Oregon Chai
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A vanilla tea for National Vanilla Pudding Day from Devon Bartholomew.
Unfortunately, I don’t taste vanilla and I don’t really even taste tea. All I can taste is the milk powder. It’s very much like the Nestle hot chocolate powders, but without the benefit of the chocolate. :/
Flavors: Milk
Preparation
So, what’s the oldest tea in my cupboa— EXPIRED FEBRUARY 2005?! I didn’t even get into tea as a hobby until 2016?! How… when… Did I buy this box when I moved into this apartment, shove it to the back of my cupboard, and forget about it? It was still sealed! Oh man…
Okay, I will try exactly one packet, and then the rest is going in the trash, for health and safety reasons. And I don’t count trashed items for sipdown. It’s the principal of the matter…
The weird thing is, I have memories of actually liking Oregon Chai instant chai, but from where…? Did we keep this around in my house growing up, so I bought some after I moved out? Or maybe I bought chai lattes from coffee shops around here that used this brand… In any event, I’m sure I’ve had this brand of instant chai somewhere in my past, and recall liking it. Whether I’ll like instant tea powder that expired fourteen years ago is a different matter, though…
It… doesn’t really want to dissolve into the water well, at all. Even after stirring well, I see a lot of little worrisome clumpy bits floating on the top… what have I gotten myself into? Wait, this has dried milk in it? Yaaaaaaa, that’s a big fat nope. I’m not drinking fossilized milk for the sake of a tea review. It smells off, anyway.
A single very small sip honestly doesn’t taste rancid (not that I’d ever risk more than that!), but the flavor itself honestly isn’t bad, so I can see why I liked this in the past: very sweet and honey-like, clove and cinnamon on the spice front, and some underlying maltiness. If this was in it prime, I’d sure it would be fine.
Well, that’s some easy cupboard space reclaimed, at least!
Flavors: Cinnamon, Clove, Honey, Malt, Sweet
Preparation
Yikes!
I practically grew up on this stuff! (usually the concentrate version though) Is it possible it’s from when you lived in the Oregon/Washington area?
Ahaha, I’d totally have drank this. Expiration dates only concern me when children are involved, or when there are signs of spoilage :D
@Kittenna: It didn’t dissolve well and smelled sort of sour; if there hadn’t been milk product in it, like traditional type teas, then I would’ve drank it. I had some diarrhea even from the few small sips I took. :-(
@Lexie Aleah: It’s definitely available here where I live in Southern Idaho. I think it’s pretty prevalent across the Pacific Northwest (WA/OR/ID). I think I’ve seen it in the groceries in CA while on vacation there, too. I am thinking I may have had this when I first moved into this apartment, buried it in the back of a cupboard without opening it, and then forgotten about it, only to recently rediscover it. Though I’m fairly certain I recall having these back when I was still in my parents’ house, too. I don’t remember ever having concentrate though, I think it was always these little instant packets, or like a canister with the powder in it? I do have some liquid concentrate in my fridge for Tazo’s Passion tea though, which I usually mix with lemonade instead of water to make bomb iced tea. <3
Fair enough! The effects don’t sound good. (I actually missed that you said it smelled off in your post. Apparently I can no longer read.)
Holy moly! You’re making me feel better about drinking instant tea that expired in 2016 haha.
Ohhh Mastress Alita, lol. I’ve renamed you in my head as Ol’ Chai Butt.
Hahaha. Now I just need to get the t-shirts printed…
Bluhhhh
I started drinking this tea a few years ago in one of my trips to Mexico City. I was in a coffee shop down there and a big purple can caught my eye because it said Oregon on it and that’s where I live. So I asked the attendant about it and he recommended it. Now I am hooked on it and it turns out it is actually produced in Oregon.
Got this as a Chai Latte from Cookies by George, a specialty coffee/cookie shop based in my mall. I don’t generally get drinks from them because they’re largely coffee based and that just isn’t my jam, but their cookies and bagels? Holy fuck have those become a routine part of my work week…
Something compelled me to get a Chai Latte the other day though; and this is the brand that they use for their lattes. It wasn’t bad; very, very sweet and not actually that spicey overall. I suppose in the grand scheme of things that could be a negative or a positive depending on what you’re wanting out of a Chai. I liked it well enough though, and was impressed with what I got given that this is a latte mix (AKA powder). So, it could have been a whole lot worse IMO. Plus, CBG adds a nice cinnamon sugar topping on top which was really good, and a nice touch!
I was born in Oregon (and now live just a state away, in Idaho) and that stuff is everywhere over here! I may even have a box of powder that I totally forgot about tucked away in the back of my cupboard somewhere. I should probably revisit it sometime, now that I’m reminded of it…
Every single Chai latte I ordered as a child was made with this stuff! So I’m biased towards it. Haha Although the liquid is what they used not the powder.
This is my favourite chai concentrate. I like to freeze it in icecubes and make a slushy out of it in the summer. In winter I usually mix it with milk. Lots of spices and very flavourful.
