So…a day late…but in “Nik” time this is actually right on schedule!

You might remember that we are doing the “Mother of ALL Decembers” giveaway event and that this first week of December our friends at Big Train are giving THREE Foodies a canister of the brand spanking new Fit Frappe Spiced Chai flavor. And if you didn’t know that? Well, now you do! To enter use the widget at the bottom of this post.

This is the first of TWO reviews I’ll do on this flavor. I decided to try it both hot and cold so I could give you a good, 360-degree opinion on this product. So let’s get started, shall we?

Serving Size: For an 8 oz. drink it’d be half this packet for a 16 oz. drink you’d use the whole packet. That’s the order I’ll put the rest of the stats in, k?

Nutritional yadda, yadda:


Calories: 70/130
Fat: 1.5/3.5g
Sodium: 180/360mg
Carbs: 12/24g
Sugars: 1/2g
Sugar Alcohols: 7/15g*
Protein: 10/21g

*On the sugar alcohols. It may seem like a lot but they actually use the most gastrointestinally friendly sugar alcohol, erythritol. I am highly sensitive to sugar alcohols and none of the Fit Frappe flavors have bugged me so far. I’ve also sent samples to Foodies of various surgery age and none reported any problems. But use your own best judgment!

Look/Smell of Raw Product:

Basic powder. It is a lovely tan color. As soon as you open the package you can smell the spices. That is encouraging!

Mix-ability:


I feel like this is a good time for a refresher tutorial on mixing a hot protein drink. I have memorialized this method here on the blog (click here to read and/or print) but it’s nice to have illustrations sometimes, yes?

Step One:

Put the requisite amount of powder in your cup. I did the 8 oz. serving size just to see how much of a pain in the butt it’d be. I am not a big fan of having to split up sample sizes. This wasn’t too bad though. The powder comes in at just under 2 oz. Well I know that 1 oz. = 2 tbsp. so that’s what I doled out.

Step Two:

I mixed the powder with room temperature water. Then I stirred and stirred and stirred. Make sure you take your spoon all the way down and SCRAPE the bottom of your cup to get any wayward dry powder mixed in. It should be all smooth and sort of pudding-like in appearance.

Step Three:

I add 1/3 of the boiling water that I am going to use to my cup and stir until the mixture is smooth and slightly thinner.

Step Four:

I add another 1/3 and stir again. While this may sound like a lot of time going by, literally I’ve only been at this about a minute and a half by this step.

Step Five:

I add the final 1/3 of the boiling water and stir it to a nice, smooth finish!

Step Six:

Enjoy!

Wait…but DID I enjoy it? Let’s move on with the review!

Taste:


The Chai of my memories (which comes from a little “hole in the wall” Indian joint run by the Patel family of South Baltimore) is creamy, spicy (not in the sense of being “hot” but rather full of spices like cinnamon, ginger, cloves, etc.) and just sweet enough to be called sweet but not overly so.

I’m here to tell you that Big Train got it dead on! I mean dead. ON. I added nothing but water yet it was nice and smooth. I could taste the spices and the sweetness was present but not overpowering. Mmmmm.

After-appearance/Mouthfeel:


The only thing missing from this (and this is something Big Train can’t do) is that when I had Chai at the Indian buffet it had this assortment of spice bits floating toward the top with a very thin layer of foam (like latte foam). This did not have that but in the WLS world no foam or bits is a good thing to be sure!

It mixed very smoothly and there were no lumps. It wasn’t too thick or thin. Perfection!

Cost: On the Big Train website, this retails for $19.95 for a 19.1 oz. can. I can’t tell from the info on the website how many servings that is but it looks to be a good sized canister.

Verdict:


I love it! I am a “Chai when I’m in the mood” kinda gal so if I bought this it’d probably last me a while, making it a worthwhile investment. Heck I might even make a day of it and cook up some Chicken Tikka Masala, some Indian-style Creamed Spinach, some WLS-friendly Samosas or some Curried Chickpeas and Cauliflower Rice. This Chai would fit in with the most authentic of Indian dishes. (Except that we can’t eat/drink at the same time so don’t do that!)

Now you’ve read the hot preparation review. Tomorrow is the cold prep review. In the meantime put your name in the hat to win some! Use this widget:

a Rafflecopter giveaway