Earlier today, I went to a Teavana Oprah Chai exclusive tasting event in L.A. and it was fantastic!  As always, I am giving my 100% honest opinion, so you can be sure that I’ll give you the lowdown on what you’ll be seeing in Starbucks and Teavana stores next week.  Let’s get to it!

First of all, I had a doozy of a time getting to midtown L.A. in the morning, but once I got there everyone was so welcoming!

We were told all about the tea itself, which is a wonderful, robust blend of so many wonderful spices including cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, cloves, and black pepper.  It is blended with loose-leaf black tea and rooibos to produce a tea that really has a spicy punch of flavor.  By the way, Jason (the tea guru below) let me know that rooibos is pronounced “ROY-bus” for all of you out there who were stumped by the word!

The packaging itself is just gorgeous, don’t you think?  Every detail has been curated to perfection, including the lovely tins.  It took about a year of back-and-forth to get the blend just right.  Here is a video of “The Making of Teavana Oprah Chai,” and you can catch a glimpse of our very own tea guide, Jason!

Now to the tea sampling!  First, Jason demonstrated how the Teavana Oprah Chai tastes when iced.  I was completely impressed!  I think that most teas are weak, which is why I brew them strong and prefer spicy Chai teas over everything else.  This was fantastic brewed on its own!

Then, it was time to brew it hot!  He used a wonderful item that I had never seen before, the Teavana PerfecTea Maker.  He set it to steep for 3 minutes and then…

…placed it on the teapot and voila!  Perfect tea strained into the teapot without any leaf or spice stragglers.  🙂  As for the flavor, I could not have been happier.  I always love the fragrance of tea leaves and some disappoint when it comes to the taste.  However, it is sweet, spicy, and unique tasting all at the same time without any cream, sugar, or additives.  And this is coming from a girl who lived in Nashville, where they like their tea ultra-sweet!

I tasted it as a Teavana Oprah Chai Latte, and it was just so comforting and wonderful.  I could drink this morning, noon, and night!

Luckily, I came home with a tin of the wonderful tea, just enough to hold me over until next week when it will be available throughout the U.S. and Canada in Starbucks and Teavana stores.  Great!