What is your go to morning beverage? The drink that awakens your senses and charges you to take on the day ? Mine has to be a big cup of masala chai ! It is always a pleasure to be in the company of a spicy and aromatic chai. We all have seen the hot chai but have you tried iced chai before? We are discussing this and much more in this post. Today in our kitchen, we are reviewing a very interesting range of Chai by Bhakti and picking our favorites ! Sounds exciting right? So, let us get brewing !!
Born in an Indian family, I have grown up enjoying Masala chai and untill now, I am pretty sure I have had thousands of cups. I love to start my morning with it and it is now a part of my daily routine. Believe it or not, I have a whole pantry shelf dedicated to teas & have a personal collection of various teas- ranging from oolong, black to Herbal blends and Matcha tea! Each one of them unique, each delicious!
I recently got to know about this brand by the name Bhakti and the name itself got me nostalgic ! I moved out of India 4 years back and naturally anything remotely Indian makes me reminisce all the things I love back home. In Hindi (the official language of India), Bhakti means “Devotion” and it has a very strong significance in the Indian culture. To understand the reason behind this name for the brand, I went and checked out their website where I got to know about the founder’s inspiration behind the product line. In India, it is considered a welcoming gesture to offer Chai and snacks to your guests. It is interesting to see how the founder of the Bhakti brand, Brook Eddy, fell in love with the ritual of offering tea to guests and what started it all, the Indian tea!
Bhakti has a wide range of products under its belt. Not just Chai concentrates, they also have a very interesting range of sparkling teas and iced Chai including a cold brew coffee blend iced chai ! These are some of the products I grabbed for a taste test :
Bhakti Chai’s wide range of products
One of the very first reaction was – wow ! What a range !! I got my hands on some of their sparkling teas, three of their iced chai variations and some concentrates. To start, I found the packaging design simple and elegant. The colors, the chakra logo and the mandala patterns – all adds up to make it look like an Indian inspired product. I Love it !!
Chai Concentrates
Bhakti Chai Concentrates
I was very eager to try out the products and check for authenticity. So, I quickly whipped up a batch of chai using their Original Chai concentrate and tried it out. Have to admit.. I loved it!! This concentrate has strong flavors of cardamom and freshly pressed ginger in it along with the black tea. Not only that, It is really as simple as adding the milk of your choice and boiling it! These concentrates comes in various flavors and some of them have the sugar added in which is perfect! All you need is some milk of your choice.
Verdict – The chai concentrates make some excellent chai and the taste is pretty much authentic. What I really like about this concentrate is that it has the rich extracts of ginger and cardamom which is a very “Indian way” of making tea and makes this product line stand out from the other chai beverages I have tasted . Personally I am not a big fan of cardamom, so it was a little too strong for me but my husband loved it!
Iced Chai
Bhakti Chai’s range of Iced Chai – Do not miss out on trying their Cold Brew Coffee Blend Iced Chai
Okay! Lets talk about the Iced Chai. Have you ever had any ? Well this was my first and I have to admit, it was something very new for me. I mean we all have had iced teas but Bhakti chai goes the extra mile with theirs. These vegan chais comes in many regular flavors but they also have a few interesting flavors like Toasted Coconut Almond chai and Cold Brew Coffee blend. I was able to find the coffee blend (which I was really excited about btw) and found the flavors really unique. I could have never imagined mixing the 2 flavors but to my surprise, they work well ! These bottles are great to “grab and go” and enjoy with lunch. Other flavors include – Original, Semi Sweet, Almond Milk and Decaf.
So, before we wrap up this review, let us talk about some Sparkling Teas
Sparkling Teas
Bhakti Chai Sparkling Tea range
Imagine a pop/ soda which is tea flavored(and much less sugar!) but also has more complex notes of citrus an fruits (sometimes berries)… thats how I would define these sparkling teas. When I tried them, I was sort of apprehensive, mostly because the names of these teas sent my brain mixed signals of what to expect inside. For instance, the “Mango Lime Matcha” (which is my favorite) made me remember the Indian drink Aam Panna (drink made with green mangoes, limes and sugar) which is usually served in summers to rehydrate the body . These flavors with a matcha tea infusion was a pleasant surprise and it instantly got my approval. Try this or one of their other flavors – Lemon Ginger black, Tart Cheery Rooibos and Mint Mate. If you get a chance, you must try these sparkling teas … they are a real delight!
Overall I love the products by Bhakti and I am really glad to see a product which has done justice to Indian Chai flavors in the true sense ! Thank u Bhakti Chai for these wonderful samples 🙂 I can’t wait to use some of them for a fun recipe… look out for that post!! It is going to be amazing 🙂 Check out their entire line of products here.
Peeps, I am sure all this chai talk is making you itch to try some on your own. So, why don’t you hop on to their website and have a look yourself? You can also check out their twitter and instagram page for some recipe ideas!
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