This post was sponsored by Starbucks as part of an Influencer Activation. I received compensation and complimentary products to facilitate my review. As always my opinions are my own.
I made the switch from coffee to tea in the mornings a few years ago so when I saw the opportunity with TAZO® to try their new TAZO® Chai Latte K-Cup® pods, I jumped on it. This was the first time I’d used K-Cup® pods for tea (goodbye kettle!) and I was really excited to try a TAZO® chai latte, made with milk, tea leaves and spices. I love chai tea and I usually end up brewing a plain cup of tea for myself in the morning, but a latte really enhances your morning ritual. Giving you that sweet and creamy flavor with a pow of delicious, nuanced spice. Let’s just say I was more than ready to try this drink.
What was even more exciting was realizing that for the release of the new TAZO® Chai Latte K-Cup® pods, TAZO® partnered with Bestselling author and host Padma Lakshmi. One of my favorite foodies! Of course Padma would be delighted to celebrate the flavors of chai with TAZO® since chai and tea have been such a huge part of Padma’s life and heritage. The sweet and spicy black tea blend is steeped in 5,000 years of Indian history. And the new TAZO® Chai Latte K-Cup® pods feature a rich, creamy blend of black tea, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, and vanilla flavor.
It also comes in two flavors, classic latte or vanilla caramel latte, so you can enjoy your perfect blend of sweet meets spicy with a little extra sweetness. I prefer the classic latte flavor in the morning, and a nice sweet treat of the vanilla caramel latte at night. It’s a wonderful dessert pairing, perfect for when you want to stay in but take an imaginary journey exploring the exotic flavors of sweet cinnamon, fragrant cardamom, and spicy ginger. I’m not kidding about the aromatics. It’s so fragrant, so sweet, so creamy. I loved the smell almost as much as the taste.
And speaking of pairings, Padma Lakshmi developed recipes to pair with your chai latte and they sound so good. You can find them at TAZO.com/chai/pairings. I want to try all of them. This means I’ll have to buy more TAZO® Chai Latte K-Cup® pods which (hey, good timing) if you want to know where you can find your own, you can easily search for locations at TAZO.com/wheretobuy.
But let me get back to Padma’s recipes for a second because they look yummy and she provides a sweet story to go along with each recipe. For the aloo tikkis recipe, which are Indian potato croquettes, she says they would be served at teatime with chai tea and my initial thought was, “I guess I need to have a tea party with Padma’s recipes and TAZO® Chai Latte K-Cup® pods” Who’s with me? Although first on my list is probably the toast with manchego cheese and spicy jam. I could easily throw some of those together for tea. Or for myself. I’m sorry. I’m greedy! Or how about a batch of the cinnamon tea cookies. See? I wasn’t kidding, Padma really knows how to put together some tasty pairings.
My morning ritual isn’t a spot on pairing like Padma’s but I’ve enjoyed the TAZO® Chai Latte K-Cup® pods with breakfast. First of all, it’s easy. I usually spend a lot of time preparing my breakfast. I brew tea, wash a handful of berries, and let my muesli sit for fifteen minutes after I’ve mixed it with hot water. It’s not too bad but I certainly enjoy shaving off some time in other areas. Especially when the payoff is flavorful.
The TAZO® Chai Latte K-Cup® pods are an easy two-step process. First pour the dairy blend into your teacup or mug, then brew the K-Cup® pod in your Keurig® into the same cup and mix with a spoon. Sweet meets spicy success, and a creamy, flavorful drink to enhance my routine muesli, fruit, and plain Greek yogurt. I try to pick muesli with a lot of nuts and seeds so I’ve appreciated the TAZO® Chai Latte and how it feels like a bit of a morning treat. My next big move is to put a little cinnamon on my muesli to enhance the flavor of the chai latte.
I worried that the TAZO® Chai Latte K-Cup® pods would be too sweet for me. I’m usually a cream no sugar kind of gal, but it was actually kind of addicting. It just tasted so good. And smelled so good. I’d brew it for the smell alone. But I think they had it right by calling it the Sweet Meets Spicy Collection, because you don’t lose any of the spice in all the sweetness. The spices stand up to the creamy flavor really well.
I do tend to get bored and change things up so I’m sure that I’ll start drinking the chai latte at night at some point and then switch back to morning. Or as someone who is fairly sensitive to caffeine (part of why I stopped drinking coffee regularly), I might limit my consumption to one chai a day as it provided a lot of energy. I’m a zombie in the morning but with caffeine I get super excitable so I’d say that’s the only negative. Yeah, my one negative comment is that I wish I could drink more but I have to limit myself because of caffeine. What does that tell ya? Either way, I’m happy to have another tea to add to my rotation.
If you’d like to read more about TAZO® Chai Latte K-Cup® pods visit TAZO®. Feel free to follow TAZO® on Facebook, T
