This monsoon, have ‘chai-pakoda’ delivered to your door

Chinese infusions, herbal brews or tapri-style? Enjoy the rains with a cuppa home-delivered

It’s the most satisfying cliché in the book, steaming chai with a side of rain. But if you’re lazy like the rest of us, you can skip the stove routine and get unusual brews that outshine your teabag collection, delivered to your doorstep.

“We often associate chai and pakoras with the weather but most of us stuck at work or home don’t have an option but to have either green tea or the traditional Indian chai,” says owner of Tea Villa Café, Roopanshi Bhat. “We are trying to bring you the tea home, in different flavours to make the most of the rains,” she adds.

Spiced mango iced tea, anyone?

The Pantry

The Pantry, in Colaba, delivers a range of herbal infusions such as nettle and moringa tea. They help you build immunity against common monsoon colds.

The quaint Kala Ghoda café will deliver, Kashmiri kahwa, nettle and moringa tea besides a range of regular brews. These herbal infusions help build immunity against allergies and common monsoon colds. They’ll deliver even just one cup.

Where: Around Colaba
Cost: Prices start at Rs 105 for a cup
Call: 2270-0082 or 2267-8901

Tea trails

Lapsang Souchong tea was Winston Churchill’s favourite. If you’re up for this smokey Chinese tea, Tea Trails will deliver it.

Get tea from around the world from Bandra café Tea Trails. From a nutty South African Red tea made from a native plant to a Smokey Chinese Lapsang Souchong — apparently Winston Churchill’s favourite—that comes with a smoky aroma, you can choose one that comes delivered fully prepared. If you aren’t up for some experimentation, try the desi kulhad, masala or black pepper chai.

Where: Navi Mumbai, Andheri, BKC, Andheri, Malad, Kala Ghoda
Cost: Rs 80 onwards for a cup
Call: 88281-28336; or order online through Zomato

Tea Villa Café

Tea Villa Café delivers more than 80 kinds of teas including herbal and fruity infusions such as the strawberry tea (above).

Choose from more than 80 kinds of tea, from Japan, China, Korea and India. Two-year-old Tea Villa Café offers teas that the monkeys were known for picking in the Fujian province of China, green tea with Linden flowers, and a host of other Japanese teas.

Where: Bandra, Vile Parle.
Call: 80808-50000; minimum order: Rs 150
Cost: Start at Rs 75 for a cup

Chai Point

Chai Point is reinventing the tapri-style tea. Choose between the masala, lemon and others and order a flask-full. They deliver munchies too.

If you’re still dreaming of the kadak tapri chai, order a flask-full from Chai Point. The two-year-old tea flask delivery service offers masala, dum tea and Turkish chai, in addition to iced apple, cranberry, spiced mango tea. Each flask serves 10 people.

To go with your chai, Chai Point can also deliver samosa, bun maska, vada pav, sandwiches, muffins or banana tea cake; and for breakfast, poha or upma.

“It’s hard to make ‘good’, consistent tea every day,” says CEO Amuleek Singh. “We want to accentuate the experience around the everyday ritual,” he says.

Where: Lower Parel
Prices: Start at Rs 100 for a 500 ml flask that serves 5
To order: Download the Chai Point app, available on iOS, Android; or log on to http://chaipoint.com/subscribe.php. You can also order via Facebook.