Spiced Up

Five or six years ago Craig and I made a bet...no soda for him, no coffee for me. In that time period I rediscovered Chai as my coffee substitute. The problem with Chai is two fold; it is too sweet whether you buy it at the store or a coffee house and it is expensive. At a good $4 to $5 a quart (half gallon with milk) it felt like you should just have it once in a while. So that is what I did and although I never considered it a very good coffee substitute it had its moments.

After the bet and a couple years ago I went to visit my brother in Colorado. We went to a wonderful Indian food restaurant where the Chai was served in a coffee pot and like coffee with unlimited refills. It was wonderful although still fairly sweet. They obviously made theirs from scratch and inspiration hit. I went home and after several tries created a Chai recipe of my own.

I now make Chai by the gallon with no sugar and therefore you can decide on the type of sweetener, how much and as dark as you like. My spices are bought in bulk and I have even sold some here and there. It is also made with rooibos tea and therefore it is naturally caffeine free. This brings the cost down considerably! I drink coffee the majority of the time, but Sam and Elias (not to mention several of our friends) consume Chai on a regular basis.