Mrs. Teaist was on the way home from work when she spotted this new-to-us instant chai, and decided on a whim to give it a whirl.

“Orca Spice” is manufactured by David Rio, and is sugar free, using Sucralose as its sweetening agent.

I’ve followed the standard measurements as given on the side of the can, making up the chai with 2 tablespoons / 180 ml of hot water, although if you want more of a chai latte type of beverage hot milk can be used instead of the water.

On opening the can I got a pleasant aroma of biscuits, as well as a pronounced sense of a good old masala, i.e. the blend of spices that turns ordinary black tea into a chai. This was certainly more pronounced than with the chai from Espresso House I looked at earlier, and sort of hinted that this might be a more authentic chai experience.

I have to say that in my opinion this chai is far the better of the two. The spiciness is much more upfront and satisfying, and the default, using-hot-water milkiness is a lot more toned down, something that suits us just right. The sweetness is spot on, too, adding to the overall character of the tea without becoming overpowering.

My one criticism is that I occasionally end up with a few small clumps of undissolved powder floating in the finished drink.

We’ve found that this chai works particularly well when taken outdoors – either on our balcony just after sundown, or even under a tarp out on a meadow during a light spot of rain.

Another plus point for me is David Rio’s contributions to animal welfare. As they say on the side of the can “David Rio has been supporting endangered, at risk, and vulnerable animals since 1996…“, and the “About” page on the company website mentions that they “…donate annually to the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW)’s elephant and tiger programs…“.

Nice chai, sound morals.

Good stuff.