
This weekend while we were out for our weekly chore of stocking up on grocery at Galleria, I spotted Chaayos. The punch line read “Experiments with tea”. Reminded of our discussion we walked in to see what this cafe had to offer. As you enter you notice a big menu on a black board offering the Desi Chai with options of as many as twelve spices as add-ons. You could have it kadak, go the irani way with extra milk or pick the sulemani version without milk. Then there were the usual classic teas which are normally available in most of the cafes like the Earl Grey, Darjeeling etc. A hint of novelty was given by the list of specialty teas on offer like the Kashmiri Kahwa. Finally there were the wild experiments like tea with chocolate syrup and chili flakes which should raise curiosity in anyone. As much as I wanted to experiment, I went for my all-time favorite i.e. the masala chai or “Sab Kuch chai “as they called it.
You get a truly desi snack when you complement the masala chai with a maska bun which I had to order as soon as I saw it in the menu. It brought back the memories of having chai and maska bun right across the IIM main gate in Ahmedabad during my years at Nirma. Within a few minutes our tea was served and to our delight it had the perfect aroma and taste. It was just the kind of tea which you rarely get in regular cafes. The fact that they made it the way we would make it at home instead of using readymade mixes or tea bags, made all the difference.