Chai is an Indian tea beverage that is traditionally made of black tea, various spices, milk, and a sweetener. The signature chai spices are cardamom, ginger, cloves, cinnamon, and pepper. The chai tea latte has become a popular beverage in coffee shops and is often served either hot or over ice.
Ingredients
While the recipe varies slightly from one coffee shop to another, most coffee shops use a pre-prepared chai concentrate that is mixed with steamed milk to make a latte. Typical ingredients are water, black tea, cardamom, black pepper, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, star anise, natural flavors, sugar, honey, ginger juice, vanilla, citric acid and steamed milk. Most coffee shops give you the option to choose non-fat milk, two percent milk, or whole milk.
Nutritional Facts
A 16-ounce chai tea latte with non-fat milk and whip contains approximately 270 calories, 7.5 grams of fat, 4.5 grams of saturated fat, 46 grams of carbohydrate, 44 grams of sugar, and 8 grams of protein. The beverage also contains 100 milligrams of caffeine and 25 percent of the recommended daily amount of calcium. The tea itself contains a negligible amount of calories and fat, which come from the milk, the whip and the sweeteners.
Nutritional Benefits
The major nutritional benefit of the chai tea latte is the antioxidants in the black tea. Tea is known to be a powerful source of antioxidants, which are substances protect the body from damaging free radicals. Antioxidants are associated with decreased risk for heart disease, cancer and other chronic illnesses. The milk in the chai tea latte is also a good source of calcium, which is necessary for bone health, normal muscle contraction and nerve impulse conduction.
Negative Elements
The negative nutritional elements of the chai tea latte is the high sugar and saturated fat content. Fortunately, all of the fat is contained in the whipped cream and can be eliminated by ordering the beverage without whip. Because most chai tea lattes are made from a pre-prepared concentrate, the amount of sugar cannot be altered. Consider ordering a smaller size to keep the amount of sugar to a minimum.
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