Tazo Chai tea

As many of my friends know, I belong to a couple of websites where I get to try new products in exchange for a fair and honest review and some word-of-mouth marketing. One of the sites is Smiley360. I am currently on a campaign there for Tazo Chai tea. I received several free samples from Smiley360, as well as coupons to both use and share.

Through this campaign, I was able to try their filter bags in Classic Chai, Chocolate Chai, Vanilla Caramel Chai, and Pumpkin Spice Chai. I was also able to try their Vanilla Caramel Chai Latte concentrate that you blend with milk. I had some mixed impressions on some of the products, but overall, I'd give the line 3.5 out of 5 stars. Now for the details.

My husband and I both really enjoyed the Vanilla Caramel Chai latte. In fact, it was probably the favorite of all we tried. Great flavor, well-balanced, and a delight to drink. I actually had to dilute it about 2 parts milk to one part concentrate as it was too strong for me, but that just meant that I got more servings out of it. My husband was fine with the 1-to-1 mix. The only negative thing I have to say is that the last few sips were a little silty/gritty from all of the spices. It is competitively priced with similar products, but because of its price, it isn't something that I would buy frequently. I would definitely wait for sales or coupons.

As for the filter bags, I found these to be a bit of a mixed bag. The Classic and Vanilla were good, although I didn't see a whole lot of difference between the two varieties. The Vanilla caramel was a big sweeter, but had the same general flavor. My husband really wanted to try the pumpkin, so we went ahead and got a box of that. He likes it just fine, but again, I didn't see much difference between it and the plain or Vanilla. I guess when it said Pumpkin Spice, I was expecting something much more unique. I can't say it reminded me of pumpkin pie at all. It just seemed like another version of chai, maybe with slightly different spices.

As for the chocolate, I don't really have anything good to say. I have never tasted a good chocolate flavored tea, and the Tazo variety is much the same. It has that odd, chemical flavor that chocolate teas have. It does not taste like chocolate at all. No amount of sugar or milk really helped this product. My husband ended up drinking most of this cup of tea, and even he didn't really have anything good to say about it.

So again, I like the product line over all, although their were a couple flavors I would not ever purchase again. They are competitively priced with other brands. Add to that the fact that I know and trust the Tazo brand, and we will likely be return buyers.