Chai tea?

[binny]

ok Im late on another band wagon but Im not a huge tea drinker so I never really felt the need to try this. well.... I tried it and now I love it! lol

Anyone else like it?

Do you know any good recipes to make it? Or any particularly good brands?

 

[NHAnn]

I'm not a coffee drnker, I drink a cup of tea in the morning. For the last few years I have stuck to decaf tea ...caffiene does NOT agree with me at all. Last winter, I was in line at Dunkin Donuts (for a bagel and OJ) and the person ahead of me ordered their Vanilla Chai. It SMELLED so good that I had to try it. I got a small one, it was SOOOOOOOOOOOO good, but I had palpitations all day! Panera bread sells it too but no decaf there either! Then my DH found in a gourmet/gift shop some instant decaf chai tea in a canister sort of container. The brand name escapes me. When that ran out, I did find a Pacific Chai brand of instant teas sold in foil bags in my local grocery store....they have a decaf vanilla flavor which I'm using now. I've usually just been having a hot cup once in a while after dinner, or on a lazy weekend morning (not many of those lately!). A couple of weeks ago we had a fairly warm day and I made a chilled smoothie one with the instructions on the bag.......ice and milk and water and the mix in a blender. It was very good!

mmmmmmmm..........I feel like one now that I'm thinking about it!

 

[Tinkbell]

I'm hooked on the Starbucks version.

 

[kasar]

Dunkin' Donuts Chai tea is very good but VERY sweet. One time I asked them if they could only put in half of the mixture (whatever that is) and they told me that it's all premade like hot chocolate. I have considered ordering a regular tea and a chai and mixing them but I'm not sure how that would be. Like NHAnn said, Panera Bread has excellent chai tea but I'm not sure if that is a national chain. They steam the tea so it has that nice frothy top, yum! I've noticed many new brands in the grocery store but I enjoy getting a treat at Panera Bread instead of making it at home.

 

[SuiteDisney]

I don't really care for it, but I would like to know how it's pronounced. I've hear it pronounced with both a "ch" sound and a hard "k" sound. Which is correct?

 

[Tinkbell]

Originally posted by ***********
I don't really care for it, but I would like to know how it's pronounced. I've hear it pronounced with both a "ch" sound and a hard "k" sound. Which is correct?

Good question! I pronounce it with the "Ch" sound, but only because my friend who got me hooked on it does. I've wondered if I've been saying it right.

 

[barbeml]

I love Chai Tea. Starbucks Chai Tea Latte is good, but the best I've had was from Indian tea bags I found in a gourmet store--much more peppery. Lipton makes an OK Chai tea bag--I brew it extra strong and add some honey and fat-free half & half.

Sylk now makes a Chai Tea Soymilk that is quite good, hot or cold.

 

[ennazus]

Check out the ingredients of the Dunkin Donuts Vanilla Chai! EEEK!

Vanilla Chai ingredients at Dunkin Donuts

I like Starbucks Chai


And if you find most Chai's too sweet try Oregon Chai's Slightly Sweet

http://www.oregonchai.com/frameset.cfm

Now I'm going to have to get up & make myself one! LOL

Here's some other links (I went on a recipe hunt one day... but now I stick with Starbucks or the pre-mixes from Oregon)
http://www.odie.org/chai/rec/idea306.html

http://www.odie.org/chai/rec/rec110.html

http://www.odie.org/chai/rec/idea305.html

http://www.care2.com/channels/solutions/guides/277

 

[Jenzebelle]

I have been a huge chai fan for years!
I absolutely detest Dunkin Donuts chai, though - way too sweet!!

Starbucks is really good, but I usually make my own - I buy chai from here
http://www.republicoftea.com/
and I steam milk and honey and add it to the tea

 

[kayeandjim00]

I don't know if it's widely available everywhere but Tastefully Simple (which is a company that holds home demonstration parties similar to Tupperware but you get to try everything and it's all yummy!) has a great chai called Oh My Chai! It's comes in a container with a scoop and you just add hot water. It is unbelievably good! I know they have a website which might tell you if they are in your area or not.

 

[Cindy B]

My husband makes it.. on the stove top and its really good...


He uses tea bags, cloves, cardomon, and a few other things.. he doesn't use a premix, or anything like that.. and its really really good.. its a recipe from India.. I will have to get it from him.

 

[binny]

Originally posted by kayeandjim00
I don't know if it's widely available everywhere but Tastefully Simple (which is a company that holds home demonstration parties similar to Tupperware but you get to try everything and it's all yummy!) has a great chai called Oh My Chai! It's comes in a container with a scoop and you just add hot water. It is unbelievably good! I know they have a website which might tell you if they are in your area or not.

thats how I got hooked on it! I just cant afford it $10. a container was a little steep IMHO I found some at Trader Joes when I was visiting my brother in Seattle but unfortunately we dont have a TJ her

I just had a party a couple of weeks ago. great stuff!

 

[kayeandjim00]

thats how I got hooked on it! I just cant afford it $10. a container was a little steep IMHO I found some at Trader Joes when I was visiting my brother in Seattle but unfortunately we dont have a TJ her

Yeah it is a little expensive but I'm addicted! I drink it more in the winter since I don't like coffee but I agree it's a little steep but I figure it's cheaper than stopping in at Starbucks everyday! I love all of Tastefully Simple's stuff. I think I have one of everything they make in my kitchen!

 

[RUDisney]

***********, it is pronounced with a "ch" sound and a long "i" sound. Now that you know how to say it, you know how to say tea in Russian, too. We drank chai all the time in Russia because they'd give it to you with your meal. They wouldn't serve coffee until after it. Chai in Russia is just plain tea. India created the chai that we're discussing that has all of the yummy spices.

OK, so I think I've proven that I can be a trivia nerd sometimes.

Anyway, the Chai Tazo tea bags are very good for a base of chai. You have to add steamed milk and sugar (if you like it like that) after the chai is brewed. I love Starbucks chai and get it whenever we go to Barnes & Noble bookstore. I consider it rent for the magazines I get to read for free.

I agree that DD has VERY sweet vanilla chai, so I only ordered it once to try. That was enough.

 

[sha_lyn]

I buy the tea bags and use soy milk for mine. Silk Vanilla Soy in Traditional Medicine's Organic Chai is IMHO the best. The tea bags are presweetend just slightly with stevia (an all natural herbal calorie free sweetener, has a mild liquorice taste). If out of vanilla soy milk I add just a drop of real vanilla extract.

Celestial Seasoning is pretty good too. It has more vanilla than Traditional Medicine.

love Chai Tea. Starbucks Chai Tea Latte is good, but the best I've had was from Indian tea bags I found in a gourmet store--much more peppery.

Try the Tazo bags RUDIsney mentioned . IMHO very peppery.

 

[Planogirl]

I buy the nonfat chai latte at Starbucks real often. I love to sprinkle a lot of cinnamon on it. This drink is very soothing when you have a scratchy throat which I unfortunately have real often.

Target sells the Starbucks brand, at least in our area. I can't think of the name!

 

[MerryPoppins]

DH loves it. I like to keep it in the kitchen because it smells so good.