Chai Me a River

2 out of 5 :(

It doesn’t matter that I don’t drink coffee. I love coffee houses. Back when Starbucks shops were a novelty rather than staked on every street corner, I tested everything on their menu that wasn’t coffee-based and discovered the joy of chai tea lattes. Black tea, warm spices, steamed milk and a shot of nutmeg sprinkled on top, and I’m in sweet creamy heaven. 

There are at least eight options for coffee/tea within a two block radius of my office (two of which are Starbucks outlets). I’ve dropped coin at most of them; where I go depends on what I want and how I want it. Generally, I restrict my enthusiasm to some form of tea – not a latte, but hot water infused with something green, white or herbal. Now that autumn is coming on, though, I find myself leaning toward those warm, spicy, foamy, milky, sweet drinks that simultaneously expand my waistline while thinning my wallet. I can make them at home (sort of), but the big guns have launched a new trend: the chocolate chai tea latte. 

Yesterday, while on a photographic flânerie with my new camera, I stopped at the village Starbucks to try one of theirs. The bar has already been set by their tea-based affiliate, Teavana (that’s another post); I had one there before my vacation started and holy heck, was it good! All it needed was a honkin’ huge gingersnap to go alongside and even then, the sugar buzz would have been overkill had I dared to indulge. But back to Bucky’s … it was only okay. I tasted the chocolate (they use syrup), and I tasted the chai blend (they use their own Tazo brand, which was my staple for years), and the sweetened whipped cream on top was yummy, but it was not as good as Teavana’s. On a scale of 1 to 5 ... I give it a paltry 2 and suggest they stick to flogging coffee.

There are two other coffee places in the village and I have five more vacation days in which to pursue my quest. Tomorrow: Moka House!