Koffee with Kenna is a series that explores the best places to get a specific drink throughout Puyallup. For the first installment, I went to four coffee places around town and ordered the same drink at each spot: a 16 oz chai latte.

As the holidays are fast approaching, my favorite cozy drink has been a chai latte. The perfect blend of spice and sweet, to me it is the perfect fall drink.

While I do love a nice chai, it definitely is a new favorite, as I typically go for a more espresso heavy drink. But despite this, it still is a great choice for everyone.

Bigfoot:

The first drink I tried was from Bigfoot. The drink was not extremely expensive, but also not cheap, costing a little over $4. It was smooth, which is not as obvious as it may seem, as the spices in chai can frequently settle, making for a grainy and unenjoyable drink. But this was not the case with Bigfoot’s chai. It was the perfect amount of spice, present but not overpowering, creating a strong flavor. Overall, it was a near perfect drink and one that for sure set the precedent for the rest of the places I visited. 4.5/5

Starbucks:

The next place I tried was Starbucks. While I am a frequent customer at Starbucks, I never had tried their chai latte, probably for good reason. The drink was very milky, tasting a lot more like warm milk than a latte. The classic chai taste was there, but very faintly compared to the amount in the Bigfoot version. It was also the most expensive, just under $5, and over with tax. As a result, it was very disappointing. But despite all this, it was not grainy at the end, which is a win and redeeming factor. 2.5/5

Gravity:

The third place I went to was Gravity, a little stand next to the Puyallup Fair. While their chai was on the more expensive side, it was not as much as Starbucks was. The drink was more sweet, as it had a nice vanilla flavor added to it. This balanced out the amount of spice, making for a smoother latte. The espresso in it was a nice touch to it as well, really blending together with all the flavors. However, the end of drink was grainy, which made for a very gross last sip, almost like an unintentional cinnamon challenge, which made it lose some points. 3.5/5

Thr3e:

The fourth and final drink I tried was from Thr3e. It was the cheapest of the bunch, being that it was under $4, which was great. However, that’s about all I enjoyed of it. It did have spice, but it was milkier and resemblant of the Starbucks version. The espresso blended well like the Gravity version, and it felt smooth until I got a huge gulp of spice chunk halfway through drinking it. Once I opened up the lid, I noticed the spice had completely settled at the bottom of the cup, which made it clunky. Overall, it started good, but the spices didn’t stand the test of time. 2/5

After trying four different versions of a Chai Latte, I think the best version had to be Bigfoot’s. It was smooth, reasonably priced and had the best flavor. Next time you’re at Bigfoot, I definitely recommend checking it out for a nice and spiced mix up to your typical coffee drink.