Chai Tea Latte

In meeting with a client the other day she asked me if she could have a chai tea latte!  She had planned on making her own and not getting it at Starbucks...

So, I decided to do a side by side comparison of what she would be consuming in calories and sugar if she ordered a Starbucks Chai Tea Latte or if she made her own:


Starbucks Chai Tea Latte (Grande - 16 oz)

Calories in a 16oz chai from Starbucks:  270 

Sugars in a 16 0z chai from Starbucks:  42

Now, knowing that there are 4 grams of sugar in every teaspoon imagine lining up 10.5 teaspoons and adding them to your drink...

In comparison:

Homemade Chai Tea Latte (16 oz)

We'll need to do a little math for this one:

Calories in 16 oz of unsweetened coconut milk:  45 in 1 cup x 2 = 90 calories
Sugar in 16 oz of unsweetened coconut milk:  <1 x 2 = 1 gram of sugar
So, 1/4 of a tsp of sugar added to your drink.

Looks the same to me!  And let's go a little deeper and see what the cost difference is!  

Box of Chai Tea (20 tea bags) = $3.28 (this would make 10 chai's)

Box of Coconut Milk 8 cups or 4 chai's = $3.38 x 2 = $6.76 (this would make 8 chai's)

8 homemade chai tea latte's = $10.04 

Starbucks Grande Chai Tea Latte:  $4.44 x 8 = $35.52

Cost difference:  $25.48 for every 8 drinks you get at Starbucks, benefits to your health: priceless!

Chai Tea Latte

Ingredients:

Chai Tea Bags

Unsweetened Milk (Coconut, Almond, Cashew)  

Cinnamon

Steep tea in small amount of water.  Warm milk in pan and use immersion blender, whisk or blender to create a frothy milk.  Add to steeped tea.  Sprinkle with cinnamon,

If you use 8 oz of milk - only use one teabag = 45 calories.

If you use 16 oz of milk - (amount used for comparison) - 2 teabags = 90 calories.