Ok, ok… so I finally did it… I sweetened my chai. But only because it’s traditionally sweetened. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any traditional sweetener so I used stevia. 1 packet in a 16oz cuppa. This is only the 2nd time I’ve had sweetened chai (that wasn’t made from a mix). I had it (sweetened w/ honey) at Panera once. It wasn’t too bad. Yep. It’s a sweetened chai. The sweetener does nothing to change or inhance the flavor in anyway. It’s just… well. Sweeter. I prefer my chai (especially of the Mayan Chocolate variety) rich and decadent. This was more sweet and spicy… but at least the spicyness remained- actually I think it’s more so because the chocolate no longer has the savory notes to balance out the spice. I’m not completely ruling out sweetening chai, but I think I need a flavored sweetener like brown (or even raw) sugar, caramel or butterscotch ice cream topping, or ROT’s chai honey. But that’s not surprising since one of the reasons I drink tea is I have absoflippinlutely no motivation to drink plain water. Why drink something that has no flavor even if it’s calorie free?
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I really need to try this one sometime. I also tend to prefer my chai’s unsweetened unless it’s one of those extremely high calorie chai latte’s at my school’s coffee stand.
I’m just waiting for the space and the $ to by a full 1lb bag of this stuff- it’d only last me 40 days.
Sweetened your chai!?! Uhoh what’s next? Milk in matcha =P
Gags… never… But then again the only way I like milk is in espresso and chai lattes. I probably would like matcha lattes if I liked milk more. Sweetening chai is like adding milk to matcha- both seem to dumb down the flavors… what a waste.
Stevia does nothing to really enhance the flavor of a tea, all that it will really do to a tea is sweeten it. Since you are not crazy about sweetened tea anyway… well, I can see why you weren’t really crazy about it. If you wish to enhance the flavors of a tea, you need a natural sweetener like honey, agave nectar or sugar. For a flavored tea such as this, I wouldn’t recommend a “flavored” sweetener as I think it would interfere with the other flavors of the cup – unless that is what you want to do. For example, with a chocolate tea, a caramel topping would be an interesting addition… because it may harmonize well with chocolate.
Stevia is a natural sweetener- as it tastes exactly white sugar, I have no desire to use that either. I only wish to add things that add extra flavor. ROT’s chai honey wouldn’t interfere w/ the flavors in the chai as it would echo the spice. Some people may think that caramel or butterscotch would interfere, but I love the combo. I’ve never had agave (except in tequila lol) and have no desire to try it due to its high caloric content. Hmmm… tequila in chai…
That is one of the main reasons I also drink tea! Water is unappealing, unless I am hot and noticeably dehydrated. Also, I find that stevia does have a flavor, but it’s not a good one; more like sucralose (Splenda) than white sugar. But as for sweetening chai, if you want something more flavorful than sweet you might like raw honey (I find it less sweet and more interesting than standard honey). I could definitely see caramel or butterscotch working in chai, too. Or maybe a nice dark maple syrup? I’ve had a chai blend that included maple sugar before, so I know the flavor combo can work…
An ex friend sweetened chai w/ vanilla and caramel ice cream syrups all the time. I don’t really like honey so I think the only one I could really enjoy would be ROT’s chai honey.
I really need to try this one sometime. I also tend to prefer my chai’s unsweetened unless it’s one of those extremely high calorie chai latte’s at my school’s coffee stand.
I’m just waiting for the space and the $ to by a full 1lb bag of this stuff- it’d only last me 40 days.
Sweetened your chai!?! Uhoh what’s next? Milk in matcha =P
Gags… never… But then again the only way I like milk is in espresso and chai lattes. I probably would like matcha lattes if I liked milk more. Sweetening chai is like adding milk to matcha- both seem to dumb down the flavors… what a waste.
Stevia does nothing to really enhance the flavor of a tea, all that it will really do to a tea is sweeten it. Since you are not crazy about sweetened tea anyway… well, I can see why you weren’t really crazy about it. If you wish to enhance the flavors of a tea, you need a natural sweetener like honey, agave nectar or sugar. For a flavored tea such as this, I wouldn’t recommend a “flavored” sweetener as I think it would interfere with the other flavors of the cup – unless that is what you want to do. For example, with a chocolate tea, a caramel topping would be an interesting addition… because it may harmonize well with chocolate.
Stevia is a natural sweetener- as it tastes exactly white sugar, I have no desire to use that either. I only wish to add things that add extra flavor. ROT’s chai honey wouldn’t interfere w/ the flavors in the chai as it would echo the spice. Some people may think that caramel or butterscotch would interfere, but I love the combo. I’ve never had agave (except in tequila lol) and have no desire to try it due to its high caloric content. Hmmm… tequila in chai…
That is one of the main reasons I also drink tea! Water is unappealing, unless I am hot and noticeably dehydrated. Also, I find that stevia does have a flavor, but it’s not a good one; more like sucralose (Splenda) than white sugar. But as for sweetening chai, if you want something more flavorful than sweet you might like raw honey (I find it less sweet and more interesting than standard honey). I could definitely see caramel or butterscotch working in chai, too. Or maybe a nice dark maple syrup? I’ve had a chai blend that included maple sugar before, so I know the flavor combo can work…
An ex friend sweetened chai w/ vanilla and caramel ice cream syrups all the time. I don’t really like honey so I think the only one I could really enjoy would be ROT’s chai honey.