India’s loved beverage is helping aficionados and connoisseurs brew an entrepreneurial success story, one cup at a time. From oolong to green, black and even white, teapreneurs are catering to those who seek a midway between the roadside tapri and a premium lounge at a five-star hotel. And tea lovers are spoilt for choice.A recent study—conducted at the Peking University’s School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences and published in the journal Food Quality and Preference—found that drinking tea makes people more creative. Tea contains caffeine and theanine, which improve mental speed, accuracy and focus, boosts people’s mood, and help them relax in a similar way to meditation.
From making the perfect cup of mystic masalas, enjoying it as a takeaway, sipping at some quirky or quaint ‘teafe’, to even ordering it online—the humble life-saving brew is going places like never before. And aiding in this journey are a host of enthusiastic brewmasters, who are making the every man’s beverage evolve into a redolent and luxury drink.
These teaholics are experimenting with a variety of blends, infusions, floral notes and tisanes to tickle and satiate the taste buds of a tea lover. In fact, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on his recent visit was so enamoured by a made-in-India olive tea that he now wants Israel to learn to process olive tea.
Chirag Yadav Chaipatty Teafe
Delhi College of Engineering graduate Chirag Yadav (34) wears many hats. A trained salsero, art curator, and passionate cook, Yadav started off his entrepreneurial journey with Chai Patty (chaipatti+chowpatty)—a learning centre in Bengaluru. Realising that something as important as chai, the most significant connecting factor was amiss in his creative venture, he shaped it as Chaipatty Teafe (tea+cafe), a chai shack in Indiranagar way back in December 2010. “We are a cross between a college canteen and roadside tea stall. We welcome everyone—from students, professionals, families, friends, couples, and even pets,” he says.
Yadav single-handedly manages his outlet with six dedicated staff members making it a one-stop destination for those who love their kulhad chai, freshly brewed and served steaming hot with their favourite snacks. The tea café doubles up as a mini art store with jewellery and home decor items and activity workshops—from salsa, pottery, bartending, to photography, and film-making being hosted regularly.
Radhika Batra Shah Radhikas Fine Teas & Whatnots
Tea ain’t just chai or green. It’s a cup of instant happiness, my ‘go to’ for the healing of mind-body-soul,” says Mumbai-based tea connoisseur Radhika Batra Shah (38), whose love for tea led her to become a tea stylist and start India’s first tea boutique—Tea Cup in Bandra in 2006. “There wasn’t anyone who felt deeply about brewing and blending great organic teas. I started my tea brand way before people even knew the word organic in India. The boutique was a complete tea story with fine teas from around the world, tea books, tea ware and delicious accompaniments that soon became the perfect spot for tea lovers,” she reminisces.
She has collaborated with the best organic gardens of India and China, learning and researching the leaf from picking to packaging to the art of brewing all through, and till date thrives on discovering new brews and keep innovating it. Her brand Radhikas Fine Teas & Whatnots was launched in 2013 as a signature line of teas and tisanes. Her premium brand offers 55 flavours of tea, a wide range of teaware in porcelain, glass, to Yixing, all handcrafted by artisans, and attractive gift sets from kettles to strainers, and even tea ceremonies, tea appreciation, tea bar, high-tea service, tea etiquette training, tea menu creation, et all. The brand can be found at all leading e-tailers such as Amazon, Scootzy, Snapdeal, Big Basket, Radhikasfineteas.com.
Anamika Singh Anandini Himalaya Tea
A tea drinker by birth, a tea sommelier by passion and a tea-taster by profession, Anamika Singh (46) says, “Tea connects to the soul as nothing does. And since it connects, I can relate to it and find happiness in every sip and so want to share it with tea lovers worldwide.” Her love affair with tea began 28 years ago when she decided to join her father Abhai Singh, a world-renowned tea specialist, and understand the finer nuances of the art of making tea. She went on to launch Anandini Himalaya Tea with her brother Kunal in 2013 to entice tea lovers into exploring the grand world of all the senses through its exquisite collection.
“We believe in knowing the source. We can pinpoint the weather, the area where it is grown, and the time of the year it is plucked and packaged. This goes not only for the teas but also for the ingredients that we use to create our handcrafted blends by our in-house tea sommeliers,” says the young teapreneur. The newest in her collection is a range of seven tisanes, and the most popular item is the set of breakfast tea. “We want to connect the source to the cup. We will begin with our estate back in Dharamsala and then move on to Assam and Darjeeling,” she adds.
Amuleek Singh Bijral and Prof Tarun Khanna Chai Point
Armed with a management degree from Harvard Business School, Amuleek Singh Bijral (41), and Prof Tarun Khanna (51)—also from Harvard—started the first pilot store in Bengaluru in April 2010, and since then their tea venture Chai Point has only moved places. Bijral says, “The most loved beverage in India is a huge emotional anchor for people.” And the largest brand of chai in the country has numbers to back its claim: 7.5 lakh member base on Chai Point’s loyalty programme (mobile-based) and growing at 20,000 new members every month, 100 stores across eight cities and around three lakh cups served every day.
