When I lived abroad in South America, chai lattes weren’t exactly common. Coffee or maté were my two options and neither of them tickled my fancy. One day, I found a cute café in Palermo (a neighborhood in Buenos Aires) that served a fancy chai tea with honey and warm milk on the side and I was in heaven. Unfortunately, distance and the hefty 12 peso price tag ($4 US dollars– I was on a budget!) only allowed me to go a couple of times.
Chai lattes were not the only thing I missed. Burritos and bagels were at the top of the list as well. But, when I imagined going back to the US, I dreamed of sitting on the porch of my family beach house in Santa Cruz with my chai latte in hand. Kind of a weird dream to have since I have never managed to have any chai latte left by the time I am back on the porch. Besides the point. I wanted my chai and I wanted everything else that comes with my beach house; family, the beach, and a hearty American brunch.
Santa Cruz is the home of the best chai latte I have ever tasted. It also happens to be sold at my favorite Santa Cruz brunch spot, Linda’s Seabreeze Café. I guess it’s now just “Seabreeze Cafe” but it will always be Linda’s to me. It is tradition to go to the beach and walk to Linda’s for brunch the next morning. The long wait doesn’t matter, because I am in beach mode and I have my chai latte in hand.
I like my chai spicy with a little sweetness, but not too much. This chai is SPICY. And I like it like that.
After Linda’s, we usually head over to Ukelele class with Gram. She strums, we sing and people watch.
The beach, family, friends, and chai lattes. Doesn’t get much better than that.
4 Responses
I agree completely. Beach, Family, Friends and your favorite thing. Boy are we lucky. Love you.
that sounds absolutely lovely!
Seriously, now I just want to go to the beach.
I guess my cubicle is cool though.