It is true that one thing I I like about "chai"
is that it sounds like "chai" (or "khai"), you know, the Hebrew word for the number "18", which is very good luck and auspicious and all that, in the Jewish religion.
But one thing I don't like about chai is all the calories from the milk and honey. So, imagine my total psyched-ness when I discovered Bigelow's Vanilla Chai Tea, which tastes and smells exactly like the deliciously sweet and creamy concoction they used to make at Shala X last summer (what happened to that anyway???) but which has nothing but tea and spices in it! YUM. And I mean seriously. YUM.
I discovered the stuff at the Salt Lake City airport hotel we stayed at, of all places - I think it was a Marriot, but it was so non-descript that I can't even remember, although they were thoughtful enough to have tea and biscotti out in the lobby when we arrived lin the middle of the night from NYC. Parched, and with no Snapple and no Hazlenut coffee to drink, I reluctantly picked up a bag of the Vanilla Chai, added hot water and....whoa. Immediate transportation back to Shala X, circa June 2005. And it tasted every bit as good as it smelled. I tucked a couple of bags into my pockets and enjoyed my Vanilla Chai two more times in Utah before running out.
Then began my quest for good chai. I was hooked. Unfortunately, all there was was "Oregon Chai", which basically sucks and requires equal parts chai and milk to taste like anything other than sickly sweet artificial cinnamon. When I came home, one of the first things I did was order a case of my new addiction. The Yoga Chickie Snapple Era (10 long years!) may be coming to a close....
YC
7 comments:
Oh, I'm so proud!
Tazo Chai is much better. The best way to make it though is with half chai then 1/4 milk(lowfat)and 1/4 water. Tastes pretty damn good.
And BTW in a lot of chai walla circles vanilla is not allowed for chai making....
What is wrong with vanilla?
Also, why add milk?
I saw Tazo tea all over the place in Utah, but no Tazo chai. I will have to look it up on the net.
Lauren
Milk is traditional. It's called Chai in India, not chai latte but it's the same thing. Some recipies call for half and half or rich milk. Indians are really into rich creamy milk. They think it's better for you.
There are a lot of websites dedicated to the art of making Chai. Vanilla can be used but it isn't traditional.
It's supposed to be milky and sweet...Yum. I like to make it myself sometimes. Super easy, you can figure out your own and make a concentrate to put in the fridge to make later.
Milk is traditional. It's called Chai in India, not chai latte but it's the same thing. Some recipies call for half and half or rich milk. Indians are really into rich creamy milk. They think it's better for you.
There are a lot of websites dedicated to the art of making Chai. Vanilla can be used but it isn't traditional.
It's supposed to be milky and sweet...Yum. I like to make it myself sometimes. Super easy, you can figure out your own and make a concentrate to put in the fridge to make later.
Chai - its pretty simple -
1. Get a cup a water
2. Add 2 bags of tea (anything that floats your boat)
3. Add crushed ginger, if you like
4. Let it boil
5. Add 1/4 cup of milk (skim, 2%, whole, whatever you like. Whole works the best)
6. Add sugar to taste
7. Filter and enjoy
I have never had tea but I do have Indian parents :-)
Chai - its pretty simple -
1. Get a cup a water
2. Add 2 bags of tea (anything that floats your boat)
3. Add crushed ginger, if you like
4. Let it boil
5. Add 1/4 cup of milk (skim, 2%, whole, whatever you like. Whole works the best)
6. Add sugar to taste
7. Filter and enjoy
I have never had tea but I do have Indian parents :-)
Chai - its pretty simple -
1. Get a cup a water
2. Add 2 bags of tea (anything that floats your boat)
3. Add crushed ginger, if you like
4. Let it boil
5. Add 1/4 cup of milk (skim, 2%, whole, whatever you like. Whole works the best)
6. Add sugar to taste
7. Filter and enjoy
I have never had tea but I do have Indian parents :-)
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