Their offerings include varieties of hot chai, iced chai, shakes, and bite-sized snacks. “Our core offering is B2S—beverage (hot or cold), breakfast and snacks. We ensure great taste, quality and freshness, making the whole chai experience authentic. Tea leaves sourced from the best plantations of India, and brewed with 100 per cent natural ingredients and no artificial colour or flavour make it a special cup,” he adds. The technology-based beverage pioneer recently launched BoxC.in, the world’s first cloud-based beverage services platform that gives chai through Android-based dispensers.
Robin Jha, Asad Khan and Atit Kumar TPot
A chartered accountant, Robin Jha (32) founded tea café TPot with two other tea lovers in 2013 because he wanted to make a company around the bona fide pleasure of handmade tea. “Tea kindles conversations and the idea behind our café is to get people chatting over a cup of tea,” says Jha. The brand counts on offering premium service at dirt cheap price. “We are an affordable brand. A cup of tea costs anything between `20-50 while breakfast comes for `70-100,” says Asad Khan (32), co-founder and COO.
With around 40 types of tea, a tea lover is indeed spoilt for choice which can be sipped at its 27 outlets spread across the National Capital Region (NCR) or ordered online too. “We are focusing on Delhi, Noida and Gurgaon in NCR market, and our target is to have 50 outlets in this region. In the next three years, we will be a pan-India brand,” adds Jha. When the trio decided to scale up their operations, they stumbled on the first roadblock—creating infrastructure. But Atit Kumar (32), co-founder and CBO, quips, “We aim to be a full service ‘chai-nashta’ player in the out-of-home space.”
Snigdha Manchanda Tea Trunk
Snigdha Manchanda perceives tea as a lifestyle product and not a commodity. She trained under Japanese tea master, Nao Numekawa, and founded Tea Trunk in 2013. Her online brand curates finest teas directly from farmers and crafts them into unique tea blends with all natural ingredients. A trained tea taster who specialises in creating unique hand-blended teas, Manchanda (34) is also a certified tea sommelier. “All blends are 100 per cent natural. No artificial flavours or colours are used,” she quips. These luxury teas are available at high-end boutique stores, award-winning restaurants, cafes, spas and five-star hotels across India, and enjoyed in more than 10 countries.
“Look at tea rituals around the world. The beauty of tea is not inherent in any one kind of tea; the focus has always been on the experience around it. Tea tastings are passe. They are limited to sampling different teas. We craft tea experiences that tell the whole story. We don’t restrict ourselves to only those who are serious tea drinkers. Tea is for everyone. Let’s make it fun,” she adds. She popularised Tea Appreciation and Tea Tasting events in India, and pioneered the much-admired Chai Walk in Mumbai and organises Handcrafted Tea Parties.
Uday Mathur, Kavita Mathur, Sanjeev S Potti and Ganesh Viswanathan Tea Trails
Launched in late 2013 by a group of entrepreneurs—Uday Mathur (59), Kavita Mathur (54), Sanjeev S Potti (42), and Ganesh Viswanathan (51), Mumbai-based Tea Trails has changed the rules of the game in the cafe space. Food pairing is a quintessential differentiator that sets it apart from others of the ilk. It offers gourmet tea drinking experience to a discerning consumer who gets to sip more than 80 varieties of tea from across the world with a desi twist. “We use versatility of tea and pair it with a wide variety of foods—from exotic and spicy Asian cuisine to humble chocolate desserts,” says Viswanathan. The brand offers tea of various blends and added health benefits.
The styles range from white to green tea and oolong to herbal tea along with a variety of freshly brewed chais like adrak, pudina, five spices, masala, lemongrass, to choose from. Uday says, “Brewing tea is an ancient art, which is seldom paid attention to. We, at Tea Trails, understand the importance of brewing and steeping high quality loose leaf teas to perfection.” Tea Trails also offers bubble teas like the Taiwanese Bubble Tea and Tapioca Bubble Tea. It further specialises in an elaborate all-day dining experience with a special mention on tea-infused dishes—Burmese Tea Salad, Tea Marbled Eggs, Tea Infused Thai Bowl and more. After witnessing success and overwhelming response in Mumbai, Tea Trails has marked its presence in Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai, Vizag, Pune and Lucknow.
Vikram and Nikita Mittal Mittal Teas
Established in 1954 by late BD Mittal, Mittal Stores is the first-of-its-kind dedicated tea boutique in Delhi. Led by his son Vikram (54), a professional tea taster, tea lecturer and tea consultant, and granddaughter Nikita (26), who joined the family business after earning a degree in engineering like her father, the brand is known not only for its wide variety of teas but for an unforgettable tea experience. These exotic teas are available in beautifully handcrafted papier mache, wood, brass and silver containers which make for unique gifts.