Flavors: Cardamom, Clove, Ginger, Pepper, Peppercorn, Spices, Spicy, Sweet
I used to LOVE this stuff! I saw it a while ago while shopping and picked up a carton, just opening it today. What I remember was the intense mix of spices and the warming kick of pepper. What I got today was way more toned down in the spice department than what I recall and WAY sweeter too. Like sickly sweet. I had to add a ton of milk to cut the sweet which also cuts the spice. It is funny how our tastes evolve and change! I may be dumping the rest of the carton and searching for a good spicy chai alternative.
I remember being what felt like addicted to this back in the mid-90s. I was drinking 4 or 5 latte bowls of it through out a morning at work to the point where I was taking in so much caffeine, sleeping restfully was getting to be a problem, so I gave it up and moved on to other teas. Maybe 10 years later I picked up a carton for old time’s sake and found it abhorrent. My neighbor took it off my hands.
Have you tried experimenting with your own chai spice mixture? I rarely drink chai at home these days, but when I do, I always add lightly crushed black peppercorns and brusised green cardamon pods to the mixture.
I have not tried blending my own chai, but I just might give it a go! I know clove, cardamon and peppercorns are common chai spices, but I’m not sure what all they put in the mix. I’ll have to do some digging!
I think the most important thing is to play around with spices to get a blend that pleases you-some combination of five basic spices: cardamom, ginger, clove, black pepper and cinnamon. Try adding Other spices like star anise, fennel, nutmeg, vanilla pods, coriander, allspice. I think like chili or lentil soup, there are hundreds of spice combos/variations for masala chai. The fun is in blending and drinking.
I have this bad habit of letting my milk spoil… It’s a waste of food and money, so it needs to stop. I got this to motivate me to drink my milk.
It has the PERFECT amount of sweetness— I can still taste the black tea base, which is nice and mild. Lots of cinnamon and cloves, not much nutmeg, just a hint of ginger, bit of a perfumey quality in the aftertaste.
Yum yum yum! Problem solved.
Flavors: Cinnamon, Cloves, Ginger, Nutmeg, Perfume, Spices, Sweet
Sample from Nichole. Thank you!
This is a tasty herbal chai. It’s heavy on the ginger, which I like, but may not be to everyone’s taste. I wouldn’t call it “peaceful” as the company does, I don’t think ginger is a particularly peaceful spice, but it is tasty.
Flavors: Ginger, Spices
Preparation
I’ve used this mix before and enjoyed it with soy milk. Today I used the unsweetened chai concentrate with unsweetened cashew milk. I’m in love!!! The cashew milk is sooooo smooth and creamy. There are only 25 calories in 8 oz of the cashew milk and zero calories in the unsweetened chai so it becomes an excellent choice when I really want a luxury dessert. No guilt! Super easy. I just heated it up in the microwave oven.
Thanks to EmilyGee for sending me some of this! I’m fond of chai but can’t have much black tea, so herbal chais are always interesting. This one turns out to be rather meh. It’s just way too much clove, even with rice milk added. It’s drinkable but not something that I would seek out. Glad I got to try it though!
sipdown
Flavors: Clove
I bought this while down visiting friends in the states, and lived partially off of it for the next week. It amused me that it called itself herbal — while technically it is true that it has no TEA in it, herbal usually means no caffeine, and with both guayusa and mate…. yeah no.
Clear, it tastes a little herby, with the spices coming through. A little weak, but not unpleasantly such; you can still taste the tea, but there’s nothing very overpowering. It reminds me of a slightly weaker version of a similar tea from Zen Tea.
The herbal flavour comes out even more with milk and a bit of brown sugar; I think more sweetening wouldn’t be bad if having it like this, but all being told I think I like it better clear.
Preparation
Ugh, I hate calling up my bosses and asking for letters of reference, especially on short notice. I wish finding a job was an easier process, especially for shy people.
Backlogging from months and months ago… I always kept forgetting to log this one. Perhaps that’s indicative of my experience with it. I was distinctly underwhelmed by it. It was my first and last honeybush. Usually, with chai, you have to worry about the flavors and spices being too strong, but that was decidedly not the case here.
The base was bland as all getout, and there was no helping it with sweeteners or milk. It was basically like drinking hot water with a bit of cinnamon thrown in.Not exactly thrilling. There are far better herbal chais out there.
I really like Oregon Chai. I found it in tea bag form while at my local super market. I have had chai tea made from their concentrate many times. I found the tea bag just as good as the concentrate flavor. I think Oregon Chai has a distinct taste for a chai, meaning, more spicy than sweet. I do usually add cream/sugar to this. If you ever get a chance, read the company history on Wiki about Oregon Chai, I found it to be very interesting.
Tastes sweet and medium spicy. Goes well with a little bit of sugar and low fat milk.
This tea is an excellent alternative to a traditionally prepared Chai. The recommended time is between 3-5 minutes as per the package, but I prefer it around 3 minutes to avoid the extra caffeine.
Way back in the day, before I was a “tea person,” I remember having a box of the regular Oregon Chai that I would make often. After I got into “proper” tea the box sat, untouched, for years. Then I decided to make a cup one day, and that milk powder had gone so off there were clumps of it in my cup.
Oh gosh, I can only imagine how awful that tasted. I hadn’t thought of powdered milk going bad, but of course that makes sense.