I'm from Santa Cruz, which might as well be called "chai-town" (apologies to Chicago). There are probably more places that serve chai, and more varieties of chai in Santa Cruz than anywhere outside of India. There are varieties of the Starbucks-like commercial sweet chai, and there are great peppery chais like Nub Chai.
I drink a very, very spicy, peppery "Masala Chai" that I get in a plastic bag from a local Indian grocery store/fast food place named DeeDee's. It is a powder containing all the spices but not the tea itself intended for mixing into your own cup of tea. This is great for decaf drinkers. I think they make the powder themselves. The first time I bought it the woman at the counter told me "only put a little bit in! You will burn your mouth! Only 1/4 teaspoon!"
To make this chai I start with a cup of black tea, regular or decaf. I add 1/4 teaspoon (no more!) of the chai powder. I'm not a milk-drinker so I fill a little more than 1/4 of the cup with soy milk, and a teaspoon or two of honey. Then I heat it in the microwave because the soy milk cools it down. The result is very good, rich, satisfying. And spicy hot!
The kind of soy milk I use is very important, for this and other teas. I use Vitasoy Classic Original because it has a great taste and a very rich texture, almost like cream. Note that some marketing genius at Vitasoy recently renamed their products, and renamed their regular soy milk as "Creamy Original." Well don't buy it, it is not creamy at all. It took some time for me to learn that the older, creamy soy milk is still available, and has been renamed "Classic Original." Look for Classic Original.
I'd like to know what your favorite chai is.
