Can anyone suggest a really good chai for this coffee loving gal...

Okay, so I will cheerfully admit to being a coffee fiend.

I love coffee. Good coffee makes the world go 'round. My favourite toy (other than DP) is my coffee machine.

I only have one a day (it's a good one though, big and strong) but as I am a LTTTC-er I cant help feeling a little guilty lately and think maybe I should cut it down to one every second day or something.

Soooooo, I am looking for an alternative.

I dont do tea. A couple of the fruit infusions are okay but they dont put meat on the bones like a good coffee does (IYKWIM). Hot choc is good but there is still caffeine in it.

I was thinking of maybe trying a chai latte. I would prefer to stay away from overprocessed ones with artificial sweeteners (trying to stay away from them too).

Can anyone recommend one to me??

I'll be here sipping my coffee waiting for your replies :D

There is one called Hari ha Chai (or similar). It tastes great and is tea free so no caffeine. I got in at Oxfam but have seen it in Coles before as well.

Actually just looked it up it is hari har and it does contain "low caffeine tea"

I'd give the T2 one a go. You can get a tea based one, which still has caffeine but less than coffee, or a herbal one with no caffeine.

Be wary of some of those 'instant' ones, some have a coffee base with chai flavors, so not what you'd be after..

I love Chai boiled on the stove with a teaspoon of honey. YUM! :D

Thanks gals. I want an instant kind of one I think so I can drink it at work. But I definitely dont want a "jarrah" kind of one (brand that make chocolattes)

And as I dont like tea I think the herbal would be better.

You can make your own, it's pretty easy.....there are several different ways to do it, or you can make it however you like it!

Hari har Chai
2 cups (250ml) water
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon cinnamon - or a stick
4 whole cloves
5 cardamom pods
fresh ginger
bay leaf
handful of black loose leaf tea
1 cup (250ml) milk (dairy or soy as you prefer)
honey, optional

METHOD
Bring water to a boil in a medium saucepan.

Meanwhile, mix all of the spices in a bowl. Add the tea to the spice mixture and stir to combine.

As soon as the water comes to the boil add the tea and spice blend and bring back to a boil. Add milk and bring back to a boil. (Be careful not to boil the tea for too long as excessive exposure of tea to heat will release the bitter tannins in the tea leaves.)

Once the chai tea returns to the boil; remove from the heat and pour into a tea pot.

If you like honey in your tea then add a little to the tea cup before straining the tea into it. Drink immediately.


Ingredients
500ml water

4 tablespoons black tea leaves
4 tablespoons honey
1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 cinnamon stick
5 whole cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 pinch ground nutmeg
500ml skim milk

Preparation method
1. In a saucepan, bring water to a boil. Add tea, honey and vanilla. Season with cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, ginger and nutmeg. Simmer for 5 minutes. Pour in milk, and bring to a boil. Remove from heat, and strain through a large strainer.



Chai Tea Ingredients:
Black Tea 10 teaspoons (25grams)
Cardamon Seeds (5 grams)
Cinnamon Sticks (2-3 sticks) or
Cinnamon Ground 2 1/2 teaspoons (8 grams)
Ginger Powder (1 teaspoon)
1 Clove Ground

How to Make Chai Tea:
Please note there are many ways to make Chai Tea and this is one which I prefer. Listed below are other tips and variations you can try.

Step 1: Using a coffee/spice grinder or mortar and pestle, grind up spices.

Step 2: Add tea to spice mixture. Fill tea pot or coffee plunger with boiling water and add spice mixture. Use 3/4 cup boiling water and 4 teaspoons of tea/spice mixture per serve. Let stand 3-4 minutes. Heat milk using stove top, microwave or even better use a coffee machine so you can produce frothy milk. This gives a cafe style chai tea latte. Add heated milk and sweeten to taste.

