Within the past couple of years, chai lattes have become a popular staple at almost every coffee shop. Even though the popularity of chai has escalated, it’s been around for thousands of years. Chai originates from India, and the initial form of chai was made with black tea and different spices. Since then, chai lattes have become more popular, with the recipe changing to include both the original ‘spicy’ version and a ‘sweet’ vanilla-based version.
For the past few years, I’ve tried so many different variations of chai, whether it’s the original masala chai or even an iced strawberry chai with oat milk. Since coming to West Chester University, I’ve tried every single coffee shop in town, however, I hadn’t tried chai lattes at most of them. Since I’m in my last few weeks of college, I decided I wanted to try and review as many chai lattes in town as I could. Here are the top 4 chai lattes I’ve tried in West Chester University’s campus town and my review of each:
- Iced Blueberry Maple Chai 9.5/10
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I decided to try this flavor after the barista raved about it being her favorite, and I can totally see why. The iced blueberry maple chai latte was my absolute favorite chai I tried for this whole review. I got it from Dia Doce in a medium, and it came to a total of $6.36 with a substitution of oat milk instead of whole milk. The blueberry flavoring is apparent from the very first sip. It’s very sweet but not at the point where it becomes overpowering. The chai itself is very smooth. Overall, it tastes exactly like blueberry pancakes. The taste brought back memories of Sunday mornings, making blueberry pancakes with my grandma when I was little.
- Iced Cinnamon Toast Chai 8.5/10
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I chose this flavor because it was one of the signature drinks at my next stop, Turks Head Cafe. The iced cinnamon toast chai came in a large and cost $7.99 with the addition of oat milk. This chai is less sweet than my first choice, but it is almost as delicious. The distinct cinnamon flavoring is slightly overpowering, however, that’s not a bad thing. This drink does have a lower rating since the chai wasn’t as smooth because of all the extra cinnamon. This chai definitely lives up to its title, named after everyone’s favorite childhood cereal. Maybe I need to find a Froot Loops chai next time…
- iced Cookie Butter Chai 7/10
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This specialty chai was another barista favorite from Carlino’s Italian Market Coffee Bar. Whereas the other chai lattes are made with vanilla chai, this one is made with spicy chai. The cookie butter chai cost $6.35 for a medium size and it was made with almond milk instead of my usual oat milk. This drink is very very sweet, but it does have a slight kick from the spicy chai mix that Carlino’s uses. This one was a bit too sweet for me, personally, since it did taste more like straight vanilla icing rather than a cookie dough flavor like I was expecting. Overall, it was a really good mix of sweet and spicy that complimented each other well. Anyone who loves cupcakes or those thick icing sugar cookies would love this chai!
- Iced Lavender Chai 6.5/10
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Finally, I decided to head to Gryphon Cafe for their iconic lavender chai latte with oat milk. The lavender chai latte came in a medium size and cost $6.50 total. The lavender was the most subtle flavor I tried overall, so it mainly tasted like a normal vanilla chai. Because there wasn’t a big difference between a regular chai latte and this one, I ranked it lower than the others. If you’re craving chai but don’t want an intense change of flavor, this is definitely a great option!
Overall, I had so much fun trying different types of chai lattes, even if my bank account is weeping. I definitely recommend checking out any of these coffee shops in West Chester because they not only have amazing chai lattes but great coffee too!