The Paleo List Answers:IS CHAI TEA PALEO?

As the colder weather moves in, many of us find ourselves tempted by the warmth and aroma of flavorful beverages. These days, you can find chai tea lattes at just about every coffee shop, but is that real chai? And what is real chai anyway? Is chai tea Paleo?

What is Chai Tea?

This is a great first question. Traditional chai is not the liquid concentrate you find in those Tetra Pak containers. Those come with close to 19 grams of sugar for a serving. Tradition chai is a dried blend of black tea and a variety of spices. Though there are many different blends, most contain cinnamon, ginger, clove, cardamom, black pepper, and black tea leaves.

Chai tea lattes found at local coffee shops are generally made with a chai tea concentrate that already has sugar, honey, or other sweeteners added. You can find bags of loose-leaf chai at plenty of grocery stores, but most mainstream coffee shops only carry the concentrate. Ingredients of one popular brand of chai concentrate are listed below.

INGREDIENTS: (water, black tea, black pepper, ginger, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, star anise, natural flavors), cane sugar, honey, ginger juice, natural flavors, vanilla extract, citric acid

Is Chai Tea Paleo?

Yes! Regular chai is safe and healthy. Tea and spices steeped together in water is totally Paleo. The problem lies in the sweetened concentrate, or the resulting latte. You can easily make your own Paleo chai tea or latte using whole spices or bags of chai.

Are you struggling with which foods are Paleo?  Do you need help planning some Paleo meals?  Check out this great Paleo cookbook: