So, as you recall, I mentioned that Frye boots are going to be hip and trendy some time in the near future. Another trend I'd like to apprise you all of is chai. Yeah, it's been around forever. Starbucks has had chai tea latte bullshit drinks for years. But I think that it's going to be the next trend. I think those chai/bubble tea bars are gonna be popping up all over the place. Unfortunately, Tealuxe tried to open up a store near Columbia that only lasted about a year (*sniff*) but have a feeling that if they tried again, they'd do way better.

Why? I think it's because of the surge in popularity of Atkins, and with that, people are looking for more lower-caffeine and healthier alternatives to coffee and soda. And there ain't much better than chai!!

I even noticed that Trader Joe's has got new packaging on their chai, with the word chai prominently features. Used to just be called "masala tea" and they mentioned that it was called "masala chai" in India in small text on the back; masala being the spices and chai being the tea.

At any rate, I'm pretty much convinced that I've tried every single brand of bagged chai out there. There's a whole slew of pre-sweetened concentrates out there, but since I've been avoiding the whole sugar thing, I haven't really tried many of them. Used to drink quite a bit in college, but that was always with soy milk so the whole experience was kind of different...

My favorite brand so far, believe it or not, is the Tazo chai that you can pick up at Starbucks. It's a little pricier than other brands ($4.99 or thereabouts a box if you buy it at Starbucks; you might find it cheaper online), but it's also got a little bit more kick to it... of course nothing beats making your own with plenty of cloves and allspice and cardamom and blakc pepper.....

So remember, you heard it from me first!!!