There’s a new device that makes real chai tea in 3 minutes
If you drink coffee, you’ve got a seemingly infinite number of coffee makers at your disposal: old-fashioned Mr. Coffee; single-serving Keurigs; and even smartphone-connected brewers that can fix a cup of Joe from halfway across the world.
But if you’re one of the millions of people who love chai, a notoriously annoying drink to make, you’re pretty much out of luck. The new $400 Chime chai maker is meant to change that.
It can take up to 15 minutes to make chai if you’re doing it by hand, and chai teabags generally doesn’t taste as good as the real stuff. The Chime, on the other hand, aims to knock that time down to 3 minutes, or about as long as it takes to make a cup of coffee.
Like a Keurig, the Chime uses small, single-use capsules full of tea leaves and spices. You pop in the capsule and close the lid, which empties it into the brewing chamber. Then, you add water and pour milk into the included carafe. The Chime boils the water with the tea and empties it into the carafe. A heating unit beneath the carafe boils the milk, and a frother adds a bit of needed texture.
Once finished, you’ve got a piping hot cup of chai. The Chime is a pretty impressive and attractive appliance thanks to its unique design; it can even be used with a smartphone app to let you customize and brew your chai from anywhere in your home. You can also use the app to order more chai capsules when you’re running low.
I tasted a cup of chai made using the Chime and it tasted fantastic. Of course, I add about 100 pounds of Splenda to my tea, so I’m probably not the best judge.
The one problem with the Chime is that, like Keurigs, it creates a lot of trash as a result of its single-use capsules. While the capsules are recyclable, a reusable capsule would be ideal.
Still, if you’re the kind of person who can’t live without a warm cup of chai, the Chime is for you — if you have the cash to spend on it.
Email Daniel at dhowley@yahoo-inc.com; follow him on Twitter at @DanielHowley.
