CalNaturale Svelte Spiced Chai

Even though coffee was never my think I drank obscene amounts of it in high school. My friends and I would hang out at Perkins and just down coffee for hours. It was what we did, so I joined in. I added so much sugar and cream to mine that I don't know if it could technically still be called coffee, but it is what it is. As we got older, meaning we got cars, we would go into the city and hang out at Topic Coffee in Allentown. The first couple of times I got coffee, but then a random person we met exposed me to chai. I love tea now and drink it all the time, but when I was younger all I knew about it was that my grandmother drank it. When someone had me try their chai tea bells and whistles went off in my brain. This was delicious. It wasn't bitter like what my grandmother drank, and the spices made it seem so exotic (keep in mind I was 16 at the time). Since then chai has been a favorite of mine, and the times I find myself in a coffee shop it's generally what I order (Unless Nina is working and she makes me this magical peanut butter mocha thing with tons of whipped cream).

I had expected this to be a soymilk with a light chai flavoring, but the chai was way stronger than I anticipated. I love it. It is a completely vegan drink chock full of vitamins and minerals that actually tastes incredible. At first the chai hits you nice and strong. As that fades out a dry soy aftertaste creeps in. It's subtle and nice. I've finished the carton and now I already want more. If only this were available in Western New York.