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Besotted By Chai

I tried the Panera Bread Chai Tea Latte for the first time this morning and am completely smitten by the taste. This a way better than the Starbucks Green Tea Latte - a beverage so gross that it had managed to wean me from all manner of chai for a bit. I drink copious amounts of black and green tea but masala chai is always a special treat reserved for a lazy Sunday morning. My blend is the the very refreshing desi formula but Panera's concoction is quite a different animal.

The official recipe says "brewed black tea with honey, vanilla, cardamom, cinnamon, ginger and steamed milk". I guess it must be the vanilla that makes it taste so unlike the masala chai I am familiar with. While I love how it tastes, I have no desire the pay the ridiculous price of close to $4 for it. So I came home and tried to reproduce the taste with fat free milk and it did not taste half bad. I have to fine tune the mix of tea and spices until I get it just right.
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