Tazo® Chocolate Chai Tea Latte

We stopped at Starbucks today to get breakfast before the kids’ Kung Fu classes so I decided to try one of these. I got mine with nonfat milk.

I haven’t had chai in what seems like forever and I forgot how enjoyable it can be. This went surprisingly well with my spinach wrap, and after I’d eaten I continued sipping on this contentedly.

I’d only ever had the regular Starbucks chai before, not the chocolate. The chocolate is quite nice. The spices still come through nicely. I got mostly cardamom and some cinnamon, some clove and ginger, not much pepper all, and no anise. That was all fine with me as it’s the cardamom that I really love the most. I wouldn’t have liked this if it had been heavy on the anise. Licorice is a really tricky flavor for me and it has to hit me just right. Most of the time it doesn’t.

If I don’t get coffee at Starbucks next time, I’ll be getting this. I’m also now primed to break out my own chai stash and start cooking.

But this gets extra points because I didn’t have to slave over a hot stove. ;-)

It has been unseasonably cold lately (maybe that should be unreasonably cold). Green Tea Frappe just didn’t seem like the best idea today :( Come on spring. Someone mentioned Chocolate Chai recently so I thought why not? I kind of liked it and kind of not. It starts out heavily nutmeg/allspice? flavored then mid sip the cocoa kicks in. The two flavors don’t exactly mix but I am ok with that. The result is closer to pumpkin pie than many of the pumpkin teas I have tried. My biggest issue is this is just too sweet. This coming from the guy that sweetens everything. It is a concentrate mix so there is no adjusting that the barista can make. I used to buy a can mix at Sam’s Club called Mystic Chai that was just as sweet. I always wished it came unsweetened. Same here. Not gonna replace my frap!

It’s time for my morning cup of chai! I was all out of my regular chai concentrate mix, and I didn’t feel like running out to the store. I bought this chocolate chai concentrate as soon as it was released. I was super excited for it! After trying it once, I stuck it in the fridge and promptly forgot about it. Well, it’s time to drink and log it properly!

This one will not be replacing my regular chai. The chocolate is like chocolate syrup. It’s very thick and viscous and not at all like the regular chai mix. It just tastes weird and artificial to me. I feel like I’m drinking Hershey’s chocolate syrup with a kick of spice. Blech. That’s just not really my thing.

And to pour salt on the wound, this mix cost an extra $1 more than the regular chai mix. Now that may not sound like much, but it made me feel like I’m getting jipped. You can’t honestly tell me that it costs an extra $1 to add chocolate. I don’t know. Maybe I’m overreacting. But every dollar adds up over time!

This will not be a restock for me, and I think I may just pour out what’s left in the box. Since it’s premixed in liquid form, I can’t pass it along to someone who might enjoy it better. And that makes me sad. :(

I had another one of these today: grande, soy milk, extra hot with whip. It tasted better in one of the big cream-colored mugs than in a paper cup. Still pretty much a meal replacement. There is definitely not enough caffeine in this concoction, but I do like the level of spices.

There is a big dose of pepper—very obviously—but lots of other stuff as well, including cardamom and ginger, two of my favorite spices. Chocolate Chai Tea Latte is pretty good, if evaluated as a dessert, which is what it really is.

They must put crack in the chocolate syrup at St*r$ucks. This was so much better than their normal chai latte! It’s like hot chocolate meets chai.

Hmm, maybe I should brew up chai and use it as the base for hot chocolate at home sometime. It will surely be cheaper and healthier… But I doubt it will taste better!

Not bad! Seriously, a mix of a mocha and chai. Mochachai?

One of the better Starbucks drinks…better than most of their coffees. If the barista makes it right, it is warming. This one saved me on a few cold days at Michigan State. The calories prevented my from freezing me to death and having a low blood sugar. I was then disappointed when they stopped serving it.

I had a Venti of this last evening after going to Barnes and Noble. Note* There was a Starbucks in Barnes and Noble, which does not take your loaded card or earn you stars, and there was a Starbucks across the street. I chose the later, nothing against the first, but Starbucks needs to fix this. **I recently realized that I do not receive credit when I buy TWO or MORE drinks on ONE transaction, soooo-ring them up seperately. I bought 4 drinks last night, and that adds up, Starbucks needs to fix this too. I have told them of both of these concerns, and they were very nice and responsive, we shall see if it changes.

This latte was just as described, chocolate and chai mixed together. I personally did not feel that the chocolate was over powering. I thought the combo was well done. Seeing that it was a powder, actually surprised me because the taste did not lend to that at all. I thoroughly enjoyed this latte.