View the winners of the 2014 Editors’ Choice Food Awards — Beverages. CHAI SPICE TEA BLEND CHAI WALLAH Guilford, Vermont The trick to a great chai is getting the balance of tea and spices–cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and black pepper–in exactly the right proportions to make a drink that’s simultaneously warming, sweet, dusky, floral, and a […]
View the winners of the 2014 Editors’ Choice Food Awards — Beverages.
CHAI WALLAH Photo Credit: Heath RobbinsCHAI SPICE TEA BLEND
CHAI WALLAH
Guilford, Vermont
The trick to a great chai is getting the balance of tea and spices–cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and black pepper–in exactly the right proportions to make a drink that’s simultaneously warming, sweet, dusky, floral, and a little spicy. Neil Harley traveled throughout India and brewed hundreds of cups of tea before he landed on his own formula. We think he got it right.
Suggested Retail Price: $5 for 2 ounces; $8.75 to $9.25 for 4 ounces
Where to Find It: Whole Foods in Hadley, MA; Cambridge Naturals in Cambridge, MA; Twilight Tea Lounge in Brattleboro, VT; many co-ops around Vermont and Massachusetts; Putney General Store in Putney, VT; online at: chai-wallah.comVERMONT SWITCHEL COMPANY Photo Credit: Heath RobbinsSWITCHEL
VERMONT SWITCHEL COMPANY
Cabot, Vermont
Susan Alexander tried her first sip of switchel after marrying a seventh-generation Vermonter and was so taken with the crisp, puckery taste that she formed the Vermont Switchel Company in 2008 to help spread the word. True to the beverage’s 19th-century roots, when it was the leading restorative thirst-quencher among farmers, Alexander uses a century-old recipe that perfectly blends the sweetness of maple syrup with the tang of apple-cider vinegar in a drink that’s both curiously sweet and pleasingly refreshing.
Suggested Retail Price: $4 per 12-ounce bottle
Where to Find It: Select stores throughout New England, listed at: vtswitchel.com
Aimee Tucker
Aimee Tucker is Yankee’s senior digital editor. A lifelong New Englander and Yankee contributor since 2010, Aimee has written columns devoted to history, foliage, retro food, and architecture, and regularly shares her experiences in New England travel, home, and gardening. Her most memorable Yankee experiences to date include meeting Stephen King, singing along to a James Taylor Fourth of July concert at Tanglewood, and taking to the skies in the Hood blimp for an open-air tour of the Massachusetts coastline.
This is the best chai we’ve ever tasted!! We think Neil got it right too!
This chai is awesome. I thought I could make chai but Neil’s is just perfection. I love the Rooibos Chai when I dont want any caffeine.