Chai Tea Review – Blenz, Mission, BC

Blenz is a known entity, unlike my previous entry. They’re a Vancouver based company with locations all over the Fraser Valley. They were my go-to for a hot drink on the return from a photoshoot or trip somewhere by myself when I’d had Starbucks on the way and didn’t want my wife to see I had two too-expensive and too-sugary drinks (the Starbucks app gives notifications on both our phones so I know when she has one and she knows when I do).

Anyway.

Today this was an early evening “just get me a drink” trip back from the dog park and I decided I wanted something a bit different.

Packaging

Blenz cups have a stylish yellow cup, and their sleeves have a distinct corrugated feel. Generally no issues with excess heat burning my delicate fingers. The lids fit well and have a good mouth feel. They also have a large enough “blow hole” (not what it’s officially called, the little hole on the opposite side of the lid that lets air in so you can actually drink the coffee out of it) that there’s no resistance to drinking, unlike Starbucks.

The cup does have a bit of an odd feel to it (a subtle corrugated feel in the cup as well as the sleeve), but it’s not unpleasant, and is distinct. I feel like I’d be able to pick a Blenz take out cup in a blind test easily).

Spice and Pop

I find that there’s a bit more “pop” to the Blenz Chai. It’s distinct, not too harsh, and has a nice flavour. It feels like it’s more on the cinnamon side, but not too far.

Creaminess

The creaminess falls on the slightly more creamy side from Starbucks (sorry that I keep on coming back to Starbucks as a comparison point), but only slightly. There tends to be a constant slightly frothy top that sits on top as a skim, which is quite nice.

Heat

Heat of the drink really varies between locations. At the Pitt Meadows location they make them positively boiling. This means that you can savour the thought of having your chai for longer. At the Mission location though they come out at the perfect temperature for drinking right then.

However…. I don’t like it. I want at least a bit of extra heat so that I can get it home, or at least drive a little without feeling like it’ll get too cold. At Starbucks you can ask for “extra hot” but I haven’t tried that at this one. I’ll do this and update.

I do know the heat isn’t a one off, I’ve been here a few times and it’s been the same each time. Again, this isn’t “bad”, just not my preferred setup.

Final Rating