It might feel tricky to order keto-friendly drinks at Starbucks, given all the carbs and sugars in the outlet’s drinks. However, there are sugar-free options that fit the keto regimen. The sugar-free chai latte Starbucks is one of those drinks, and you can always order it as a reconstruction of the original chai latte.
Original Chai Latte vs Sugar-Free Chai Latte
| Image Credit: Starbucks |
The original Starbucks chai tea latte combines chai tea concentrate, sugar, water, steamed milk, and a sweetener for enhanced flavor. Some ground spices such as clove and cinnamon are added for extra flavor.
The OG chai latte has a high carb content because of the sweetened chai concentrate or chai syrup and the 2% milk. These two ingredients have high sugar content. For this reason, the regular chai latte is not even close to being keto-friendly.
For example, the 12-ounce Tall size contains 34 grams of carbs. You don’t want to be putting that many carbs into your body as you will break your carb cycle or metabolism rate.
Since the original chai latte Starbucks isn’t keto-friendly, you’ll want to order the version that complies with the keto regimen. The sugar-free chai latte Starbucks comes in handy here. Without all the sweeteners and sugary flavoring, you can enjoy a keto-friendly drink.
5 Things to Know about the Sugar-Free Chai Latte Starbucks
Before you ask your barista to whip up the keto chai latte, there are some crucial things to note. Let’s see what these are right away.
1. The Sugar-Free Chai Latte Starbucks is Fit for Keto Diet
As mentioned previously, asking your barista to reconstruct the original chai latte into a keto-friendly drink is possible. Replacing all the sweetened and sugary ingredients with unsweetened and sugar-free ones results in a keto chai latte that will go well with your keto diet.
How to Order Keto Chai Latte at Starbucks
Since you want to end up with a sugar-free version of the regular chai latte, you should ask your barista to replace the milk and chai tea concentrate.
These ingredients will make for a reconstructed keto-friendly, sugar-free chai tea latte:
- 2 chai brewed tea bags
- 2 pumps of heavy whipping cream
- 2 shots/pumps of sugar-free cinnamon dolce syrup
2. Milk is Full of Sugar So Use Heavy Cream Instead
Dairy milk, even nonfat milk, is full of sugars, which push up the number of carbohydrates in your drink. To reduce the carbs, ask your barista to prepare your keto chai tea latte using heavy cream instead. Alternatively, you can try almond milk or oat milk.
The heavy cream may pack more calories, but you will need fewer sweeteners for the drink. Having fewer sweeteners means your drink can stay sugar-free.
3. Sugar-Free Does Not Equal Carb-Free
Contrary to popular belief, sugar-free doesn’t mean the ingredients or the resultant drink is free of carbs. Ensure you always read between the lines.
Sugar-free syrups contain small amounts of carbs because of the artificial sweeteners in them, such as sucralose.
One sugar-free syrup pump contains about 1 gram of net carbs, which can significantly increase as you add more pumps to your drink. The trick is to always specify to your barista how much syrup you want added to your drink.
Starbucks’ sugar-free syrups contain small amounts of maltodextrin, a highly processed food additive (made from plants such as rice, wheat, corn, and potato starch).
Even though the sugar-free syrups contain some carbs, you shouldn’t worry too much about adding a few pumps to your drink. That amount won’t be enough to destroy your ketosis progress.
4. The Chai Tea Concentrate is Sugar-rich So Avoid It
Starbucks chai tea concentrate or syrup is laden with added sugar, which will increase the number of carbs you ingest with each drink. The keto-friendly version of this is the unsweetened brewed Tazo chai tea bag. Be sure to ask your barista to use that instead of the concentrate.
5. Use SF Cinnamon Dolce Syrup or SF Vanilla Syrup for Added Flavor
For the keto chai tea latte Starbucks, ask your barista to use sugar-free vanilla syrup or sugar-free cinnamon dolce syrup to enhance the flavor and sweetness of the drink.
The two syrups contain about 1 gram net carbs and will be safe for your keto diet as long as you keep the number of pumps in check. This will depend on the size of drink you want. For the 12-ounce Tall size, use no more than three pumps of your preferred syrup.
People Also Ask
Do you have more questions about chai lattes in general or Starbucks keto chai latte? Here are some commonly asked questions.
Are Chai Lattes Sugar-Free?
Chai lattes in coffee shops are laden with added sugar, some even as much as 20 grams of sugar per serving. Most shops allow you to request the barista to reconstruct your drink to make it keto-friendly by replacing or eliminating some ingredients.
Is Starbucks chai latte keto?
Starbucks chai latte isn’t keto-friendly because of the high carb content in milk and sweetened chai syrup or concentrate, but the sugar-free version of this delicious Starbucks drink is keto-friendly.
References:
- Theketominimalist: Is Chai Tea Keto? How to Order a Keto Starbucks Chai Latte
- Thedietchefs: 23 BEST KETO STARBUCKS DRINKS & MENU OPTIONS FOR 2021 (WITH EXACT ORDERS)
- Mrskinnypants: Low Carb Starbucks Drinks The Ultimate Guide to Keto at Starbucks
- Ketoconnect: 25+ Keto Starbucks Drink and Food Options in 2022
- Lowcabyum: KETO AT STARBUCKS: BEST DRINKS AND FOOD TO ORDER
