Chai: my guilty pleasure of caffeine, sugar and spice

Sipping on spice is my new favourite drink for 2026.

Since early this year, I found myself wanting to drink a matcha latte. Maybe it is because the matcha trend on social media slowly crept into my life. If it’s not matcha, then it’d be coffee. Chinese tea is also okay if I want to drink flavoured hot water. I satisfy my cravings: matcha, Chinese tea, black coffee, Nanyang coffee, or latte.

In the end, I concluded that I crave caffeine and sugar. Why sugar too? I tried drinking hot matcha without milk. I felt something was missing. It’s the sweetness that upgrades flavours to another level. I can accept matcha’s caffeine levels and L-theanine. But I want to explore other caffeinated drinks. So I go for coffee… but coffee’s caffeine levels are more than enough on some days when I need a little boost.

Growing up in a Chinese family, we know that not too sweet is a good sweet, be it a dessert, a food or a beverage.

Sugar and syrup are types of carbohydrates. It is sweet. It lifts my moods and spirits. It makes me happy. Sugar causes inflammation, and I will get fatter if I can’t control my cravings. I’ll skip listing the rest of the negative effects. In short, I feel bad whenever I put them into my mouth.

So yes, any drink that has caffeine and is sweet is my guilty pleasure. Some sweetness and a good amount of caffeine are delicious enough to satisfy my sugar craving and boost my day.

Recently, I found myself liking Masala Chai.

I am fascinated as it is more than just boiling dried tea leaves and pouring hot milk. Mixing ingredients like cardamom pods, cinnamon, clove, star anise, ginger, with black tea leaves, milk and sugar — ingredients that I would use in cooking a meal and baking cinnamon rolls. Grind the spices, heat them and boil them in a pot. Not a kettle. Not a teapot. The result: sweet, strong, fragrant chai that tasted like comfort with every sip.

I don’t make them. I bought it at a local Indian restaurant near where I work. I’ve liked it ever since. Pre-mixed chai or bottle chai I bought from Muji, of course, cannot beat the freshly brewed milk tea in the kitchen.

It satisfies my sugar and caffeine guilty pleasures to boost my day, yet it’s still delicious enough to enjoy the spice.

Every time I drink one, I appreciate Indian cuisine.

Since it is grounded in spice, it certainly brings health benefits. Chai spices like ginger and cardamom can help with digestion, while cinnamon and cloves are known for their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Some people believe that these spices can strengthen the immune system and even soothe a sore throat. It certainly reminds me of my mom cooking curry with the spices.

Whenever I feel sick or get a sore throat, I order a cup of chai to ease my aches a little. Whenever I feel under the weather or craving sugar, I enjoy drinking chai. A hot chai with an aroma lingering in the air whenever you take a sip — caffeine and sugar kick in — makes my day better in minutes.

Oh, I feel healthier every time I drink one.

Credit: Sony

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