Steep On This: South Asian women-owned chai businesses to sip & support

STEEPED BY SAMIA #33 | 08.27.24
South Asian women make the coolest, yummiest, and most innovative chai.

Stovetop chai is how my dad and I start every morning. The smell of chai wafting from the kitchen is a welcoming scent. Its milky sweet, lulling, yet invigorating embrace eases me into the day.

• Unromanticized: Chai is my caffeine of choice and I grew up in an Indian household whose staple chai is Wagh Bakri
• Romanticized: Chai feels like a calm, slow exhale and the serene ripple of golden hour. Chai feels like I’m sinking through my chair and into the earth — and I’m reminded that life is more than just what I see or experience.

In the past two years, I’ve tried some delicious South Asian-women owned steeps and have made them a part of my tea station and routine. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting some of these founders over Instagram DM’s, in-person, or on Zoom calls. And they’re all carving unique pathways for themselves, all while sticking to their intentions and being real.

Scroll to the end of the post for our Abbasi Oat Mylk Chai recipe!

We need to support South Asian women-owned tea businesses with our dollars.

In America, they’re often small and up-and-coming businesses navigating an uphill battle of an industry and creating the best chai blends out there. If you look at the tea aisle in any major grocery store, and especially zoom into “chai” and “masala chai” products, you’ll see that it’s still mostly stocked with major non-South Asian owned businesses. No surprise there. If we look on social media, we see a bustling e-commerce world of delicious and unique chai blends. South Asian women are at the forefront of it all, imparting their own flavors and family lore into the mix.

There are so many reasons to support these women-owned tea brands. Oftentimes, they are:

• Preserving labor-intensive generational wisdom and cultural rituals for anyone to enjoy and be able to conveniently make (I learned this from Kola Goodies)
• Centering sustainable and/or equitable practices and often sourcing from single origin places or small farms where tea farmers & workers are treated well or own their land
• Creating opportunities for economic empowerment and awareness for their communities to rise along with them
• Building communities for people to feel seen and stories that add new layers beyond what it means to love a good hot beverage
• Testing and experimenting with the most lush and transportive spices, fruits, and teas to mix together delicious blends
• Becoming role models for BIPOC women to lean into what makes them special and create the products and stories they want to see

— And the list goes on.

I’ve put together a list my favorite South Asian women-owned chai blends to sip year-round and to gift to your friends & families! I tried my best to touch on 6 different kinds of chai blends and also mention a few other cool products these businesses offer.

Note: None of these are affiliate links! Just boosting good chai I like to drink, and I do mention any product giftings or if I work with them. Also, these are just the South Asian women chai brands I’ve tried! There are so many more. I’ve taken note of ones I’ve come across, and I’ve listed some at the end. Plus, a new Bay Area local chai spot to check out!

I. Alaya Tea’s Darjeeling Second Flush

✨ A consistently good afternoon chai with a slightly floral twist.
☕ Quick Link: Darjeeling Second Flush ($18 for 3.5oz)

In the late afternoon, deciding between a nap or a chai pick-me-up (sometimes both), I find myself wandering to the living room to ask my dad, “Do you want some chai?” And he’ll say in Urdu, “If you’re making it, I’ll certainly drink it.” I’ll pick out a blend based on the vibe and mood.

In my early chai exploration, I would occasionally find Twinings’ Darjeeling at the grocery store and loved the light yet distinct take it has on black tea. So, when I came across Alaya Tea and saw that they have a First and Second Flush Darjeeling, I knew I had to buy it and make it a fave.

The Darjeeling Second Flush by Alaya Tea is your reliable and consistent friend who is sometimes mysterious and surprising in how delightful they can be. Really keeps you on your toes. What I mean is that this darjeeling has such a clean taste, and you get subtle, floral waves of warmth with each sip. It’s the perfect afternoon tea, because it doesn’t feel heavy.

My dad prefers the taste of chai made with simple black tea leaves over blends with spices and flowers (I like both!), so Alaya Tea’s Darjeeling is a great middle ground afternoon tea for us.

Founded by Esha Chhabra and Smita Satiani, Alaya Tea has simple and lovely packaging, and I appreciate their focus on sustainability with loose leaf blends. On women in tea, they beautifully write:

Women are the backbone of agriculture in so many of these communities, be it in Darjeeling, Assam, or Uttar Pradesh. We are a company that celebrates the beauty of these women in the tea growing regions of the world.

— A note from our Founders, Alaya Tea

Also check out their: Assam + Ginger Chai, and Hibiscus Flowers.

Edit from November 2025: Alaya Tea announced they have closed as of October 15, 2025. Wishing the co-founders best of luck on their next chapters in life!

II. The Chai Box’s Sweet Monsoon Tea

✨ A tropical tea that transports you to summer year-round.
☕ Quick Link: Sweet Monsoon Tea ($13 for 2.5oz)

This past September, it was such a pleasure to meet The Chai Box founder Monica Sunny at the South Asian Literature & Arts Festival!

