Chai Tea vs. Coffee

Which Is Better?

There’s just something about the warmth within a cup of chai tea. Its aroma envelops your senses and brings with it a sense of calm, and it also has caffeine that can give you a much-needed boost. Our experts at Kroma sourced the genuine Masala Chai that is in our Change Your Life Chai Latte, so they know a lot about it.

Does Chai Have Caffeine?

Yes, chai tea contains caffeine. Chai is a spiced tea that originates from India, and it is usually made with black tea, which is naturally caffeinated. The amount of caffeine in a cup of chai tea can vary depending on the type of tea used, the brewing method, and the serving size.

Chai Tea vs. Coffee: Caffeine Rivals

Some people can’t deny their desire for a boost of caffeine in the morning. Caffeine can set the tone for the day, providing mental alertness and a subtle boost of energy. It is not easy to break a morning caffeine habit. Fortunately, caffeine can come from a variety of choices options — some healthier than others.

Caffeine is the daily source of an energy boost for more than 80% of the world’s population. It is a central nervous system stimulant linked to increased metabolism, enhanced alertness and focus, improved athletic performance, and elevated mood.

Caffeine content varies among different types of tea and coffee based on its origin, preparation, and the temperature of water used for its extraction. Black tea and espresso have the highest levels of caffeine in their respective categories, while herbal tea blends and decafs have minuscule amounts of caffeine.

The FDA recommends that healthy adults don’t consume more than 400 mg of caffeine per day, equivalent to about four cups of coffee.

Many people turn to chai tea as a healthy alternative to coffee. But why? Doesn’t a Chai latte have caffeine too? Chai contains less caffeine than coffee, reducing caffeine jitters and other unpleasant side effects, while still offering rich flavor and versatility in how you can prepare it.

What’s the Difference Between Chai Tea Caffeine and Coffee Caffeine?

While the caffeine content in a cup of chai may be lower than a cup of coffee, the benefits of sipping this tea far outweigh those of a cup of java. These benefits include mental clarity and focus for a more extended amount of time than coffee, just to name a few.

While it is difficult to determine precisely how much caffeine is in a cup of chai due to the different types of teas that may be used, we do know that its levels are lower than coffee and about on par with that of a cup of black tea (since black tea is the base for most chai teas). A cup of tea may have anywhere between 15 and 50 mg of caffeine, while a cup of coffee can range from 60 to 100 mg of caffeine.

Does The Kroma Wellness Chai Latte Have Caffeine?

Our Change Your Life Chai Latte, made with Traditional Masala Chai, is an excellent alternative to everyday coffee. With only about 10-15mg of caffeine per serving, it's perfect for helping you reduce your daily overall caffeine intake while still giving you a little boost.

It's also delicious and packed with medicinal mushrooms, Ashwagandha, and turmeric for added health benefits. With such a powerful blend of chai and superfood ingredients, it's truly ayurvedic medicine for the body, mind, and soul.

A woman blending Kroma Change Your Life Chai Latte inside a Kroma White Tumbler with a Kroma Gold Hand Frother.

Why Does Coffee Give Me the Jitters?

We all know that drinking too much coffee results in a case of the jitters, but why? Caffeine is a stimulant, and consuming too much of it within a short amount of time increases heart rate and blood pressure. Too much of anything can have adverse effects, likewise with caffeine. The high doses of caffeine that come from coffee can bring these jitters, especially since people rarely limit themselves to just one or two cups.

Are the Tannins in Chai Beneficial?

All teas contain tannins. Tannins are compounds called polyphenols that have astringent properties and a strong flavor. These compounds vary from tea to tea, and they provide all teas with their color, taste, and antioxidant benefits. High concentrations of tannins give teas their bitter taste. Generally, the darker the tea, the higher the tannin level. Black teas, such as chai, have higher levels of tannin.

In tea, the tannins interact with caffeine, helping calm the nervous system. It assists your body in absorbing caffeine at a much slower rate, so you remain focused without the restless jitters that coffee yields. However, it’s important to not use dairy products in your tea, as they can reduce the effectiveness of tannins. Try using nut milk, or just use our easy-to-prepare dairy-free Change Your Life Chai Latte.

