Tea For Two

For a long time, the only place to catch up with loved ones and enjoy a leisurely cup of tea was your home. Not anymore, thanks to Anirudh Poddar and Aditya Ladsaria, co-founders of Chai Break, who have made tea drinking a pleasurable and social experience. Move over coffee, its time for tea!

- Hardika Panchal

SURE COFFEE IS COOL AND sophisticated, but tea has its own charm. Nothing quite wakes you up like a good ol’ cup of chai, and this is especially true in India. Thanks to our long-standing romance with tea, we have put our own unique spin on the simple British black tea, elevating it to something else. We have a tea for all seasons and reasons—tea with medicinal value (adrak chai), tea for a quick break (cutting chai) and one reserved for special occasions, elaichi chai. No matter how remote the location, you are sure to find a tea stall in this country. Given the popularity of this humble beverage, it’s a surprise there aren’t as many tea cafés as there are coffee shops.

Anirudh Poddar and Aditya Ladsaria felt the same way and decided to change this, and Chai Break was born in Kolkata in 2010. Today, it is one of the most popular all-day casual dining spaces in the city—not just with the youth but also older customers. Since its inception, the chain has grown by leaps and bounds and established a presence across the country with 14 outlets and more in the pipeline.

Humble beginnings

“Both Aditya and I thought that there were a lot of cafés specialising in and selling coffees, but there were no chai chains so we thought of creating one,” says Anirudh Poddar, the co-founder of Chai Break, which offers Italian, Indian and Chinese food, along with more than 30 varieties of teas and other drinks. Although their main target is the youth, they do have a customer base of all age groups, and this reflects in the menu as well.

“At Chai Break, our USP is that we are the only place that serves a thin crust pizza with a