You can often find chai tea lattes in your local San Marcos coffee shops. The latte in chai tea is the usual combination of espresso and steamed milk. However, what is different is that the espresso has been substituted with spiced tea concentrate. You can enjoy a delicious chai tea latte in a coffee shop or you can make it from scratch at home using freshly brewed tea.
From Masala Chai to Chai
When chai arrived in America “masala chai” changed to “chai” and is sometimes even referred to as chai tea. Many teahouses began serving high-quality masala chai that was brewed with loose tea leaves. Soon this type of tea spread to coffee shops and soon people began enjoying chai tea lattes with steamed and frothed milk.
Calories and Caffeine
Chai tea lattes brew up a lot stronger than pure tea. They also have more caffeine than a cup of tea, but less than in a cup of coffee. What adds calories to this tea is the milk and sugar. If you order a chai tea latte at a coffee shop you can expect quite a bit of sugar in a pre-sweetened chai tea latte. If you are watching your calories then you should make a note of this when you drink it. If you don’t wish to have the added calories you can ask for an unsweetened chai tea latte or you can try brewing the latte from scratch.
Best Tea for a Chai Tea Latte
If you choose to brew up your own chai tea latte the best tea you can use is Assam which has a strong, full-bodied flavor. Assam tea can handle the added spices required to make a chai tea latte. You can also use Lipton tea or any other kind of full-bodied strong black tea.
Tips for Making a Chai Tea Latte
- You have a choice of making black tea from loose tea or tea bags
- The best spices to use are freshly ground spices
- Make up a chai concentrate and store it in the fridge for when you want to make a latte
Masala Chai Tea Latte from Scratch
Common to India, masala chai is a spiced tea drink. In the U.S. masala chai has been shortened to simply chai. Chai is brewed black tea combined with Indian spices, The spices used include ginger, cardamom, star anise, clove, and cinnamon.
The best way to use the spice blend is by freshly grinding it. You can purchase these spices already ground in shops that sell fresh spices and combine them. Once you have prepared the tea you will prepare steamed milk.
There are many different ways to brew a chai tea latte and you can find many different recipes online and choose your favorite. You can prepare the tea using an espresso machine if you have one or you can also make it steaming milk until it froths.
Ready to try a chai tea latte from your local San Marcos coffee shop? Visit Mochas & Javas at any of our three San Marcos locations, or in Frisco!