Tannins may sometimes get a bad rep, but they actually have many health benefits.

Tannins Can Promote Heart Health

Tannins pack a punch because they contain procyanidins and flavonoids, properties known to work wonders for heart health. Procyanidins are polyphenols that improve blood circulation and blood vessel function, which may prevent heart disease and offer benefits for varicose veins. The flavonoids prevent the production of peptides in the body which affect blood circulation and harden the arteries.

Tannins Can Aid in Digestion

Tannins keep your gut healthy, helping prevent stomach upset and improving metabolism. They also encourage smooth digestion processes. Cloves, cinnamon, and cardamom may also help prevent digestive issues because of their cleansing properties.

Tannins May Help Lower Cholesterol

Polyphenols help lower overall cholesterol by lowering the “bad” low-density cholesterols and increasing the “good” high-density ones, helping to maintain a healthy ratio between the good and harmful cholesterol levels in the body.

Health Benefits of Chai Tea

It’s a drink that people around the globe enjoy, and it makes headlines for its gentle spiced flavor and aroma. Chai tea is one of the world’s most popular beverages. In fact, tea is the world’s most consumed beverage.

Why is tea so important? Tea surpasses coffee for many reasons, one being its potential to positively affect oral health. Chai tea, in particular, is known to support improved digestion and contains many other health benefits worth noting. Kroma’s Change Your Life Chai Latte features chai alongside turmeric, reishi, and ashwagandha for benefits spanning from overall wellness and antioxidant support to stress relief and relaxation.

Chai Tea Can Increase Energy & Alertness

Many people choose to begin their mornings with a cup of chai tea rather than coffee. Chai tea contains a moderate amount of caffeine that provides a welcome boost of energy and mental alertness when consumed. Its naturally moderate caffeine content (between 15 and 50 mg) does not cause the usual jitters you obtain from reaching for that extra cup of joe.

Chai Tea Provides a Serene Sense of Calm

An additional reason chai tea doesn’t cause caffeine jitters is that, in addition to the caffeine-moderating tannins, it contains L-theanine, which delivers a sense of calm while helping you stay alert and focused. L-theanine is a beneficial compound found in teas and some mushrooms that relaxes the mind without causing drowsiness.

Ashwagandha, which is found in our Change Your Life Chai Latte, also works to help regulate your cortisol levels. That’s a tall order for a cup of tea.

Chai Tea Can Help Reduce Inflammation

Chai tea often contains black tea and rich spices, known to help reduce inflammation and soothe feelings of tension in the body. Kroma’s Change Your Life Chai Latte with Cordyceps, reishi, and turmeric works to relieve your stress and tension so you can live your best life.

Chai tea most often contains cinnamon, cardamom, and ginger. Cinnamon is known to ward off inflammation, in addition to ginger and cardamom. Many people choose chai tea as their AM drink of choice to help ease their body into the day.

Chai Tea Helps Maintain Oral Health

Chai tea on its own naturally contains zero sugar, and this alone is worth noting for a healthy grin. Black tea contains compounds known to reduce bacteria within the mouth, reducing plaque buildup. These cleansing properties are also found in ginger and cardamom, which helps maintain good oral health.

Chai Tea Can Soothe Flu Symptoms

Chai’s reputation as a stomach savior is no mystery to the connoisseur of teas. Cardamom contains digestive superpowers, while ginger is known for its ability to stave off nausea while strengthening the immune system.

Chai Tea Can Help Alleviate Menstrual Cramps

In studies, the cinnamon in chai tea was shown to soothe menstrual symptoms like pain, nausea, and bleeding. Ginger, an ingredient in Kroma Change Your Life Chai and other chai teas, is known to relieve cramping,

Additional Benefits of Chai Tea

Not only is it packed with numerous health benefits, but chai tea also possesses other positive attributes that make it even more appealing. Here are a few additional benefits of chai tea:

Chai Tea Is Beneficial to Your Skin

Black tea contains vitamins and minerals such as magnesium, zinc, and potassium, which help support and rejuvenate the skin. In addition to these compounds, drinking tea helps keep you hydrated, which is beneficial to your skin. Drinking water and nutrient-rich tea helps support a glowing and clear complexion.

