The Most Common Questions We Get at Markets

In short:

• The Most Common Questions We Get at Markets come down to four: Is it a powder? How do I make it at home, is it sweet, and should I take Original or Caffeine-Free?
• Liquid Chai is a slow-brewed liquid concentrate made with real whole spices, organic tea, and fresh ginger. The spices are slow-brewed for depth while the tea is steeped only briefly, so the cup stays aromatic rather than bitter. To make one: pour the concentrate, top with your milk or water, heat it or pour it over ice, stir well, then sweeten to taste.
• It is sugar-free, vegan, and gluten-free, so the spices lead and you sweeten on your terms. Original is black tea-based for daytime; Caffeine-Free is rooibos-based and naturally caffeine-free rather than decaffeinated.

The Question We Hear Before Anyone Even Tastes It

Steam lifts off the sample jug, cardamom and fresh ginger hang in the air, and someone leans across the table and asks it before their hand even reaches the cup. “So what is it, a powder?”

It is a fair question. Most people want cafe-style chai at home but assume it means simmering a pot of spices for half an hour or settling for a chalky sachet, so they hesitate and order coffee instead. What settles it is one warm sip of Liquid Chai Original poured from a bottle, no fuss, no equipment.

We are a family-owned business brewing on the Sunshine Coast, and the answers below are the ones we give across the table, not a script written afterwards.

Why The Most Common Questions We Get at Markets Are Worth Answering Here

Most weekends you will find us behind a stall at markets around the Sunshine Coast, pouring sample cups from morning until the jug runs dry. The same handful of questions comes up every single time.

That repetition is useful. It tells us exactly where the confusion sits, and it means these answers have been tested on hundreds of people holding a warm cup, watching for the moment their face says “ah, that makes sense.”

“Is It a Powder or a Syrup?”

Neither. It is a slow-brewed liquid concentrate, brewed, not blended, made with real whole spices, organic tea, and fresh ginger.

The pour is a deep amber, closer to strong tea than to anything glossy or thick. Cardamom rises with the steam first, then the ginger arrives as a warm kick at the back of the sip.

Powders and syrups both have their place, and plenty of people enjoy them. They simply behave differently in the cup. Powders can read as chalky and often carry milk solids and sugar in the mix, while syrups tend to lean sweet before the spice gets a chance to speak.

“Brewed, not blended. You can smell the difference before you taste it.”

That is the line we use at the table, and it is the one people remember on the walk back to the car.

“Why Doesn’t It Taste Bitter?”

This is the follow-up question from anyone who has tried making chai from scratch and ended up with something dry and tannic.

The answer is timing. The whole spices are slow-brewed so they release their depth slowly, while the tea is steeped only briefly and then removed. Long spice time, short tea time.

That split is the part crafted with care in our small-batch brews at Sunny Coast. It keeps the cup aromatic and rounded instead of astringent, which is exactly what you want when you add milk.

“How Do I Actually Make It at Home?”

About thirty seconds, one glass or mug, no special equipment. Here is the order we talk people through at the stall.

1. Pour the concentrate into your mug or glass, using the dilution ratio printed on the bottle as your starting point.
2. Top with your chosen milk, or water for a lighter black chai.
3. Heat it on the stove or in the microwave, or pour it straight over ice.
4. Sweeten to taste, or leave it as it is.

Start with 15 ml liquid chai to 200ml milk, then adjust to your own strength. Some people want it bolder by the second bottle.

The Liquid Chai measuring spoon takes the guesswork out entirely, which matters on a weekday morning when you are not measuring anything carefully. Heat the milk and concentrate together — it brings the flavour out better.

“Is It Sweet?”

1. It is unsweetened, so the spices lead and you decide the rest.

The label claim is not a loose one either. Under the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code, administered by Food Standards Australia New Zealand, a liquid can only carry a sugar-free claim when it contains no more than 0.5 g of sugars per 100 mL.

We are not anti-sweet, and we say that often. Plenty of people at the stall add a generous drizzle of honey or maple syrup, and their chai is no less enjoyable for it. Unsweetened simply means the choice sits with you rather than with us.

“What Milk Should I Use?”

Whatever you already have in the fridge. Soy, oat, almond, and dairy all work, and none of them is the wrong answer.

Dairy softens the spice and rounds out the ginger. Oat gives body and a fuller mouthfeel. Almond keeps things light and lets the cardamom sit forward. For our own cups, we love Bonsoy, which froths beautifully and does not fight the spice.

“Can I Change the Flavour to Suit Me?”

This one usually comes from someone who already has strong chai opinions, which we always enjoy.

• Extra ginger warmth: grate a little fresh ginger into the mug before you heat it.
• Iced and long: pour over a tall glass of ice with cold milk on a scorching Aussie summer day.
• Lighter black chai: use water instead of milk for a cleaner, spice-forward cup.
• A pinch of cinnamon dusted over the foam if you have frothed your milk.
• Sweeten on your terms with honey, maple syrup, or nothing at all.

“Original or Caffeine-Free? Which One Do I Take Home?”

This is the decision that happens at the table, usually in under a minute, and it is the single most asked question of the day.

Liquid Chai Original is black tea-based with a gentle lift, which suits mornings and daytime. It is the common pick for people reducing coffee who still want something warm and spice-forward in their hands at 7am.

Liquid Chai Caffeine-Free is built on rooibos, so it carries the same bold warmth into the evening without the caffeine. The follow-up question is always the same: is it decaf? No. Rooibos is naturally caffeine-free, so nothing has to be stripped out of it.

A good number of people end up taking one of each, and honestly, that is the answer we would give if you asked us to pick.

“Is It Vegan and Gluten-Free?”

Yes to both, as stated on the label, along with 0g added sugar.

Worth knowing: Australia sets a strict bar here. Food Standards Australia New Zealand requires no detectable gluten for a gluten-free claim, which is tighter than the threshold used in many other countries.

We keep this plain rather than turning it into a lifestyle statement. It is simply chai that works for most households without anyone needing a separate drink.

The Questions That Come Up Once People Get Home

These arrive by email in the days after a market, and they are the practical ones.

Can I serve it cold? Yes. Over ice with milk, or lengthened with soda for something crisp and aromatic.

Can I cook with it? Yes. It works beautifully in baking, and it pours straight into a glass for something like our two-minute spiced chai cocktail when people are coming over.

How do I store it? No refrigeration needed — room temperature is perfect. It has a 12-month shelf life from the brew date, even after opening.

The Answer Behind All The Most Common Questions We Get at Markets

Every question at the stall circles back to the same worry: will good chai at home be too much effort?

It is not, because we’ve already done the brewing for you. Simply pour, add your favourite milk and heat — or pour it straight over ice. No need for the fridge, either. Room temperature is perfectly fine, even once the bottle is open, and the date printed on the bottle still applies. Give it a shake before pouring, since real brewed spice can settle. A spice-forward, aromatic cup is roughly thirty seconds away, hot or iced, sweetened however you like.

If we did not get to hand you a sample cup this weekend, take one home instead. Order your bottle of Liquid Chai and see what everyone at the table keeps asking about.