Chai always seemed to me to be blatantly extra in my world of beverage choices. I already had coffee and tea - why some weird hybrid beverage? I've blissfully bumped along with my Chai-free worldview intact, until I bought a canister of powdered Chai from Trader Joes on a whim on New Year's Eve.

Oh. Now I know why people drink this stuff. And while I'm sure that this Trader Joe's Chai is like the International Flavored Coffees in a tin that were my introduction to exotic coffee beverages (for which I still have a soft spot) in that it is laden with artificial crap, and totally not "real" chai, it's good.

Also, I'm wired now.