Believe it or not, I survive the COLAtoday grind without coffee. My go-to order for the office coffee runs is an iced chai latte with almond milk – and even when I’m traveling outside of Cola, I’m always on the hunt for the best chai in town.

I’m a creature of habit, so Indah Coffee (a short ~4 min. from SOCO BullStreet) is always my go-to. But if you’re a chai connoisseur like me, you know that the milk + tea drink can vary greatly in spiciness, sweetness + milk-to-chai ratio at each coffee shop.

So we asked our followers on social media: Who has best chai in Columbia? ...and then I set out to chai all 10 of your favorites.

I think I’m officially chai’d out for awhile. Read my take on each one – then take our poll to vote for your favorite.

First, here’s my ratings key.

Price 💰 ($)

Milk options🥛 (like almond, skim, oat, etc.)

Spiciness 🌶 (1-3 scale)

Sweetness 🍬 (1-3 scale)

Chai tea mixture made in-house 🏠

Balance + final verdict ⚖ (milk-to-chai ratio + my thoughts about the overall experience)

Blue Flour Bakery

💰 $4.25, $5 dirty

🥛 soy, almond + regular milk

🌶🌶

🍬🍬

⚖ Blue Flour’s chai latte is milk-heavy with a lower spice profile, but the chai spice itself has a unique flavor that is still pronounced.

Cool Beans

💰$4 hot/iced, $4.75 dirty

🥛soy, almond, whole, skim + regular milk

🌶

🍬🍬🍬 (sweetest I’ve tried)

⚖ Cool Beans’ chai latte is the sweetest + milkiest I’ve tried. Not my favorite combination – but if you’re looking for a sweet treat to cool off with in Columbia’s seemingly never-ending summer, this is an easy grab off of UofSC’s campus.

Curiosity

💰$4.40 hot/iced, $5.40 dirty

🥛soy, almond, coconut + regular milk

🌶🌶🌶

🍬

⚖ Beyond Curiosity’s deliciously-balanced + spicy chai latte, they also serve a highly-caffeinated dirty chai cold brew coffee – which you can also find at their Soda City tent for a Saturday morning buzz.

Drip

💰$3.57 hot/iced, $4.40 dirty

🥛oat, almond, soy + regular milk

🌶

🍬🍬 + ½

⚖ Drip’s chai latte is about as sweet as I prefer without tasting like a dessert drink. This is Sam’s favorite chai in Columbia. I definitely wouldn’t categorize this as a spicy chai, but it’s still delicious.

Grace Coffee Co.

💰$3, $3.75 dirty

🥛regular, almond + coconut milk

🌶🌶

🍬🍬

⚖ The drive out to this Blythewood coffee cart (they have a second location on campus at Columbia International University) was well worth it for this perfectly balanced chai. Medium spiciness + sweetness with almond milk over ice made a truly satisfying combination for this chai latte nerd.

Immaculate Consumption

💰$3.25 hot/iced, $4.25 dirty

🥛soy, almond + regular milk

🌶

🍬🍬🍬

🏠made in-house

⚖ Immac’s chai latte didn’t have enough chai flavor for my taste – the almond milk was the drink’s most prominent flavor. If you have a sweet tooth, you’ll enjoy this very, very sweet drink.

Indah

💰 $4 hot/iced, $5 dirty

🥛regular, soy, almond, oat + coconut milk

🌶

🍬

🏠 made in-house

⚖ Indah’s chai is more tea-forward and not as milk-heavy as other chai lattes in town – which I enjoy more (since some chai lattes are basically a glass of milk with a pump of chai-flavored sweetener). The prominent spice blend reminds you that you’re actually drinking tea. This is one of the least-sweet chai lattes that I’ve tried in town, so I don’t feel like I’m over-indulging when I order these a couple of mornings a week.

Loveland

Fill up on gas and drop by Loveland Coffee's drive-thru kiosk before hitting the road. |Photo by Loveland Coffee

💰$3.74 hot/iced, $4.28 dirty

🥛soy, almond + regular milk

🌶🌶

🍬🍬 + ½

⚖ Loveland’s chai wasn’t too milky, which I like (see the more transparent mixture below – milky chai = more opaque). While fairly sweet, the chai spice still held its own, making for a well-balanced flavor profile.

Silver Spoon Bake Shop

💰$3.85 hot/iced, $4.95 dirty

🥛soy, almond, whole, skim + regular milk

🌶

🍬🍬🍬

⚖ Being a bake shop famous for its treats, Silver Spoon’s chai is the perfect dessert chai latte.

Sweet Cream Co.

💰 $3.59 hot, $4.29 iced

🥛 almond + 2% milk

🌶🌶🌶

🍬

🏠 made in-house – Sweet Cream Co. steeps black tea + their own six-spice blend to make their hot + iced chai lattes. Their spiced chai is also available in a concentrate to take home and make your own.

⚖ Even balance of milk + spiciness – the in-house spice blend wins my Columbia chai latte roundup. The authentic chai flavor is strong but doesn’t overpower the latte. I prefer this one served hot on a chilly, rainy January morning on Main St.

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