Chai tea has been popular in this country for a LONG time. (At least as long as I have lived in my present location anyway!) However, I am ashamed to admit that I had not ever tried it until this past week. I guess I was afraid of spending a fair amount of money on a drink I was not sure I would like. It sounded Chinese, and although I have no problem with the Chinese population, I am not usually a fan of their cuisine. Thus, I decided to stick to what I knew--mostly mocha lattes.
Well, this all changed on Tuesday morning when I drove up to my favorite drive thru coffee shop in Aberdeen--The Daily Grind. Isn't the name great? I hadn't heard such a great name for a coffee shop since The Central Perk.
I first stopped there on a whim this past summer. I really wanted a coffee on my way out of town, but I had my children with me and did not want to herd them out of and back into the van just so I could get my coffee fix.
As I came upon my last drive thru option, I aprehensively pulled up to purchase my drink. I was hoping the barista wouldn't laugh at me since I don't have a wide knowledge of coffee drinks. She had just resided the building and hadn't gotten a menu posted, so I asked her what she recommended. She was so nice and rattled off a few options. I chose the Creme Brule Breve, which I have since learned is made with half and half. No wonder I love that drink so much!
That was my favorite--until I tried the Chai latte on Tuesday. The newly posted menu read, "Tastes like pumpkin pie in a cup." Now, why didn't anyone ever have a sign like that before? I love fall and the Chai latte exudes the colorful season. YUM!
Unfortunately it is just not feasible for me to drive to Aberdeen every day to visit The Daily Grind, so I decided to make my own chai mix. I have found a few recipes and have decided to combine each of my favorite ingredients. Unfortunately, I have had some difficulty finding cardamom in the spice aisle. One of the recipes I found said that cardamom is the signature ingredient of chai, so I hesitate to substitute something else.
I will have to continue my search. If nothing else, I should be able to find a teaspoon of cardamom somewhere online, although that is one item I would require to be new and sealed on ebay!
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