Smart Mouth Newsletter: We Deserve Better Chai

by Suneil Kamath 

“One sip in and I feel the chai’s sugar, “natural flavors,” and citric acid coat my tongue. I fear I might enter a hyperglycemic state. Such is drinking chai in the U.S.

I miss Indian chai. In America, chai has become known as an overly sweet flavor of tea with Thanksgiving spices like cinnamon or ginger combined with steamed milk. In India, though, chai is not a flavor of tea or a specialty beverage; it is tea. Chai literally translates to “tea” in Hindi and is available everywhere, so when a person says “chai tea,” they are saying, “tea tea.” “