Tansa
Early morning in our shop: a glass of masala chai on the counter and a pot simmering on the flame, the sunburst doorway behind.

Masala chai, made the slow way

Loose-leaf chai from our family tea shop in Mumbai. Blended by hand, tasted every morning, sent to your door.

Buy the house tin, £14 How to make it

तानसा/tānsā/ Mumbai, since 1938

Milky chai poured from a steel pot through a strainer into a small glass.

धार/dhār/ the pour

Poured from a height

Pouring chai from high up cools it a little and gives it a light, frothy top.

Our tea shop on the ground floor of a cream 1930s building in Mumbai, with a sunburst carved above the door.

घर/ghar/ our shop

A family tea shop, since 1938

Three generations of one family, on the same Mumbai street corner.

पान/pān/ the leaf

From the garden to the tin

We buy straight from four gardens, with nobody in between. This is what happens to the leaf before it reaches us.

  • Kotagiri ridge
  • Coonoor south
  • Sholur west
  • Upper Assam
01

Picked

Two leaves and a bud, by hand. That is where the flavour is.

April
02

Withered

Left in the open air until soft enough to roll.

18 hours
03

Rolled

Twisted to break the leaf and release its juices.

45 minutes
04

Dried

Left to darken, then dried with heat to hold the flavour.

4 hours
Freshly picked tea leaves, bright green. The same leaves after resting, soft and olive green. The leaves rolled into twisted strands. The finished tea, dark brown and dry.
Picked

चव/chav/ the taste

We taste every batch before it is sold

Each morning we taste new tea side by side with the last batch. If it does not match, it does not go in our tins.

Six white tasting bowls of brewed tea in a row on a teak counter, each with its dry leaf in a brass dish in front.
  1. Six cupsSame amount of tea, same water, same brewing time. A fair test.
  2. First thingWe taste before breakfast, when taste is sharpest.
  3. Twice alongWe go along the row twice to be sure.
  4. Only a matchAnything that does not match stays out of our tins.
Two men mixing loose tea by hand in a large wooden tray.

मिश्रण/miśraṇ/ the blend

Blended by hand

Tea from each garden changes a little with the weather. So we mix it by hand, a scoop at a time, until it matches our recipe.

That is why a tin bought in March tastes the same as one bought in October.

मसाला/masālā/ the spices

Five whole spices, ground fresh every week

The five whole spices in our chai: cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, black pepper and dried ginger.
  • Cardamomवेलची
  • Cinnamonदालचिनी
  • Cloveलवंग
  • Black pepperमिरी
  • Dry gingerसुंठ
Three friends laughing over glasses of chai at a street stall in the rain.

Nobody in this city drinks tea alone.

The house tin: bottle green with a copper lid and a cream sunburst.

डबा/ḍabā/ the tin

Our house blend

The chai we drink ourselves, every day. Made to be brewed with milk.

  • Size250 g, about 40 cups
  • TeaNilgiri hills, India
  • SpicesFive, ground fresh weekly

£14Free UK delivery over £30

See the shop

Everything for chai

Tea in a tin or a refill bag, the kit to make it the way we do, and gifts. Subscribe and the refill comes to you. Free UK delivery over £30.

The tea

Our house blend, and one rare garden
  • The house tin: bottle green with a copper lid and a cream sunburst.

    The house tin

    Our everyday masala chai. Strong, smooth and made for milk.

    250 g · 40 cups£14
  • A kraft paper refill bag printed with a green sunburst.

    Refill bag

    The same tea in a paper bag. Keep your tin and save £4.

    250 g · 40 cups£10
  • A large green paper bag of loose tea with a brass scoop and a cream sunburst.

    The big bag

    For houses that drink a lot of chai. About 20p a cup.

    1 kg · 160 cups£32
  • The garden edition tin: oxblood red with a brass lid and a brass sunburst.

    The garden edition

    One garden, one picking. This season: Kotagiri ridge, April. When it is gone, it is gone.

    200 g · 32 cups£22
The refill bag.

Subscribe and save

Never run out

The refill bag, sent when you need it. £8.50 a bag instead of £10, delivery is always free, and your first box comes with a free brass strainer. Skip or cancel any time, from your email.

How often?

A bag of 40 cups every 4 weeks suits one person with a mug a day and a spare at the weekend.

To make it

The kit from our counter
  • A hand-hammered copper chai pan with a brass handle.

    Copper chai pan

    Hammered by hand, tin-lined, with a solid brass handle. Copper heats evenly, so the milk does not catch. Makes four mugs.

    1 litre£38
  • A brass-rimmed tea strainer with a long brass handle, a few tea leaves beside it.

    Brass strainer

    Fine steel mesh in a solid brass rim, on a long brass handle. It ages beautifully.

    Brass£9
  • Four ribbed chai glasses, each etched with a small sunburst.

    Chai glasses

    The ribbed glass every Mumbai tea stall uses, with our sunburst etched on.

    Set of 4£16
  • A brass tea measure holding a spoonful of loose tea, a sunburst engraved on the handle.

    Brass measure

    Solid brass, the sunburst engraved on the handle. One measure makes one mug.

    Brass£9

Sets and gifts

Gift boxed, with a handwritten note if you like
  • A green gift box with a sunburst, holding the house tin, a brass strainer and four chai glasses.

    The starter set

    The house tin, the brass strainer and four glasses, in a gift box. Delivery is free.

    Gift box£39£34
  • The whole chai kit: tin, copper pan, brass strainer, four glasses and brass measure, with its green gift box.

    The whole kit

    Everything to make chai the way we do: the tin, copper pan, brass strainer, four glasses and the measure, boxed.

    Gift box£86£72
  • A green gift card half tucked into a cream envelope.

    Gift card

    Sent by email, spent on anything here. Never runs out.

    By email£30
  • A hessian sack of loose tea stencilled with a sunburst, a steel scoop resting in it.

    By the sack

    Our house blend for cafés and restaurants. Ask for a free sample.

    10 kgTrade
    Trade prices
Chai simmering in our copper pan on a gas hob at home, the green house tin open beside it with a spoonful of tea.

चहा/chahā/ at home

Make it at home

The spices are already in the tin. You need a small pan, milk and five minutes. This makes one mug.

  1. Boil the water150 ml in a small pan.
  2. Add the teaTwo heaped teaspoons, or one brass measure. Simmer for two minutes.
  3. Add the milk100 ml, and sugar if you like it. Let it rise twice.
  4. Strain and drinkPour through a strainer into your mug, hot.
Delivery
Free UK delivery on orders over £30, otherwise £3.50. We send within two working days.
Freshness
Blended in small batches. Best within six months of opening. Keep the lid on.
Returns
Not happy with your first tin? Tell us within 30 days and we will refund it.

दुकान/dukān/ for cafés

Run a café?
Buy by the sack.

We already supply about 40 cafés and two hotels. Ask for a free sample and our trade prices.

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