Hi there,

My name is Kavi and I'm so excited to share my chai with you.

In India, masala chai (spiced milk tea) is a large part of the culture.  It's custom for most families to make chai every morning, often more than once a day. It's a default drink when you have guests over, you meet someone out and about or for a meeting, and is closely tied to community building. Chai wallas (chai street vendors) are somehow present everywhere.

While I got started with making and drinking chai at a later age (a few years after college), it's been a meditative part of my morning routine for some time now. Over the past few years in Bend, I've really enjoyed sharing my chai with friends, coworkers, and folks. Those trying it for the first time, often remark that they haven't had any chai like it before. Most American "chai tea" (side note: saying tea after chai is unnecessary as chai means tea) is overly sweet and has an unusual flavor profile, often dominated by cinnamon.

The chai I make is similar to what you'd find in India, though I want to note that India is a very diverse country, and like most food, chai is likely to vary by region.

I learned how to make chai from my parents. Over the years, I customized it to my taste and settled on a simple but balanced chai recipe, with freshly-grated ginger, freshly-ground cardamom, a pinch of chai masala (spice mix), Indian black tea, a teaspoon of turbinado sugar, and whole milk (traditional) or oat milk (alternative). It's simple, but with the right balance, it's the perfect drink to start the day (or recharge mid-day).

My plan is to make the fresh chai in small batches distributing it through coffee shops, with a plan to offer chai-making workshops in the near future, so you can learn how easy it is to make it yourself at home. I hope you'll enjoy it.

Thanks,

Kavi