The first time you taste real Mumbai street chai, it changes what you thought tea could be. Forget delicate, floral notes, this is tea with backbone. 

Our Mumbai Street Chai captures that exact experience: bold CTC black tea, warming ginger and aromatic cardamom come together to create the kind of flavour that will make your mornings worthwhile.

This isn't just a blend, it's a love letter to every glass of chai we've served at our restaurant Chai Pani, and every chaiwalla who's perfected this ritual on Mumbai's bustling streets.

The Three Pillar Ingredients

Great chai doesn't need a lengthy ingredient list; it needs the right ingredients.

We've built Mumbai Street Chai on three pillars that work in perfect harmony:

1. Wagh Bakri CTC Black Tea is the foundation. CTC (Cut, Tear, Curl) isn't just a processing method; it imparts that robust, full-bodied flavour. Wagh Bakri has been India's trusted name since 1892, and their CTC leaves produce the kind of bold brew that chai vendors have relied on for generations.
   
   
2. Ginger brings heat, brightness and an almost peppery kick that wakes up your palate. It's the ingredient that makes chai feel like morning, no matter what time you're drinking it.
   
   
3. Cardamom is where the magic happens. These green pods carry an entire spice universe in their tiny seeds with notes of eucalyptus, mint, citrus, and a bit of floral. Cardamom is what gives chai that distinct smell and flavour.

The taste of our Mumbai Street Chai hits you in layers. The first sip is all boldness from that strong black tea. Then the ginger arrives with its sharp, warming bite, followed quickly by cardamom's aromatic complexity.

Together, they create something greater than the sum of their parts, a chai that's both robust and nuanced yet so simple.

The Chaiwalla

To understand Mumbai Street Chai, you need to understand the chaiwalla: the Indian tea vendor who is equal parts barista and neighborhood cornerstone.

(Chef & Spicewalla CEO, Meherwan Irani, with his favorite Chaiwalla in his hometown in India)

A good chaiwalla knows your preferred ratio of milk to water, whether you take extra ginger, and which regular hasn't shown up for their morning cup in a few days. They work from dawn until the last commuter catches the last train, brewing batch after batch in giant vessels blackened by years of flame.

This is street food culture that is an equalizer. The executive and the rickshaw driver stand shoulder to shoulder, sipping from identical glasses, united in the ritual.

Chai doesn't care about your job title.

Everyone needs that little cup of care, that little ceremony to break up their day.

From Chai Pani to Your Kitchen

When we opened Chai Pani in Asheville, we wanted to bottle that energy and the way Indian street food brings people together over flavourful, unpretentious food and drink. Our chai became a signature, something guests would order before they even looked at the menu.

Replicating street chai in a restaurant kitchen is one thing.

Capturing it in a blend that works in home kitchens? That took time.

We went through countless iterations, adjusting ratios, sourcing the right CTC tea, and finding the perfect balance of our spices. Mumbai Street Chai is the result of that obsession and dedication, a blend that works whether you're making a single cup or brewing a pot for friends. 

How to Make Mumbai Street Chai

The beautiful thing about chai is that once you have a solid base, you can riff. Our Mumbai Street Chai recipe gives you a perfect foundation that you can make your own.

• Traditional preparation: Bring equal parts water and milk to a boil, add the tea blend, let it simmer for 3-4 minutes, strain, and sweeten to taste. The most authentic sweetener is plain, white sugar. But, use whatever you prefer! This is the method that's been perfected over centuries.
  
  
• Want to mix it up a bit?  Maybe you add a crack of black pepper, a small piece of cinnamon, or a couple of fresh mint leaves. Maybe you whip it up frothy with a whisk or blend it with ice. This is your cup, do what brings you joy. 

The Cup That Connects It All

Every time you brew Mumbai Street Chai, you're participating in a ritual that happens millions of times a day across India. You're joining the morning rush at the train station, the afternoon break at a textile shop, and the late-night cricket strategy session.

You're also connecting to our story & Chai Pani, where we've watched that transformation happen with sceptical diners trying chai for the first time and gaining an understanding of what all the fuss is about!

We love to find those essential flavours that carry stories, then share them in forms that work in your real life.

Mumbai Street Chai isn't trying to be fancy. It's trying to be real, the kind of real that stops you and makes you say, "Oh. This is what chai is supposed to taste like."

Spread love, brew chai!
Alyse Baca, Culinary Director