What Starbucks chai tea lattes really are, are masala chai lattes, because the word "chai" simply means "tea," and there are a lot of varieties of tea lattes. Such as the London Fog which is an Earl Grey latte. Masala chai is the spiced tea from India that includes both chai (dried tea leaves) and masala (a spice blend that varies from place to place, but usually includes at least ginger, cardamom pods, cinnamon, and cloves). The traditional way of preparing masala chai is to simmer the masala spices in milk on the stove, and then add the tea leaves and water (sugar is often added as well). Masala chai has been made this way in India since long before milky drinks in the U.S. were referred to as lattes. Since masala chai wasn't very well-known by mainstream American coffee and tea drinkers, the word "latte" was added on the end and (unfortunately) the word "masala" was dropped from the beginning.

I just think this is important to note since it is true that calling it a Chai Tea latte basically means "tea tea", since the drink was originated in India, and so the word chai means tea and always will. The fact that the word masala was dropped when the drink got popular in America doesn't make the fact that we call it a "tea tea latte" not true anymore