For me, no day is complete without a chai latte. Chai is an aromatic spiced black tea infused with cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, and mixed with milk. Thankfully, it is also lightly caffeinated. My order is an “iced chai latte with nonfat milk” but, the choice of milk and whether hot or iced is up to you. With the many café options on campus, it is hard to know which one will have the best chai. So, over the past week, I have taste-tested my way through eight different cafes on campus and have rated my overall chai experience one through eight.

8. Procrastination Station

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You can find the Procrastination Station inside of the W.E.B. Du Bois Library in the center of campus. The Procrastination Station offers a variety of delicious sandwiches, bakery items, and coffee and teas. I'm ranking their chai latte as number eight on the list. I'm not sure if it is the taste of the People’s Organic brand chai concentrate, or if it's something about how they're made, but my chai was extremely milky and didn't hold much flavor. Not to mention it is the most expensive chai on campus at $6.25. Although the chai wasn't top of this list, I'll still be a customer for their great location and delicious sandwiches.

7. Peet’s Coffee & Tea

Inside of the Integrative Learning Center, this café serves solely Peet’s Coffee brand beverages, as well as sandwiches, salads, and bakery items. I am a big fan of Peet’s Coffee, but I felt like the chai latte could simply use more concentrate. I recommend trying something else on the menu. Peet’s Coffee & Tea has excellent lattes, iced and hot coffees, and cold brews.

6. Argo Tea

Located in the Southwest Residential Area, Argo Tea is known for its iced teas and bubble tea… but, of course, I ordered a chai latte. If you enjoy a sweeter, slightly floral chai blend, then this is the place for you.

5. Hampshire Café

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One of the few locations on campus that serves Starbucks, Hampshire Café is always a reliable stop for coffee, tea, or chai. Starbucks uses Tazo chai concentrate; bold black tea blended with spiced notes of cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, black pepper, and sweetened with honey. I really enjoyed this chai and would go back again.

4. People’s Market

If you are looking for a unique place on campus to get local food and beverages, People’s Market located in the Student Union is the place for you. I am so glad I stopped in; People’s Market serves a unique chai made totally in-house. The chai latte is made with soy milk, making it a rich, creamy, and dairy-free option. While I enjoyed the chai, the soy milk let it down a little bit for me, as I prefer my usual skim milk. Nonetheless, this chai is one of the best on campus.

3. Worcester Café

This chai was one of the best on campus that I tried. The chai at Worcester Café had plenty of black tea concentrate, making it strong and flavorful. It was on the sweeter side, but still had the traditional warm spiced notes.

2. Carney Café

Located in the Isenberg Business Innovation Hub, Carney Café is one of my favorite spots to study, and they serve one of the best chai’s I have had on campus. For chai concentrate, they use the Tazo chai blend — similar to Starbucks. Carney adds more chai concentrate making the milk-to-chai ratio perfect.

1. Roots Café

A must-check-out-spot on campus. Located in the Commonwealth Honors College, Roots Café is a great place to stop for meals and snacks, and of course, chai tea lattes. Roots has my favorite chai on campus for many reasons. They use a masala chai blend, which is the strongest concentrate I have found on campus, and add a sprinkle of ground cinnamon. This chai is the strongest in taste without being too spicy. I would highly recommend stopping by Roots Café if you are a chai fan like myself.

There you go! I hope you'll check out some of these spots on campus for a chai latte, or your beverage of choice. With #1 Dining right here on campus I may be back soon with a review of other snacks and meals from all across UMass Amherst!