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Permalink Reply by Andrew Olson on December 2, 2009 at 8:25am

we use Sattwa Chai, it's a little bit more "spicy" than most i've tried, overall it's pretty good.. (speaking as a non-chai drinker)

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Permalink Reply by Mike McGinness on December 2, 2009 at 9:46am

I've tried a number of commerical chai's that target the coffeehouse market including Sattwa and was never satisfied. So especially since you manage a "coffee and tea" shop, ought to be blending your own chai. Then brew your own concentrate. That way both the blend and sweetness level is exactly what you want. My chai blend is comprised of Assam and Darjeeling single estate India teas and 9 spices (no powdered spices all whole or chopped). Brew for 1/2gal concentrate using 100gr chai blend, 56gr honey, 114g dark cane sugar, just off boil water. Infused 30min. Strained through coarse SS strainer then Swissgold. Blending and brewing your own chai concentrate does indeed take more time and work, which is true of most things highest quality.

Don't ask my specific ingredients/ratios, it is indeed a trade secret since in addition to roasted coffee I wholesale my chai blend.

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Permalink Reply by Jeremy Conley on December 2, 2009 at 10:34am

You know, I have never really liked Oregon Chai. My fiance makes a mean chai for us at home. The base recipe isn't very complicated; and from there, provided you're headed in the right direction, things can only get better.

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Permalink Reply by James Liu on December 2, 2009 at 11:50am

I happen to like Sattwa. Used the stuff for years out on the East Coast.

Intelligentsia sells their chai concentrate, it's not bad. And so does Rishi. The spicieness gradient goes Sattwa Intelly Rishi Oregon. Sweetness runs Oregon Intelly Rishi Sattwa.

Also, Intelly's concentrate is notionally 4x concentrate, but I'd always preferred using it as 3x. Rishi and Sattwa are both 2x, and that's about the ratio I like for both.

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Permalink Reply by Ty Paluska on December 2, 2009 at 3:07pm

Thanks for the input. Yeah, I'm just getting tired of having the same old chai...I'd like to have something a little more unique. Although the the DIY chai sounds amazing, I'm not sure we could handle going through all that work...it would be more efficient to get a concentrate. I'll look into the Intellegentsia or the Rishi and see if I like either of those! Thanks again...

James Liu said:

I happen to like Sattwa. Used the stuff for years out on the East Coast.

Intelligentsia sells their chai concentrate, it's not bad. And so does Rishi. The spicieness gradient goes Sattwa Intelly Rishi Oregon. Sweetness runs Oregon Intelly Rishi Sattwa.

Also, Intelly's concentrate is notionally 4x concentrate, but I'd always preferred using it as 3x. Rishi and Sattwa are both 2x, and that's about the ratio I like for both.

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Permalink Reply by Kari Guddeck on December 2, 2009 at 4:47pm

Hey Ty - you might want to check out Third Street Chai also. It's a liquid concentrate micro brewed in Boulder, CO. They cover the spicy gamut from Honey Vanilla (sweeter like Oregon), Authentic (a nice medium spice), and Spicy Ginger (lots of gingery goodness). Fair trade, organic, and shelf stable until opened.

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Permalink Reply by Jonathan on December 2, 2009 at 5:32pm

My Chai is the way to go. They have a couple different choices... one being My Chai and the other being My Chai Original. The (regular) My Chai should put you at the same price point as Oregon Chai and have a VERY similar profile... Actually a bit better. You should not have any customer rejection as you most likely will if you switch to Third St, Chai Co., Dragon Fly, etc...
Anyway, just my opinion.

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Permalink Reply by chantelle on December 2, 2009 at 5:36pm

Even the 3rd street yerba mate chai. That one is my favorite from them
We had the same problem with chai, at the old shop I worked at. What I noticed it that there are so many kinds of chai, that not all your customers will enjoy what you serve. When we found that 3rd street had a few different types of chai, we did a little test with our regulars and decided from there choice. Good luck with whatever you'll pick.

Kari Guddeck said:

Hey Ty - you might want to check out Third Street Chai also. It's a liquid concentrate micro brewed in Boulder, CO. They cover the spicy gamut from Honey Vanilla (sweeter like Oregon), Authentic (a nice medium spice), and Spicy Ginger (lots of gingery goodness). Fair trade, organic, and shelf stable until opened.

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Permalink Reply by chris ganger on December 2, 2009 at 6:22pm

pixie chai
and
pixie mate chai

awesome.

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Permalink Reply by Paul Yates on December 2, 2009 at 7:26pm

I read somewhere online that 3rd Street and Pixie Mate were considering merging...can anyone confirm that?

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Permalink Reply by Dominic D on December 2, 2009 at 10:14pm

I agree with Jonathan. I had samplings of the My Chai back at the Seattle Coffee Fest and it was way better than the Oregon Chai. My feeling is that most of the commercial "over-the-counter" stuff is too mild or way off mark.

Jonathan said:

My Chai is the way to go. They have a couple different choices... one being My Chai and the other being My Chai Original. The (regular) My Chai should put you at the same price point as Oregon Chai and have a VERY similar profile... Actually a bit better. You should not have any customer rejection as you most likely will if you switch to Third St, Chai Co., Dragon Fly, etc...
Anyway, just my opinion.

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Permalink Reply by Ty Paluska on December 3, 2009 at 2:57am

Well, after reading all these and checking them out online, i've found that the Third Street Chai is the most comparable to Oregon Chai as far as price range go so I ordered a couple different kinds of their chai to try out as well as a bottle of the Sattwa chai which was a little bit more expensive. My chai was still a little too expensive...but thanks for everyone's input. it's greatly appreciated!

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