What does plant based chai (tea) mean? Isn't all tea plant based?

Plant based chai
@pitstop (15042)
Australia
April 28, 2025 4:27pm CST
I saw this pack of tea at work today and it claimed to be plant based chai (tea). How is that different from all other tea? Isn't all tea (and coffee) got from plants? I wonder if this was a marketing ploy or there was something special about this tea. It's ingredients has tea leaves and a bunch of usual preservatives etc. Nothing unique that I could make out!
10 people like this
6 responses
@NJChicaa (122583)
• United States
28 Apr
I don't know much about chai but I do know that it is a spiced drink with tea and *I think* some dairy. This may be an instant mix that contains some kind of dried soy or oat milk instead of milk powder.
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@pitstop (15042)
• Australia
29 Apr
That's a very good point and I feel it may be to do with added ingredients that are plant based.
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@DaddyEvil (146705)
• United States
28 Apr
Yes, but.... You also see that it says it is Chai Latte, right? Some Latte chai teas contain dried milk to make them creamy tasting. Apparently they mean only the Chai part is plant based and the latte part, in this case, might not be.
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@NJChicaa (122583)
• United States
28 Apr
or could be some kind of plant-based dried milk
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@pitstop (15042)
• Australia
29 Apr
Very good point. I assume this is a latte with 'milk' that may have plant based milk. I looked at the ingredients and am.not sure what to make out though
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@DaddyEvil (146705)
• United States
28 Apr
@NJChicaa True... That's why I said it might not be...
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@FourWalls (74140)
• United States
29 Apr
I see “plant-based mashed potatoes” and laugh! Actually, I think some people won’t use “real” dairy products so they’ll use artificially processed chemicals made from plants to taste something like dairy.
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@pitstop (15042)
• Australia
29 Apr
Ok. Shouldn't that be labeled as dairy free?
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@pitstop (15042)
• Australia
29 Apr
@FourWalls well, that would confuse anyone.
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@FourWalls (74140)
• United States
29 Apr
@pitstop — you ask a very valid question! It’s something I don’t understand at all. We have a coffee creamer here called “Coffee Mate,” and it’s touted as non-dairy creamer. It’s certified by the Orthodox Union as kosher; however, the Orthodox Union has it listed as DAIRY!
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@RasmaSandra (84398)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
28 Apr
I believe that is what is known as organic,
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@pitstop (15042)
• Australia
29 Apr
Organic would be a separate 'label' and being plant based does not make things automatically organic.
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@aninditasen (17000)
• Raurkela, India
29 Apr
These are just deceptive methods to sell products.
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@pitstop (15042)
• Australia
29 Apr
I wonder if this has to do with the source of milk as others have pointed out.
@LindaOHio (187306)
• United States
29 Apr
I don't have a clue.
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@pitstop (15042)
• Australia
29 Apr
Have you had plant based food?
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@LindaOHio (187306)
• United States
17h
@pitstop A long time ago. It wasn't very good back then.
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