Product Review: Teavana® Oprah Chai Tea Latte from Starbucks

by liberteas

OprahLatteProduct Information:

Spicy chai blend of cinnamon, black tea and rooibos, lightly sweetened and finished with steamed milk.

Where to Buy:  Your Local Starbucks

Learn more about this product here.

Taster’s Review:

This product combines two things that I do not like with a couple of things that I do like.  I don’t like Teavana and I don’t like Starbucks.  But I do like chai lattes and I like Oprah Winfrey.  So, I decided that since I happened to be at my local Safeway and there happens to be a Starbucks inside that I’d try Oprah’s “new” (it’s not really new anymore, but it’s new to me) Chai from Teavana that has been crafted into a latte by Starbucks.

Two things that I noticed right off the bat that I appreciated – first thing: it wasn’t prepared too hot.  The very rare times that I stop at a coffee shop to get a chai latte (very rare), it seems like the drink is too hot to consume and it takes forever for the temperature to drop.  This was prepared at a slightly lower temperature, I think, and it was a drinkable temperature.  Nice.

The second thing that I noticed:  it’s not too sweet.  Yeah, it’s been sweetened.  But it’s not cloyingly sweet.  It’s not so sweet that I felt myself recoil from the overwhelming sweetness.  And there’s a nice balance between sweet and spice.

I can taste the tea here and that’s another thing I appreciate.  More often than not, when I do have that rare latte from a coffee shop, many times it’s made from a concentrate and it’s overly processed and I just can’t taste any tea.  I taste some spice but mostly what I end up tasting is warm milk and sweetener.

That’s not happening with this.  I can taste the black tea and I taste a light nutty flavor from the rooibos.  The spices are nicely balanced.  Overall, it’s a pleasant chai latte.  Not my favorite – my favorite is the kind that I make at home where I control the sweetness and the amount of dairy that goes into it.  But for a latte that I picked up at a coffee shop (even if it is Starbucks), it’s pretty good.  And it’s definitely better than Starbucks “classic” chai latte.

I don’t know that I’ll be lining up at Starbucks to get this again soon, but, if I happen to find myself at Starbucks, this is probably what I’ll order.

liberteas

Anne (aka the Mad Tea Artist) has celebrated her 29th birthday for many years now. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her hubby and her youngest daughter. Her oldest daughter is married and has bestowed Anne with the proud title of "Gramma" and her grandson is about the cutest boy you ever did see. Anne started her journey with tea as a casual drinker and became more serious about her tea drinking when she realized that she couldn't drink coffee. Shortly thereafter, she started becoming obsessed with the beverage and she started creating small-batch, artisan blends of tea that she sold online as LiberTEAS. After a few years, she realized she wasn't cut out to be the sole proprietor of a business so she closed LiberTEAS and started reviewing teas online. She met Jennifer through another blog that they both reviewed for and they decided to start their own review blog. This review blog! Throughout her journey as a tea reviewer, she discovered 52Teas and became enamored with the idea of creating a new tea every week. When the founder of 52Teas decided he wanted to move on, he offered the business to Anne but knowing that she wasn't cut out to be a sole proprietor, she instead offered the company to her oldest daughter who employs her as the Mad Tea Artist for 52Teas!

This post was posted in Black Tea, Chai, Rooibos, Tea Products and Accessories

2 thoughts on “Product Review: Teavana® Oprah Chai Tea Latte from Starbucks”

  2. I have never had a chai latte nor am I a tea drinker, but was curious about this one as well. I will definitely give it a try.

    Reply

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