Flamingo Vanilla Chai

The bright pink of this packaging called to me to find out what it was…chai tea!! Then I looked at the name…Flamingo?! They also had Orca Spice and the Tiger Spice chais, and for a moment I had a very hard time deciding…until I read that this one is decaf. Decaf!!! I had to get it.

It is an instant chai powder. I mixed according to package directions, 2 TBSP to 6 oz hot water.

I could get down on this stuff. It’s rich and creamy, strongly vanilla, but I can still taste the tea along with the spices. If you like really spicy chais, I’d say this one isn’t for you. The spices are definitely there, and well-balanced, but not strong/spicy enough for a true chai afficianado. As for me, I’m going to definitely be checking into the other flavors (there’s a Toucan one with mango on the website)!!

This blend of David Rio’s chai is without sugar and caffeine and I can taste a big difference between this Flamingo Vanilla version and his original Tiger Spice Chai blend. A BIG difference. I don’t like this one near as much as the other (which earns a sold 100 from me, along with only one other tea). We bought this because my mother wanted to try my tiger chai but wanted one without the caffeine. Unfortunately for us, we cannot find the version of David Rio’s which is only caffeine free (which is called Giraffe Decaf Chai, in case you are interested), so we bought this one instead. It was a big disappointment for me because I have a long history with the Tiger Spice blend (it was the original chai tea blend from Borders back before they brought in Starbucks!)
I won’t be buying this one again, and neither will my mother, but I would try the Giraffe one.