Friday 26 April 2013

Give Chai A Try

     Recently I was traveling in Southern Ontario with my competitive basketball team and needed a place for to eat for lunch. We were about to go to yet another Tim Hortons, but we drove by a vibrant green sign that read William's Fresh Cafe. My teammate immediately advised us to stop.
   Now for those who do not know what William's Fresh Cafe is, it is a chain of quaint little coffee shops spanning Southern Ontario. They have fresh sandwiches, soups, salads and a wide selection of baked goods. Not to mention an amazing variety of coffee and teas. It was at this trendy little cafe, that I had my first Chai Milkshake.
    Chai is a very popular flavor of tea, being known for its famous notes of strong spices and delicate sweeteners; being made from essences such as cardamon, cinnamon, ginger, brown sugar, star anise and cloves. And because of its strong taste, it can also be balanced out by being steeped directly into milk. Originally coming from South Asia, the popularity of Chai tea (or Maslala Chai) has been growing rapidly in all parts of the world. I even own a tube of chai flavored lip balm. As well, I touched on the topic of the beloved Chai latte in my Tea latte post from February.
      But back to this milkshake. It was absolutely incredible. Sweet, spicy, creamy, tea-y. Everything you need in a beverage. There are various easy recipes you can try at home that can be found online. And as for the purchase of a Chai Milkshake, William's is the only place that I am aware of currently that sells them but I'm sure there are many more places (If you know somewhere feel free to let me know in the comments!)
      So whether it be straight up, steeped in milk, in a latte or from a blender, Chai is definetley a tea that you need to try for yourself if you haven't yet. Chai also has a high caffeine content for long grueling work days and it's a great tea for tea newbies as well! I've heard it described as tasting like Christmas. Happy sipping!

-Sarah