Cafés
Chaibaba
About Chaibaba
Spiced tea has a long history of being made slowly and drunk quickly, and a chai counter runs on a different rhythm from an espresso bar. Chaibaba can be found at 1289 Ellis Street, a few blocks up from Bernard Avenue in the part of downtown Kelowna where cultural buildings, offices and independent storefronts are packed close enough together to make walking the sensible option.
Chai itself is not one thing. Depending on the kitchen it can be brewed from whole spices and simmered with milk, built from a concentrate, or served iced and blended once the summer heat arrives, and the spice balance shifts from cardamom forward to ginger forward from one place to the next. Most counters will adjust sweetness or swap in an alternative milk if you ask. If caffeine is a concern, it is worth checking what the base is, since some versions are built on black tea and others are not.
Ellis Street parking is metered and the surrounding lots fill quickly through the summer, when downtown carries festival and waterfront traffic on top of the usual weekday crowd. Coming on foot from the lakefront parks or from a hotel in the core takes only a few minutes and spares you the search. The phone is 250-717-5616 and chaibabatea.ca has the current details. If you are picking up several drinks at once for an office nearby, calling first is the difference between a short walk and a long wait at the counter.
Visiting Chaibaba
Getting there
In the Downtown neighbourhood of Kelowna.
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