Republic Chai

I was in the grocery store the other day debating over what milk substitute to get. I’m mildly lactose intolerant, so for days where I drink a lot of tea with milk I need some sort of replacement. I really like soy milk but I wanted to try coconut or almond to see what it would be like with tea. Coconut or almond, coconut or almond… then magically, I found a carton tucked in the corner—coconut milk AND almond milk! Perfect! It’s too hot today for any warm tea and my air conditioners don’t get here till tomorrow (damn you, Memorial Day!), so it was time for something creamy and iced. I only drink a few teas iced with milk, and chai is my favorite for later in the evening, so chai it was!

This is pretty much my go-to chai for mixing. I’ve made concentrate from it (which is what I used for the iced latte), I blend it with other teas, I cook with it, etc. I don’t really use it on its own so I feel weird giving it an actual rating… the way I use it it’s a clear 100 but as a base I’m just unsure what to do. So, no rating, but I do love it! It was SO good with the coconut almond milk and tasted (unsurprisingly) like coconut almond chai! Refreshing, creamy, nutty, spicy, cooling, delicious. Next I think I am going to make some chai caramels with the almond coconut milk instead of heavy cream…

This is the second time I have made this into a long simmered chai.
The first time was with all milk and some brown sugar – SO deluxe and very delicious! I did simmer it for a good 30-45 minutes. Liquid gold.
This time I tried it with unsweetened almond milk and just a little bit of condensed milk (It needed to be used). Just a touch of agave and it is brilliant! Not too rich and very satisfying as a morning drink (instead of coffee).

I am very impressed with this tea. It is over…5 years old? And yet it is such a tasty chai! I am in love!… I wish shipping wasn’t so much though for this brand. Phooey. I will have to stalk the site for sales so the shipping doesn’t raise the price of the tea too much.
mmmmMMMmmm Creamy chai heaven.

EDIT: Wait.. I just discovered it was 8.00 bucks shipping. hides credit card
EDIT 2: Wait.. shipping will actually be 17 bucks. I don’t need to hide my credit card after all as that is just too much. Problem 1 solved.. now I just need to find out if they are featured in any shops around here (which is how I managed to get this tea in the first place years ago)

I like my tea twin KeeneTeaThyme am on a quest for a good chai. I thought this could be a real contender. I’d heard good things from friends who swear by Republic of Tea teas. But this was SUPER weak with one bag. I even prepared said teas as Republic of Tea suggested (simmered, milk, and honey) and it was still weak. I will try to double up on the bag as another Steepster suggested.

All the traditional chai spices were there, but pretty weak. May try again and double up the bags.

Delicious.

I’m really not a ‘tea bag’ person and buy loose tea whenever I can manage it, so I bought this loose as well and I used quite about 2 tsp of it when I made my cup. Mostly because I’m heading out into the cold (to go to the movie theatre for HARRY POTTER! YAY!) so I wanted something strong to hold me upright against the wind.

I love this tea. It’s my favorite from the Republic blends I’ve had. It’s strong, spicy, and moments after a sip I can still taste the flavour. I do like strong tasting teas, (for years I drank my coffee as strong, black, and angry as I could) because I hate watery pathetic flavourless dribble. I found this tea sensational and if I could smuggle a cup into the theatre with me tonight, I would.

Traditional chai taste, very full flavour, certainly peppery, and perfect with some milk and honey as per the suggestion. I’ll certainly have more of this in the future!

I found this weak tea-wise but strong spice-wise, so I usually add a plain black tea bag and I’m good to go. However, there are more interesting chais out there.

Bagged teas rarely are going to be as good as loose-leaf varieties, but Republic Chai was disappointingly weak by any standard. There was just no “there” there, if you know what I mean. If you’re hellbent on getting your tea from a bag, Celestial Seasonings (which I associate more with herbal teas than with quality real teas) actually has a pretty good chai that has the requisite spice and which can stand up to milk. If you want the real deal, however, go for the loose-leaf stuff, such as Rishi’s Masala Chai. Or, if you prefer something with a strong cinnamon flavor, rather than cardamon, try Porto Rico Importing’s Chai Tra Que.

I usually like chai teas. I love the spice.

When I first open the canister, I was concerned because it looked like I bought ground pepper…

I decided to persevere and try the tea anyways. I steeped it as directed, and took a swig… Big mistake. It looked like pepper, smelled like pepper, and tasted like pepper. There wasn’t the nice spice or tea flavor, it just tasted like I was drinking pepper.

Not sure if I’ll try it again, I think I got a bad batch. I mixed it around, and it just looks like pepper.

Made my first chai tea latte today using this. Used 1/2 cup tea and 1/2 cup milk w/ 1 teaspoon chai honey. It was pretty good. Although next time I think I would use a bit less milk. Not bad for a first try.

I prefer to drink black chais neat (nothing added) and this one is smooth and flavorful. The balance of ingredients is perfect. Unlike other chais they don’t use too much black pepper. They use an Indian black tea and the flavor is wonderful. I really tasted the cardamon which is very nice. I imagine this cup is sublime made in a pan with milk.

Delicious. This tastes EXACTLY like the Republic RED Chai, which is one of my favorites. Very strong and peppery. I always consume this in loose leaf (maybe those who commented about weakness are using bags). I always add milk and sweetener to round it out. I’ll probably stick with the red version, because I love having a non caffeinated chai. However, its good to know I could slip a little caffeine buzz in there without any substantial flavor change. One nice thing about the black tea version is that this does not have the long pokey rooibos strands that seem to slip through the filter. Getting those suckers caught in your throat ruins the experience.

Arguably my most favorite Chai. I really don’t understand notes about this being weak. Have we all forgotten that to fine tune our teas to our own particular tastes, that we can use MORE or steep for longer to achieve the desired strength? That said, I find that Republic Chai works best with 1.5 teaspoons, boiling water @ about 9-10 minutes. finish with honey and milk and you get a nice smooth cup of Chai with a wonderful peppery afterbite.

This tea did taste pretty weak to me, even after five minutes in the tea pot.

Good but very weak.

Really nice with milk and sweetener. The black tea component gets strong before the cardamom and pepper and other spices are just coming into their own. Can be bitter/acidic if left brewing too long.

Very good love it with milk and honey but needs to be simmered together. Don’t add the milk afterwards!