PRODUCT REVIEW: Chai Cola from Natural Brew

Product Information:

Product:  Chai Cola – a bottled, micro-brewed soft drink from Natural Brew.

Where to Buy:  New Seasons Market or where Natural Brew products are sold.

Product Description:

Chai is the Hindi word for “tea,” a centuries-old beverage often mixed with a complex blend of spices. By using only the finest natural ingredients, Natural Brew® Chai Cola offers a spicy, aromatic pleasure accompanied by a unique and refreshing taste.

Learn more about Chai Cola here.

Taster’s Review:

As some of you may be aware, I’m not only a tea fanatic, but somewhat of a foodie too.  I write about my foodie adventures on another blog, and I even subscribe to the Foodzie monthly tasting box.  Every month, we choose from three different boxes with different themes.  In February, I selected the Valentine’s Box which was loaded with chocolate goodies (did I mention that I’m also a chocoholic?), but there was one product in another box that really piqued my interest:  Chai Cola.  Since that time, I’ve been on a mission to find some Chai Cola so that I could try it.

I don’t know if the Chai Cola that was in the February “Movie Night” box was from Natural Brew, but, when I found a four-pack of this cola in New Seasons yesterday, I had to have some!  And while I don’t drink cola or soda on a regular basis (you may have noticed that I drink a lot of tea instead), I really like what I’m tasting here!

This has a totally different taste from most commercial sodas on the market today.  It actually tastes as though it was made with care, rather than mass produced, a result, perhaps, of the micro-brew process.  As a result, I find that this is a beverage with more flavor, and less of a syrupy sweet concoction that inundates the palate with sweetness rather than anything of substance.

It is sweet, of course (sweetened with cane juice), but after the first couple of sips, I find that the spices of the chai really start to come alive, and help offset the sweetness of the beverage.  I taste hints of ginger, a little cinnamon and even some clove in there!  It doesn’t taste overly spicy, but it has a gentle spiced tone that contrasts pleasantly with the sweetness of the cola.

And then there is the tea!  I was actually surprised to read in the ingredients list that it is a decaffeinated tea that they use, I suppose that the “cola” part of this already has caffeine in it and the caffeine of the tea might have been too much?  I don’t know what their thinking was when selecting the tea.  But that being said, it doesn’t taste like a decaffeinated beverage, nor do I get a chemical-y taste from the decaffeinated tea … but I do taste tea.  Of all the flavors that I do taste here, the tea is perhaps the mildest of them, but I can definitely taste it.

Overall, I find this to be a very delicious cola … I still prefer tea, but, for a soda … this is definitely my cup of tea!