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“This tea soft launched earlier in the month as part of a mini collection inspired by different global flavours/terroirs – it was accompanied by Cherry Blossom Matcha and Mint Everest, which had...” Read full tasting note
Our Horchata Chai was inspired by the flavours of Mexican horchata, an agua fresca (refreshing drink) made with rice and cinnamon. On a maté base, this spicy and deliciously creamy tea has all the hallmarks of a classic horchata and the comfort of a traditional chai. Strewn with white rice, this tea will take you on a trip to Mexico.
What makes it great
Inspired by Mexican horchata, a refreshing rice-based beverage featuring cinnamon.
Perfect as a hot latte and on ice.
This blend features roasted yerba maté for an energizing kick.
Cinnamon, Yerba maté, Rooibos*, Ginger, Cardamom, Coconut milk powder (organic coconut milk powder, organic tapioca maltodextrin, organic acacia gum), White rice, Monk fruit powder, Natural (horchata, condensed milk, vanilla, cinnamon) flavouring.
How it tastes
Creamy rice milk with notes of cinnamon and vanilla with a touch of ginger.
DavidsTea is a Canadian specialty tea and tea accessory retailer based in Montreal, Quebec. It is the largest Canadian-based specialty tea boutique in the country, with its first store having opened in 2008.
This tea soft launched earlier in the month as part of a mini collection inspired by different global flavours/terroirs – it was accompanied by Cherry Blossom Matcha and Mint Everest, which had previously first been teased in the Around The World advent.
I first started working on this tea about a year and a half ago. It’s not the first time that DT has done a horchata flavour – a few years back, when I was in store, we had a really excellent tea called Horchacha. I wanted to kind of reimagine that blend since, in the years since, Horchata has become a lot more mainstream/commercially recognized. This time around, we dropped the stevia and gave this blend a spicy Chai twist to play off the cinnamon notes already in Horchata. There’s still that very rich, creamy and thick taste that one should except from a Horchata. This is in part because of the coconut milk powder (which also makes for a richer mouthfeel), in part because of the use of flavouring, and in part because of the addition of white rice which does add a subtle starchiness. Ultimately, within that strong overarching sense of creaminess, you taste a mix of coconut, rice, and vanilla.
In regards to that “Chai twist” – I personally find the cardamom stronger than the ginger but I’ve heard coworkers say the reverse too, so I think maybe personal spice preference could play an effect in how you perceive that balance. Regardless, adding those extra spices does add more depth and layers of flavour to the blend (and breaks up some of the sweetness) without necessarily adding heat.
The base mix was fun too – we went with roasted mate for caffeine, body, and to give some darker “low” notes to the blend from the roast to help balance the sweetness and more aromatic top notes. The addition of rooibos was important too; it also adds body but kept the roasted mate from overtaking some of the more subtle flavours within the profile or getting too tannic/bitter.
Ultimately, it’s a sweet tea but I think a delicious one! I think a lot of people think of Chai as a more autumnal drink and this would, of course, be perfect as a cozy fall or winter beverage. However, Horchata is usually consumed cold and this tea REALLY shines as an iced latte so I’m glad it released a little earlier in the year so that as it warms up people will (hopefully) take advantage of enjoying it as a refreshing tea to cool down with in the summer. I recommend making it with coconut milk or, to be more authentic, rice milk!
Friendly reminder that I do not numerically rate DAVIDsTEA blends as I’m currently employed there and it would be an obvious conflict of interest. Any blends you see with numerical ratings were rated prior to my employment there. These reviews are a reflection of my personal thoughts and feelings regarding the teas, and not the company’s.
