CHAI AND CHAI LATTE

I always raise one eyebrow when I hear or see the words “Chai Latte”. As I described in my previous post, “chai” is hard-wired in my brain to mean a certain drink – strong hot black tea with milk (spices are optional). So what is this “Chai Latte” stuff anyway – it combines two words from two different languages and cultures. The resulting drink doesn’t even taste like real chai. 

 In my quest to check out the competition, I had a chai latte at different cafes around the city. Most of them were way too sweet and too light (too much milk, not enough tea). Some that weren’t too sweet (like at Tartine Bakery, where they make their own chai), were still too milky – with a diffused taste of the tea. 

Of course, I concluded that none of them could make good chai. After all, they didn’t grow up drinking it - as I did. And it wasn’t that good chai had to be made fresh. I have made chai for my Indian friends with my bottled Chai Brew, and turned them into believers –that good chai can come in a bottle! 

 To find out why Chai Lattes tasted so bland, I went to my friend’s café and made a Chai Latte using my Chai Brew and frothing it with milk using the espresso machine. Here is what I found out – 

Chai Brew + milk – heated over stovetop = tastes like homemade chai 

Chai Brew + milk – heated in microwave = tastes like homemade chai 

Chai Brew + steamed milk using espresso machine = tastes like a “chai latte” 

 I am not a food scientist and I have no way to explain why steaming the Chai Brew (or concentrate) with milk produces a different result than when heated in the microwave or over a stovetop. So now, I have a new-found respect for the words “Chai Latte”. 

I am not sure who coined the term (Starbucks?), but they did the right thing. A “Chai Latte” is black tea frothed with milk. Not to be confused with “Chai” – the traditional tea drink from India.