Last week, I woke up feeling a bit under the weather and desperately wanted to make myself a nice cup of tea to enjoy in my room before I headed to class. But of course I slept way too late for that and had to instead resort to a quick stop at Ted’s on my way to class, where I normally just grab an iced coffee.
But something caught my eye that morning—the chai latte. I always hear people raving about chai, but I had just never bothered trying it. It wasn’t ever worth substituting my coffee for it. But this morning, I knew I was in desperate need of some hot tea, and chai was looking like the only right option.
So I went for it! I ordered a medium hot chai latte. It was, to say the least, life changing! Each sip felt like heaven, especially for my sore throat. “Where has this been all my life?” I ended up drinking two more throughout that same day, and then continued to have three chai lattes every day that week (I don’t even want to know how much money I’ve given Ted’s in total just for all these lattes!). I simply couldn’t get enough chai!
Of course, now that I’m no longer depending on hot tea for relief of my sickness, I’ve reduced my intake to only one latte a day (also to avoid getting tired of them too quickly). However, I am now a huge advocate for chai!
Naturally, I had to look up all the benefits of drinking it, which made me even more excited about it! So, now I want to share with you what I found!
- Immune System/Soothing Cold Symptoms
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Starting with the most obvious here, chai tea can work wonders for a cold! It soothes sore throats and headaches, and it can help clear your sinuses too. It is also chock full of antioxidants to boost your immunity. This is why I’m convinced that all the chai I drank is what single handedly brought me into such a quick recovery from my cold!
- Digestion
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Chai contains ginger, cinnamon, and cardamom, all of which are very helpful in healing your gut, aiding digestion, and reducing bloating! It can also help with nausea.
- Mental Benefits
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Chai contains an amino acid called L-theanine, which can help with calmness, and can also help to improve focus and alertness!
Finally, the warm spices in chai make it such a cozy and comforting drink that’s absolutely perfect as we head into the colder months. I’ve been adding caramel to mine for a bit of added sweetness. Also, Vault and Vine (the cafe just around the corner from our campus) just added a Caramel Apple Chai Latte as part of their fall menu, which I’ve been absolutely loving too!