Wednesday, December 2, 2009

My new favourite tea - and a giveaway! [CLOSED]

***This giveaway is now closed. Winner: Trish ***
***Redraw winner: Pam! (confirmed)***

I am a BIG hot drink lover - along with coffee and three varieties of hot chocolate in my cupboard, I currently have 22 (!) varieties of tea on hand, though I usually stick to my four all-time faves: Twinings decaf Earl Grey, Tetley decaf Orange Pekoe, Celestial Seasonings Sleepytime (with honey! yum) or the delicious President's Choice Moroccan Mint. I thought I'd got my favourites down to a science (I even time the brew for every cup... I'm serious about tea). I'm not averse to loose tea, but I do find that it's so much more convenient in bags.

Much to my surprise, I have recently discovered a delicious new tea (well, it's new to me - not sure how new it really is). It's President's Choice Chocolatey Chai Herbal Tea. They've actually just redesigned the box, so it doesn't look like this any more...I'm not sure I would have even noticed it in this old box. But I spotted the new box on the shelf at the store and decided to give it a try.

I love chai, but I find it's usually too strong or spicy for me. I usually go half and half milk and chai, and if it's the chai concentrate in the cartons, I use about a tablespoon to a full mug of milk. Guess I'm a big chai wimp. But this tea is just a perfect strength - it's got the exotic character without being overpowering. It has a bit of stevia for sweetness, and I find I can drink it clear, or add milk (usually clear tea is too strong for me - I even add milk to jasmine).

And the chocolatey part is so perfect. It contains a bit of cocoa, and a bit of cocoa shells, to impart a rich yet light chocolate flavour. It sounds so weird, but it is the perfect combination of tea and hot chocolate flavours. But with none of the high calories of hot chocolate drinks. I know, it sounds kinda wrong and strange, but believe me, it's so extra yummy!

I am so pumped about this new tea (is it wrong to drink four mugs in a day?) that I want to share a box with one of my readers. This isn't a sponsored post or anything... I'm going to go to the grocery store, buy a box and mail it out. Call it Christmas or just investing in my karma.

*giveaway*

The prize: one box of delicious President's Choice Chocolatey Chai, sent from me to you!

How to enter: simply comment here with your favourite home-made hot drink and if this would be for you or perhaps a delightful stocking stuffer for someone you know!

Extra entries? You bet. Add an extra comment for each that you do:
  • Add my button to your blog, comment with the link for me to see
  • Blog about this giveaway with a link back here (2 entries! make two comments)
  • Follow my blog (become a new one, or be a current follower)
Five sweet chances to win!

Who's eligible: Anyone in the US or Canada. Just cause I'm nice and plus you probably can't get this tea in the US so it would be a special treat for someone!

This giveaway will end on December 15th, midnight EST... Hopefully that's enough time to get it to the winner before Christmas, although I can't guarantee that. Canada Post gets busy in December! I do promise to send it out asap once I have a confirmed winner!

Winner will be announced on this post, a fresh new post and also emailed... so don't forget to include your email address if it is not on your profile so that I can contact you!

***This giveaway is now closed. Winner: Trish ***
***Redraw winner: Pam!
(confirmed)***

60 comments:

  1. Hi my favorite hot drink would be green tea it tastes so good and is healthy. If I won this I would give it to my Mom. Thanks!

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  2. I'm really bad at choosing favourites - some days my favourite is mint tea (with mint from our garden), some days it's hot cocoa, some days it's mulled wine. If I have to choose just one, today it would be hot apple cider.

    If I won, this tea would be for me (I'd share it, but I wouldn't give away the whole box without trying it).

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  3. Hot apple cider with a little bit of whip cream and caramel is my favorite...but that's a special treat. My day-to-day favorites are mint tea or peach herbal tea.

    The chocolate chai sounds yummy!

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  4. I Love coffee.. is that too predictable? :) If it's not black coffee though it's Chai Tea. And Chocolate Chai?! OMG I bet that is SO GOOD! This would be for me, but I might share :)

    sprague.liz at gmail dot com

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  5. I put your adorable button on my sidebar http://babysignswithelizabeth.blogspot.com/

    PS - Thanks for blogging about my Twilight Turtle giveaway!

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  6. I love green tea it makes me happy when i drink it because I know it has lots of benefits. If I win The chocolate chai it would be for me and for the rest of my family

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  7. love white chocolate cocoa
    shopannies@yahoo.com

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  8. My favorite home-made hot drink is coffee, but my hubby is a huge tea lover and this would make a great stocking stuffer for him!

    Thanks!