Chai Tea Helps Support The Environment

Water is the world’s most valuable commodity, and drinking chai tea actually helps preserve this precious resource. It takes an estimated 1,120 cups of water to produce one cup of coffee. This calculation includes growing the coffee beans, harvesting them, packaging, delivery, and so forth.

It takes only 120 cups (90% less water than coffee) to produce the same amount of tea. This difference makes a significant impact on water resources.

Chai Tea Is Available in Many Forms

The diversity of chai tea far outweighs that of coffee. Tea is known to have over 3,000 variants, while coffee has a mere 41 variations. Chai tea is available in concentrated form, as bulk loose tea or powder. Each state offers a different flavor and degree of preparatory convenience. Change Your Life Chai Latte contains a traditional mix of Masala Chai tea as a base.

Chai Tea Is Often USDA Organic

Chai tea is often grown organically, which means it does not contain chemicals such as fertilizers and pesticides and is not genetically modified.

The Kroma Wellness Change Your Life Chai Latte includes traditional Masala Chai blended with wellness-boosting ingredients including organic turmeric, Cordyceps, and reishi mushrooms into perfect proportions for a nourishing drink to start your day.

We consider this “therapy in a cup” because it contains organic ingredients that are preservative-free, dairy-free, gluten-free, paleo-friendly, soy-free, GMO-free, and vegan.

Is Tea Less Acidic Than Coffee?

Simply put, black chai tea and green tea usually have a lower acidity than coffee. Acidity is determined by the pH scale (0-14), with the number seven being neutral and levels below four considered very acidic.

Black tea contains a pH level between 4.9 and 5.5, while coffee is far more acidic.

Many factors determine the pH level of a beverage, such as:

Dilution rate of the beverage
How long the tea steeps or the temperature at which the coffee brews
Whether or not there are additives in each

Steeping tea in water with a low pH level may decrease the tea’s acidity. Mix-ins such as non-dairy milk may also affect pH levels.

How To Determine Whether to Drink Chai Tea or Coffee

Determining whether chai tea or coffee is best for you may seem like an impossible feat, but it’s not as difficult as it may seem.

Here are a few things you can ask yourself to help determine which is right for you:

How many milligrams of caffeine do you typically consume per day?
How does your body react to the side effects of caffeine?
What are the health benefits (if any) of your caffeinated drink of choice?
Which ingredients do you prefer in your caffeinated beverage?
What are the health side effects of caffeine?
How do you prefer to drink your caffeinated beverage, hot or cold?

Asking yourself each of these questions will help you decide whether the benefits of chai tea caffeine outweigh those of coffee.

Why Switch From Coffee to Chai Tea?

If you are considering the switch from coffee to chai tea, here is a sum of the reasons why you should take the leap:

Chai has less caffeine than coffee.
Chai tea has many diverse health benefits.
Chai tea can help keep strong hydration levels, which are key to metabolic and brain function.
Chai tea may reduce stress.
From start to finish, chai tea production requires less water than coffee.

The Bottom Line

If you are looking to replace coffee with a healthier option, chai tea may be the alternative you need. Chai tea’s ability to boost health while encouraging healthy skin and a gentle energy boost is undeniably fantastic.

Kroma provides you with all the benefits of chai in our Change Your Life Chai Latte. We named it that because it really will change your life. Along with the many benefits of chai, it will also balance stress and anxiety with ashwagandha, curb allergies and boost overall health with reishi, and bring your body into balance by fighting free radicals with turmeric.

Kroma Wellness believes in the power of food as medicine. We choose the highest quality ingredients and purest, most nutrient-dense superfoods to create functional foods and beverages that transform your entire body.

Explore other nourishing, easy to make foods from Kroma Wellness here, and see how effortless it can be to make wellness a higher priority in your life.