What is "chai"?

Lately I've been drinking chai instead of the tea or the sugar-free hot apple cider I usually drink. The dentist didn't like the staining of my teeth that tea does, and my stomach doesn't like the acid of the cider. I've been looking for a hot beverage to help me wake up in the morning that isn't coffee (yuk), isn't too fattening, doesn't stain my teeth and doesn't taste like sachets (herbal teas).

Looking at Wikipedia, it appears "chai" is really nothing more than black tea with some Indian spices in it. Some of the stuff I've tried also has milk solids and sugar in it, so it's probably not that good for me -- but it's certainly easier on the tummy. Dunno if its less staining though.

Try espresso; sounds like that's what you're looking for. NO, IT ISN'T THE SAME AS BREWED COFFEE!

You can get hundreds of different flavors. Some of them taste more like tea than coffee.
Espresso does not have the acidity of brewed coffee and - prepare yourself for this - it has less caffeine.

But it SMELLS like coffee. STRONG coffee. I accidentally ate a chocolate-covered espresso bean once and literally threw up.

Good espresso doesn't smell like coffee. It smells like Heaven!
Seriously, different beans have very different smells. But stay the fuck away from Starbucks. Their espresso is shit.

I think you, as a coffee drinker -- like a cigar smoker who thinks cigar smoke smells good -- are unaware just how wretched the taste of coffee is to a non-coffee drinker. It quite literally makes me throw up. I'd sooner lick an ashtray (very similar sensations!)

I don't drink coffee. I do not care for the odor of brewed coffee. I do not like the taste of brewed coffee. I drink espresso. They are not the same thing; they just start with the same raw material.

_Howard wrote:

I drink espresso. They are not the same thing; they just start with the same raw material.

!yes!

Ah. Someone who understands. A kindred soul.

Espresso has the reputation of being nothing other than very strong, high-caffeine coffee. Couldn't be further from the truth. There is an espresso for everyone. You may have to search for a while, but it's there. Unfortunately, the search can be very expensive as well as time-consuming. But in the end it is well worth the effort and expense. And if you do wind up liking the brew as much as I do, you will find that the good espresso machines are quite expensive (as far as coffee machines go).

I live in California, but I mostly buy beans from small towns in New York. My daughter likes espresso (she really enjoyed the semester of college she spent in Rome). When she comes to visit, she always brings me a new type of coffee beans she has found. Right now, my favorite is from a small shop in Brooklyn that does not sell over the internet, so I have to wait for her visits to restock that particular bean.

One note: Stay the fuck away from Starbucks. They over-roast all of their beans and the stuff is undrinkable, as far as my tastes are concerned.

_Howard wrote:

Stay the fuck away from Starbucks. They over-roast all of their beans and the stuff is undrinkable, as far as my tastes are concerned.

Starbucks sells smoothies, and I don't know how they do it, but they manage to make them totally undrinkable. Fruit, ice, milk or fruit juice -- all good ingredients. But when Starbucks makes them, they're undrinkable.

What, exactly, is a smoothie?

Fruit, ice, milk or fruit juice -- in a blender.

Should be hard to fuck up. But they manage.

So it's a milkshake without the ice cream?

The idea behind smoothies is to try to get in things you need to eat (in my case ground flax seed and kale) but don't particularly like. You hide them in a mix of fruit and milk and ice. (I use almond milk)
Personally, I have a difficult time eating first thing in the am, smoothies have been an answer to that. The sugar is readily available but the caloric value of basically ice and fruit is of minimal impact on my diet.


I used to think that- that espresso was just coffee on steroids, that's actually what drew me. But no, it's a whole different animal. It's better, smoother, it hurts my digestive tract way less, too. I have not found the perfect espresso machine. I may not ever because I'm not willing to go as high as the prices go. But I got a Nespresso and the little pods do come in a few quality blends. I'm at least not drinking Starbucks anymore and I'm a long way from the cheap chicory filled blends I drank before that. It's nowhere near the pressure you really need for espresso, it's still technically brew not steamed. But I'm getting there. I'm aware of better and I aim for it.

_Howard wrote:

So it's a milkshake without the ice cream?

I suppose so -- in the same way an apple is a sandwich without the bread or meat.

_Howard wrote:

Right now, my favorite is from a small shop in Brooklyn that does not sell over the internet, so I have to wait for her visits to restock that particular bean.

I live in Brooklyn. Which shop is it?

Bowery Coffee. They sell American Bulldog Coffee Roasters coffee, which comes from upstate NY. I like their Bowery Blend.
It's on East Houston (which may not be in Brooklyn, now that I think of it).

Never heard of them, but they do have a facebook page that looks pretty good. (And no, they're not in Brooklyn.)

Thanks, Richard.

I should have known they were not in Brooklyn when the coffee was called "Bowery Blend." But the kid normally picks up coffee for me in coffee shops in Brooklyn (although it is almost never roasted there). She recently took a new job that is in Manhattan, so I should quit assuming that the coffee comes from Brooklyn shops.

I ran across something today I'd never seen before, eggnog-flavored tea.

It is, for all intents and purposes, identical to chai.