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  9. I love both tea and coffee. I like to add a little hot chocolate powder to my coffee to mix it up :)

    thanks for the chance
    Amy
    amym_brown@hotmail.com

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  10. I'm a new blog follower, I'm amymbrown
    thanks
    amym_brown@hotmail.com

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  11. I love tea and I'd love to try this one, because I haven't tried it yet. I have over 40 different teas at home, mostly Tetley & Stash. My favourite one is also Celestial Sleepytime with some honey.

    jenyasha87@hotmail.com

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  12. I like hot apple cider. Growing up there was a lot of tea drinking in my house so I am still pretty good at that.
    I would save the tea and drink it when my sister comes to visit.

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  13. I love green tea (brewed from loose leaves). The chai would be for me to try. Thanks!

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  14. My favorite drink is a hot cup of Yogic Chai Original Masala Chai. If you like REAL chai, you should check them out :

    I would love to enjoy this tea with my wife and a couple of friends

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  15. I've never tried this, but I've been wanting to. Lately, my fave hot drink is coffee, but I'm a tea lover at heart.

    I would probably try this myself. If it was good enough, THEN I'd use it as a stocking stuffer. I like to be able to wholeheartedly recommend my gifts to others.

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  16. I love making hot chocolate with marshmallows. I also add a piece of Twizzlers Strawberry Licorice Twists as a straw for when it cools down - yum!

    arctic_teacher(at)yahoo(dot)ca

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  17. I added your button to my blog

    arctic_teacher(at)yahoo(dot)ca

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  18. This shouldn't count as an entry...I just forgot to mention above that this Chocolate Chai tea would be for me!

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  19. My favorite hot drink is green tea, and this would be for my daughter, who loves any kind of chocolate drink. Thanks!

    sphinxcw at aol dot com

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  20. Hmmm, this is a toughy...hot apple cider with whip cream, a sprinkle of cinnamon, and a drizzle of caramel. Then there's always homemade hot chocolate with a splash of decaf hazelnut coffee, whip cream, and a candy cane stir stick!

    As yummy as this one sounds, I would actually probably gift it to one of my sisters as a decadent holiday treat!

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  21. My favourite hot drink would be hot chocolate. I do love Chai tea lattes though so this would most definitely be for me!

    melacan at hotmail dot com

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  22. I'm a new follower :)

    melacan at hotmail dot com

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  23. I love apple cider and mint hot chocolate!
    oheeyore at hotmail dot com

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  24. ...I forgot to say that I would share this with my husband!

    blog follower too
    oheeyore at hotmail dot com

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  25. This would definitely be for me!! I love chai and chocolate, so this sounds yummy!!

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  26. My fav hot drink is cranberry juice warmed with fresh orange slices & cinnamon sticks then strained and enjoy !!!!!! birdson@roadrunner.com

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  27. Oh, I'd love that tea. I'm going to look around here to see if I can find it (or something like it?). My favorite hot drink in the morning is coffee (boring!), but I love a fancy decaf tea in the evening.

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  28. My fave hot drink is hot chocolate with marshmallows and I would love that tea...chai is my favourite!

    cmcneil at uwo dot ca

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  29. Green tea with a little honey. This would be for myself.
    trishbazin@yahoo.com

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  30. My favorite homemade drink is Fresh Apple Cider! This would be for myself since I LOVE Tea! Thanks for the chance I've never heard of this type of tea.

    unforgetable_dreamer_always(at)hotmail.com

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  31. I love black tea with oranges and spices. If I were to win this, it'd be a gift for my sister.

    winterwrens at gmail dot com

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  32. I love chai tea... we brew it everyday... it along with coffee are my favorites!


    picketfence_cartel at hotmail dot com

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  33. I follow your blog... and i forgot to say that i would be giving this to my dad because he is also a chai tea fanatic!


    picketfence_cartel at hotmail dot com

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  34. My favorite hot drink is coffee. This would definitely be for me!

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  35. My favorite homemade drink would be apple cider yummy.. This Tea sounds soo good it would make an excellent stocking stuffer for my Husband!!

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  36. I love mint tea. This would most definitely be for me!

    nfmgirl AT gmail DOT com

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  37. I love jasmine green tea and Earl Grey tea. This box of tea would be for me. :)

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  38. My favorite homemade hot drink would be chai, I love it, it just says winter to me. I would be keeping this to try myself.

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  39. Blogged about your give away today
    http://smjudson.blogspot.com/2009/12/give-aways-from-some-of-my-favorite.html

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  40. i love chai tea but i've never had chocolate so i'm interested in this.

