in giving you a clear energy boost without the jitters. Sometimes the bags can stand on their own without honey or sugar, but that’s with the right amount of water, i.e. A LOT and for the right mood. I personally recommend honey for the ginger and peach taste.

This one is almost my favorite of the bunch I’ve tried, and like the other two, you can resteep twice. I want to say this could cater to any health nut and fruit lover. In short, it’s a spicy, fruity, and peachy tisane.

This was from when the company was first starting up as a coffee-tea alternative. I am pretty sure this product is now called the Spiced Chai, and that’s what it is.

So in terms of taste, it is pretty much a masala with whole spices, lots of cinnamon, and a slightly fruity/cherry-lemon aftertaste from the coffee. Great in larger quantities of water like 16 oz and does not over steep too much with a lot of water, so it is great for large thermos and tumblers. It is also a great pick me up since the spices combine with the bare amount of caffeine in the cascara/coffee fruit husk. So nice, alert and focused feeling without the jitters. It can be oversteeped and be brown cinnamon water if you let it sit too long. The cinnamon is strong enough for me to drink without sugar, but some honey or sugar would not be bad additions. I am not sure if I can say the same for milk because this is a fruit herbal. Good cold or hot, and great for the winter.

I highly enjoy this chai and the convenience of the sachets, but it is a little too pricey for me to get often. Think $7-9 for 10 sachet bags. I would purchase this occasionally, like for paper days. for a little pre-workout on a cold day, or a day I do not feel like staining my teeth with tannin from regular doses of straight coffee and tea.

Impulse buy. I dig cocoa shells and cardamom, plus I’ve never had a coffee fruit tea. This is heavily marketed as a pick me up alternative from coffee and some teas, but mostly black coffee. Given the blend, I figured it might taste good, help with my cold, and was worth a shot.

The taste is not too bad, but it is way too close to the Smooth Move herbal tea with cocoa shells. Surprisingly enough, this tea is better for me to just let it sit at the bottom of a cup, thermo, or tumbler. I was able to get a tad bit more nuance from it. I like the cocoa shells, but since I did not add honey to it, the tea was a flatter herbal. I could definitely pick up on the cardamom, but it was sloshed a little into the elderberry and licorice root. The coffee fruit has a very light taste that you can barely tell is there. Cascara, or the shell, is like a cross between cherry and vanilla, but is very light and wispy as a flavor with very little sweetness. I will definitely try it again with some honey.

I did enjoy a few aspects of it: the energy it gave clarity and focus more than anything else. A few people on here can get that from certain oolongs, matcha’s, and white teas, but this one is really balanced. Think of the effect of gingko without the mega pump of circulation going into your head. The herbs were also noticeable enough to alert my senses with mild pleasure. So for me, this tea delivered on it’s market promise. I also like that it is almost impossible to over steep.

I personally think it would be better with some vanilla added to the mix to bring out the chocolate flavor more because the shells alone make the water cocoa-y and muddy. In my limited experience with blends, vanilla really brings out chocolate tastes. I might change my mind when I sweeten it, but my western pallet says otherwise when it comes to chocolate. The price is also a bit high for an herbal-$7.99 for a box of 10! I wonder how expensive sachets are… Despite my dismay, I have project fuel and study fuel for the next few days.