Oregon Chai - 4 Reviews

I'm not the mix guy here at Thirsty Dudes. The person you would want to talk to about that is Mike. He loves being a participant in the completion of a beverage. Personally I just want the finished beverage handed to me. Proof of that is that it has more than likely been over a year since Oregon Chai sent us this concentrate and I have yet to try it. Tonight the drink gods decided to shine on the northwestern company because my apartment is freezing and I'm a stubborn so and so that refuses to turn on the heat yet.

The carton tells me to just mix this and milk (almond milk in my case) in equal amounts. I did so and decided to give it a try cold. It's really sweet. So much that the sweetness overpowers the chai-ness and I think I even put in too much concentrate. Every Chai beverage I've ever had has had an overpowering spice to it, but not this. The spiced flavor is there, but it's pretty mellow. After I heated it up the sweetness subsided a bit and it was more balanced out with the spice. The more I drink it the more I realize how much I appreciate the lighthandedness of it. Now I'm a bit warmer and I can sit around reading feeling nicely terrible due to the amount of Indian food Mike and I downed at dinner.

I have had a wonderful time with Oregon Chai tea. It's my morning drink. Some people drink coffee and some people drink pop. The latter are a gaggle of crazies because who drinks pop in the morning. I can only imagine your teeth. Ugh. Sorry, but seriously? Pop in the morning? I feel like people that drink pop in the morning drink pop all day long. I couldn't imagine. My girlfriend's mom might not drink it in the morning, but I've never seen her drink water, only diet Pepsi. Her son works for Coke and I've never seen her drink anything other than diet Pepsi through a straw, which messes up pop even more.

Back to the point. I didn't need a jolt, but I expected a rush of flavor. There is anise in the ingredients and I could smell it through the pack and that excited me. A nice, bold licorice tea is just what I wanted. It's just what I want at all times. It's my life. Don't you forget it! Oregon Chai left me by wayside on this ride because it did not fully deliver. It smelled so strong but tasted like a light chai. There are spices in there, but they aren't brought out as much as the other ones I reviewed. It's the original, though, so you have to start somewhere. The ones that I liked were at an 11 when it came to flavor. This has a little bit of everything but is ratcheted down to about a five. It's still chai, but now that I've fallen in love with the other ones, this might be my last "The Original."

There is a video game that you should know about called "Trials HD." I have easily invested hundreds of hours playing it. It's a simple motorcycle game where you accelerate, brake, and lean your way to the end as quickly as possible. There is a level in it called "Dreamscape" that is all over the place. Ramping up and down through someone's crazy imagination with floating planks, scaffolding, and twisted wood. You can see what I'm talking about here.

This drink is the liquid equivalent of that track. I've made a few mugs of this before and liked it, but preferred "the original" variety. After drinking it today, I might change. It's so spicy. It's almost woody and peppery. If you like light drinks, you couldn't drive your car away from this drink fast enough. It's a lingering drink, too. So spicy. It caught me off guard because I didn't know that it was going to be so bold. If you're in the market for a change and need to pull a total 180, this is the place to go. Oooh. So spicy.

Early morning. You've got a taste for something but it's 8:30 and you're not a child anymore. Sure, you love video games and cartoons so mentally, you might be a bit youthful, but on the outside you look legitimate. Also, you don't want to be awakened by the stampede of a hundred elephants by drinking something like a five hour energy drink or even a regular energy drink. You don't want something too light like plain old water. You want some flavor. You want some pep. You want some pizazz. This drink satisfies those needs and desires. It's really bold, spicy, and perfect for a morning wake-up call.

Yerba Mate is going to energize you naturally and it's not too bitter for beginners. There is cinnamon, cardamom, clove, and anise in there for the spice lovers. All together, they play together to create a nice, spicy tea that I could and will drink again and again. I was a bit skeptical of chai because I think I had it before but it might have been some milk and tea mixture that I was not crazy about. Now I feel like a dumb dummy because I've been missing out on a new morning staple.