You can but Chai Latte Syrup at the supermarket. It is usually on the top shelf and hard to find. Not all supermarkets have it and it took me a while to find it. It is in a clear bottle but looks black, the label has 2 eyes with a question make like nose

There is a local-sh company down geelong way that makes instant chai...... not sure if they do a caffeine free one.. Yellow box with a sun type thing on the front.... it will come to me!

But the ones with tea don't generally taste like tea, so even if you don't like tea you might like those. I used to make the T2 one at work. Just with a little infuser and hot water, add lots of milk and heat in microwave. Not as good as boiled on the stove, but still good. :D

I got an awesome Chai at the Slow Food Festival in Melbourne a few years ago. Wish i could remember the name of it. :doh:

in nsw we had a place called Michele's Patissiere and they did a yum yum yum YUUUMMMMEEEE chai latte. I don't like the syrup ones but they used a powder. I'm so sad cos we moved to the NT and there ain't no Michele's here :(

but other than that I'd highly recommend making your own. It's soooo much nicer than anything you can buy, apart from michele's one, of course lol.

T2 have quite a few varieties that are yum or making your own sounds great if you are having it alot! Might steal the steal the recipe!!!

If you want a super market one, I did a trial for Lipton Chai. I am a caffine addict and I quite liked this. I used to have Mocha's to to make my mind think I was doing the right thing while my body got the caffine hit :)
I have a box of the Lipton Chai tea I can post you as the sent me a couple fo the trial, it's unopened and still in it's wrapping. PM if you are interested and I will pop it in the post for you.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. There is no such thing as a really good chai latte.
Try and find a delicious decaf coffee instead.

There are two I had suggested today- one is 'Byron Chai' that you can order over the phone I think (google search brings it up quickly) it's quite 'hot' from what i've heard

The other is one available at woolies, but quite expensive- Madame Flavour's SultryChai- in the health food section I think.

Just curious... I love my coffee but I also quite like Lipton's Chai Tea. Is there a difference between the Chai you are asking about & Chai Tea?

Chai is how you say tea in lots of central Asian languages. So Chai Tea is Tea Tea.
DH's family makes the most revolting milk chai ever. It is boiled up with milk and it has chunky bits in it and a skin on top. :sick:. If you ever visit Afghans and they offer you tea say no. Either it's black or green and it's been brewing until all the flavour is gone and nothing is left except bitterness or it's the vomitous white stuff. I feel a bit queasy now.

Mmmm vomitous bitter green stuff.....thanks, but no, I'll pass on that! The "problem" with Afghan families is they are so hospitable too. You feel like you have to partake! Although I guess if it's family, it's different?!

I might be wrong but I thought that there was a kind of no tea chai. More like a spicy milky thing. All cinnamon, cloves and honey.

When it's family they try and guilt you into eating the third helping.



Warm Spiced Milk Recipe

Ingredients

4 cups milk
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon orange zest

Method

1. Combine milk, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, sugar, and orange zest in a small saucepan. Warm over medium heat.

2. Add vanilla extract. Heat just until sugar is dissolved. Serve immediately.

That's what I'm talking ' bout!

Thanks Onyx (and everyone else!)

I will have a go at a few of your suggestions and let you know if, and when, I break the coffee addiction.

My dh makes a Chai latte using a good quality tea (either bag or loose leaf). He adds some boiling water and let's the tea stand then froths milk in our coffee machine, same as he would for coffee and pours into the tea. So good

i drink the lipton chai latte satchels, you just put hot water in them,

they are full of sugar im guessing cuz they are deliciously sweet, but i dont care i love them :D

Thanks Onyx, for the explanation...not so much the image of vomitus white chunky tea with a skin... :lol:

Some of those recipes sound really nice, I might have to have a go at making my own.

:

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Warm Spiced Milk Recipe

Ingredients

4 cups milk
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon orange zest

Method

1. Combine milk, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, sugar, and orange zest in a small saucepan. Warm over medium heat.

2. Add vanilla extract. Heat just until sugar is dissolved. Serve immediately.

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That, my friend, is SENSATIONAL! Thanks for the recipe. *sluuuurp*