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  41. My favorite hot drinks are almost any flavor caffeinated hot tea -- chai and chocolate rock :) *Thanks* for the giveaway!
    theluckyladybug[at]gmail[dot]com

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  42. 2 - Blogged
    theluckyladybug[at]gmail[dot]com

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  43. Following with Google Friend Connect
    theluckyladybug[at]gmail[dot]com

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  44. LiaLindaFromPN (AT) gmail (D0T) comDecember 10, 2009 at 4:59 AM

    You made the tea sound *SOOO* good I went to the PC site to read more about it (it's got the stevia & carob pods / cocoa you mentioned, but also chicory, spices, ginger & licorice root too = YUMMY!). Since I still have their page open, I'm going to send them an email telling them about your contest too! :)

    My favourite home-made hot drink is using a combination of:

    - sugarless HOT CHOCOLATE powder ("Equality" brand blue canister with white lid = A&P, Metro, Food Basics, etc., store brand product) because I can hardly taste any of the sugar substitute in it
    - AND a splash of HAZELNUT flavoured liquid coffee whitener ("Coffee Mate" brand = beige bottle with red lid)
    - AND *sometimes* I add a shot of SCOTCH WHISKEY too %} hiccup! Or if I don't have any hazelnut creamer, I'll add a shot of IRISH CREAM LIQUEUR... now all I need is a dog & fireplace to go with it :)

    Mom didn't want us having caffeine as kids, so we drank herbal tea (can't sleep? mix chamomile & linden flower! Although linden flower is a little harder to find, the "Three Crowns" brand is imported by "S&F Foods" with a box of 20 bags selling for approx $1.00), which is still a source of comfort for me, having it with some milk & stevia (I found a really affordable bag of stevia powder at Wal-Mart too = their own brand, I think, for under $6... found in the vitamin section, of all places!)

    I'll occasionally have orange pekoe or earl grey, and can't wait to try this chocolate version of a mild chai now (if I won, I'd share it with visiting company).

    And if I liked it as well as you describe, then I'd go out and buy some to put into the Christmas baskets I'm making, which are filled with "THINGS THAT I ADORE" (ie. "Presidents Choice" brand decadent chocolate chip cookies... "Clover Leaf" Thai flavoured tuna steaks in coconut milk, lemon grass, with a wee tiny hot pepper - it's in foil pouches in the canned tuna isle ... and "Master Choice" brand fruit cocktail in pear juice with NO added sugar ... etc.)

    To wrap up this here mini novella comment, I'd just like to say thank you for telling us about how much you like this PC chocolate chai tea & for sharing a box of it with us (please enter my name in the contest too, thank you)!

    Happy Holy Days!
    LiaLinda

    PS. Link for tea info at PC web site: http://www.presidentschoice.ca/LCLOnline/products.jsp?catIds=cat40002&type=details&catIds=105&numPerPage=48&productId=19205

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  45. Hmm...I am such a coffee drinker, but I do have a cup of decaf Peppermint/Cham. tea each night before bed to unwind. I can't do with out it, so I' guess you'd say it is my fav.! I'd be sharing this box with all the fam. on Christmas day when we put together our yearly puzzle...

    Thanks
    Angie
    rennieangie@gmail.com

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  46. I like Chai latte but chocolatey chai would be tasty. This would be for me but I would share.

    lkish77123 at gmail dot com

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  47. I don't have a blog (not yet anyway), but I added your button to my signature over at PN, if that counts for an extra entry? ;D

    Here's one of my posts at PN -- just scroll to the bottom to see my sig with your button:

    http://www.PriceNetwork.ca/deal/Free_holiday_music_downloadable_Christmas_MP3_s-261559.html

    Happy Holy Days!
    LiaLindaFromPN(AT)gmail(D0T)com

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  48. I"m a chai latte lover. Trader Joe's brand is about $3.50 and makes about 5 cups of tea. I should mention, my lattes are 12 ounces each. At Starbucks that same one 12 ounce drink is $3.55 so I love my Trader Joe's chai.

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  49. For me it's usually French Roast Coffee, turkish style, but this morning I'm here with a Cocoa and something's missing. This is an idea I hadn't thought of, and it's a great combo. Count me in, thanks for having this!

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  50. Hot spiced apple cider is my favorite.

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  51. Mmmm, this would be for me! Mt fave hot drink is home-made chai tea from our local indian restaurant.
    veggiemcveggie[at]gmail[dot]com

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  52. I'm a new blog follower- great blog
    veggiemcveggie[at]gmail[dot]com

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  53. I love to make hot chocolate with whipped cream on top.
    This would be for me. :)
    bettyjoanne1@gmail.com

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  54. Green tea w/ some sugar is my favorite. Hot chocolate w/ marshmallows would be a 2nd. My mom would love this prize, she is a big tea drinker!

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  55. Mmmm this sounds good! I like to make a hot soy chocolate with a coconut chocolate powder mix I brought back from Brazil. So good! I would keep this for myself but probably share with my mother at least once :)

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  56. I just found an awesome hot chocolate mix that you make y ourself, and I've been drinking it all winter :) I'd give the tea to my husband, he loves hot drinks for work.
    eod_army_wife04(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  57. I'm following you now ... yayyy!

    Another entry into your contest, please & thank you :)

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Hey, why not leave a comment? I'd love to hear what you think. If you're entering a giveaway, be sure to leave your email address if it's not set to public in your profile!