I’m not a tea drinker. For years I was a diet pepsi in the morning person, then I slowly warmed up to coffee. Now that we have a Keurig, coffee and I have turned into best friends.
I tried a Chai Tea Latte for the first time about two weeks ago. I was with someone who ordered one and raved about it, so I thought it might be time to broaden my horizons. I would have licked the cup dry if I could have reached that far… Chai tea is usually a black tea with an amazing blend of cinnamon, cardamom, ginger and cloves with milk. In latte form, it’s chilled and iced.
Unfortunately when I got home to look up a chai tea recipe I learned about the nutrition facts. Apparently, like most things I enjoy most in this world, chai tea lattes are delicious because they are also packed with whole milk and sugar.
(Someone needs to tell Biscuit that a watched pot never boils…)
In making a homemade chai tea, I knew that skim milk wouldn’t cut it this time. The chai tea latte I had was full flavor and rich. I thought that Silk Light Vanilla Soy Milk might give me the boost I needed without adding lots of calories and fat.
My first trial was adapted from Bobby Flay. It consisted of 8 chai tea bags, 4 cups of water, 1 cup of Silk Light Vanilla Soy Milk, ice and a pitcher. I hoped the vanilla flavoring in the soy milk would let me scoot by without having to add sweetener, but I was wrong! Bobby Flay recommends adding honey to the mixture as it cools in a pitcher, but I found that honey doesn’t disperse very well in a cold beverage. I used agave syrup with much better results.
This turned out pretty well, but it’s not fooling anyone without whole milk. I need to find a way to bring in the richness and thickness of whole milk, without the fat and calories. Is this a fruitless mission? Have you guys ever made your own Chai Tea Latte? I’m thinking I might try fat free condensed milk? I would love to hear from you all.