Bala Sarda Vahdam Teas
Young teapreneur Bala Sarda comes with a lineage of over 80 years in the tea business—he is the fourth generation in his family to run a tea export business. Soon after finishing college, 26-year-old Bala joined his family bulk-tea export business, and realised that there are major gaps in the supply chain at the source. His solution to these was Vahdam (a reverse anagram of his father Madhav’s name) Teas, a home-grown direct-to-consumer e-commerce tea brand, in 2015.
Rishav Kanoi The Tea Trove
Rishav Kanoi (39) fell in love with tea as a teenager. He went on to join the family business after completing his studies in 2003. “But the tea industry was going through a bad slump,” he reminisces. Realising the huge gap in prices between premium quality and medium grade teas, he convinced his family to invest in upgrading their factories, and within a short time, they started producing one of the best quality teas in Assam.
Kausshal Dugarr Teabox
Tea is not an indulgence or an escape but a necessary interruption to a busy day,” believes Teabox founder Kausshal Dugarr (34). With years of connection and experience in the tea industry, Dugarr and his team reinvented the supply chain, effectively circumventing agents, auction houses, wholesalers and resellers, and launched Teabox in 2012. Based in Siliguri, Darjeeling—the home of the best teas of the world—Teabox brings tea to consumers in little over a week from harvest, redefining freshness. Over the years, the online tea brand has gained popularity and shipped over 40 million cups to more than 112 countries. It has an astounding range of 250 teas and six major tea types. “Our in-house experts assure that tea is manually cleaned for better taste, vacuum packed for freshness, stored in optimum conditions and is shipped to a buyer within 24 hours,” he adds. The five types of tea from six different regions are priced between `499 and `10,000 per 100 grams.
Parvez Gupta, Punit Poddar, and Soveet Gupta Udyan Tea
Siliguri-based Udyan Tea was born out of a strange concoction of frustration, realisation that good quality tea was mostly exported to foreign markets, and a deep passion for bringing finer and fresher teas for the masses to savour. Founders Parvez Gupta (30), Punit Poddar (30), and Soveet Gupta (28)—who hail from entrepreneurial families and come with varied academic backgrounds—came together to start ‘Udyan’.
“We strive to bring only the finest handpicked single estate tea as well as the most flavourful blends to the people,” says Soveet. Their combined experience in tea and technology helped them become pioneers in the e-commerce space for tea. Punit with 10 years of tea-tasting experience takes care of tea sourcing, and tasting. Parvez is responsible for technology and operations. While Soveet looks after marketing and business development. Punit quips, “We ensure that the appearance, aroma and taste of tea is nothing short of excellent.”
Pankaj Judge Chai Thela
If you cut me, I will bleed chai,” proclaims Pankaj Judge (33), management graduate from IIT Kharagpur. It was this undying love for tea that led him to start Chai Thela in 2015. “The idea behind this venture was to serve authentic (freshly-brewed) tea in a hygienic place. We refrain from storing tea in flasks and serve it hot with naashta (snacks),” says Judge. The compact model is focused on IT parks and colleges as their prime market. In barely three years since its launch, his chai cart dots 13 busy hubs across NCR, mostly at IT parks and colleges, and has also made a grand debut in Mumbai. He will launch a monthly subscription service for IT Park customers in April, which entails chai-naashta for just `899. Buoyed by the recent infusion of funds, Judge is planning to add more outlets in the coming months, and take his tea cart to other cities. But before scaling up, he is focusing on building a robust system and putting processes in place.
Nitin Saluja and Raghav Verma Chaayos
Houston-based IIT graduate Nitin Saluja (34) returned to India and started the first Chaayos café with fellow IITian Raghav Verma (31) in Cyber City, Gurgaon, in November 2012. “We wanted to give a contemporary interpretation to the age-old concept of chai adda or “tea room” culture—a place where chai is considered an integral part for every discussion. Our focus is to serve freshly brewed ‘Meri Wali Chai’ to every chai lover,” says Saluja. Chaayos has 53 chai cafés spread across six cities—Delhi, Mumbai, Gurgaon, Noida, Ghaziabad, Chandigarh, and Karnal, serving more than 12,000 cups of chai every day. Customers can walk into Chaayos or order it online and have it customised too.
The brand gives its customers the option of 12 add-ons producing more than 12,000 ways to make chai. The tea start-up is rapidly growing in the home delivery segment through which they deliver fresh chai in disposable kettles. “Three cafes in Gurgaon are open 24x7 to cater to round-the-clock tea cravings,” says Saluja. Each year, Chaayos launches three different menus to coincide with three important seasons. “If it was Aam Panna Iced Tea and Kalakhatta Iced Tea for summer, it was Shahi Chai for monsoon and Gur Chai for winter. The quirky favourites remain Honey Ginger Lemon Tea and Thandi Chai in saunf flavour,” says Saluja.