Current mood:  determined

everyone has their rituals. whether they take place daily, weekly, monthly, annually or even sporadically..whenever, whatever they may be. you name it. one of the things that i like to do whenever i get the chance is drink tea. but not just any tea. chai tea. and not just any chai tea. Borders brand chai tea. (insert trademark sign)

this fine drink was first introduced to me in the summer of 1999 and i’ve since been hooked. after moving to boston for school, i’ve introduced it to many of my friends/roomates. we all became hooked. this hot, creamy, cinnamony, spicy, sweet vanilla flavored drink was only available in Borders brand book stores, and the only accessible location was in a shopping mall in cambridge (which wasn’t very close to where we lived). so on occasion that we were in the mall, we would always make it a point to stop into Borders to grab a steamy cup full of this wonderful concoction.

after receiving our chai, we would stand in a circle and give a “toast” in honor of what we were about to enjoy. after our first sip, a collective sigh would generally follow. 

“ahh..”

what a damn good drink.

a religious experience to say the least.

anyway, the drink was such a hit that Borders also offered it in powdered form, packaged in tin cans so that you could take them home and enjoy as much or as little as you wanted at your convenience. all you had to do was add hot water. pure genius. 

we took full advantage of this. they came in 10 oz and 32 oz cans, and we would walk in and buy multiple 32 oz. cans at a time. we didn’t mess around. this drink was that good. my friend joe aptly described it as “liquid cinnamon toast crunch”. 

anyway, last summer while in california, i stopped in a couple of the borders locations to grab a cup, and to my surprise, the cafes had transitioned into a “seattle’s best” coffeehouse. i thought for a moment, “ok, maybe the two chains just merged and are combining the best of both worlds..” WRONG! i ordered their chai and it just wasn’t the same. it was bland. it was boring. it just didn’t measure up. the same goes for starbucks, dunkin’ donuts and all those other coffeehouses. even all the nice, specialty type tea places. Borders chai just had a very distinct and unique taste. 

upon return to boston i found, much to my delight, that the borders book stores out east were still in tact. and so i was enjoying borders chai as recent as earlier this year. but the nightmare became a reality when me and my friends went for another one of our “mall rituals” to Borders, only to discover that even it had officially transitioned to a “Seattle’s Best”. we asked them if they knew where we could find anymore borders chai, but to no avail. 

so i’ve gone at least 3 months now without a cup, and as of late, i’ve been having cravings for it. it’s hard for me to believe that something so good (and popular it seemed) could just fall off the face of the earth. there’s got to be some place where they keep supply of this stuff. i’m determined to find it. 

i’m presently in california, as i’ve already been to 3 Borders locations, each time hoping that one of them just might have some sort of remnant or artifact that can at least provide me with or give me clues as to the whereabouts of this seemingly extinct beverage. 

unfortunately, with each attempt, all i find are bright red signs that read “Seattle’s Best”. 

which leads me to my next statement: 

if you, or anyone you know has any information regarding the whereabouts and/or recipe of Borders Chai, please contact me ASAP.

ahh, i’ve always wanted to say that. 

anyone else ever watch “Unsolved Mysteries”? 

robert stack was the man. 

and may he rest in peace.


rock on,
=eric=