My good friend Aliya gifted me their Sweet Monsoon Tea a couple of years ago, and it is so delightful. The spices in their tea are hand-picked directly from farms in Kerala, India, which is where this chai takes its inspiration from.

When you take a sip of Sweet Monsoon, you’re drawn to the lush warmth of the clove and cinnamon that melds into layers of tropical sweetness from the mango and coconut. I love mango tea, and this is such a unique take you need in your tea pantry!

This chai transports me to the introspective and incisive atmosphere of humid, gloomy, and rainy summer days — though not frequent in the Bay Area, I’m transported places I’ve visited like New York, Malaysia, and Japan.

The Chai Box’s Chai Concentrate will be launching at Costco in September, so definitely keep an eye out for their amazing chai.

Also check out their: Jasmine Rani Blend and Chai Concentrate.

III. Herbs & Kettles’ Vanilla Lavender Chai

✨ A London Fog’s cool South Asian-American cousin.
☕ Quick Link: Vanilla Lavender Chai ($14 for 1.76oz)

The Vanilla Lavender Chai by Herbs & Kettles is so dreamy. If you know me, I love a good earl grey or London Fog, so this tea is addicting. The Assam black tea base, notes of vanilla & lavender, and the addition of spices (like cinnamon), all balance out so wonderfully. And especially topped with frothed oat milk + honey, it is so, so good.

I like to daydream with each sip, whisking myself to a European cafe with a scenic view, all while working from home or enjoying an afternoon break in my childhood bedroom.

Herbs & Kettles is founded by couple duo, Poorvi and Abe. I connected with them on Instagram, and they were so kind to send me samples of some of their tea and caffeine free blends!

Three things I love about Herbs & Kettles: a.) their branding and tea tin packaging is so lush and vibrant, almost like a storybook, b.) their tea selection is robust and exciting, anything from herbal teas to non-caffeinated latte blends with ashwagandha, and c.) they work with Prameya Foundation Red Panda Conservation Initiative to “prevent poaching and habitat restoration of Red Pandas in Darjeeling.”

Herbs & Kettles recently just launched an Earl Grey, so definitely take a look at that!

Also check out their: Rose Cardamom Chai and Masala Chai.

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IV. Kola Goodies’ Sri Lankan Milk Tea

✨ A dreamy & creamy instant-ish chai for your busiest days.
☕ Quick Link: Sri Lankan Milk Tea ($22 for 10 servings)

I met Kola Goodies’ founder Sajani Amarasiri on Zoom over 2 years ago, while I was funemployed. Kola Goodies, along with Saeyri, kickstarted my freelance career, writing copy for culturally-rooted DTC businesses. It’s been such a joy helping them launch their Oat Mylk Tea and their Masala Chai. Lots of memes, lots of good convos, lots of chai sipped and shared with Kola Goodies.

But what we really need to talk about is their Sri Lankan Milk Tea. I think it’s the gateway to becoming a fan of Kola Goodies and their lazy girl-approved chai experience. What is different is that Kola Goodies’ tea latte blends come with milk powder, ceylon tea leaves, and natural sweeteners (plus spices for their masala chai and cardamom fennel chai). It’s instant-ish chai but flavorful and no extracts!

How do I even describe the taste of Sri Lankan Milk Tea? It is so familiar, yet unique — making it an addictive, all-in-one steep. If they did a coconut milk tea with this base, I’m sure it would be so good!

There are times when I find myself needing a caffeine boost, but I don’t have enough time for nap or to make stovetop chai. So the convenience of microwaving water, mixing the sachet, and steeping / straining it, is so good.

Kola Goodies sourced their tea from Deniyaya and Ella, Sri Lanka, from smallholder farmers. It is so cool that Sajani is taking her heritage beverages, like kola kanda and kiri té, and turning them into convenient forms — where labor-intensive generational wisdom can live on and be appreciated around the world.

Sajani and I wrote an intriguing blog post about tea plantation workers and what she learned about the history of Thieves Tea during a sourcing trip — you should definitely check it out!

I’m proud to say that you can now find Kola Goodies’ Tea Lattes at select Whole Foods Market stores across the Bay Area & Northern California. You will defs find me at my local Whole Foods’ tea aisle being very annoying and excited about Kola Goodies. Store Locator here!

Also check out there: Masala Chai, Oat Mylk Tea, and Super Green Latte.

V. One Stripe Chai Co.’s Chai After Five

✨ A winter-y ‘Low Caff Chai’ with a fun, earthy twist: Hojicha.
☕ Quick Link: Chai After Five ($20 for 3.5oz)

We’ve come to the most winter chai in my tea cart: Chai After Five by One Stripe Chai Co. My bestie Renuka bought me this chai blend, after my curiosity for wanting to try a low caffeine chai (I’ve previously bought their Masala Chai & Its Haldi, Doodh! gift bundle). Especially when I want chai in the late afternoon or evening and don’t want to be up all night, this tea blend is a good choice.

When you open Chai After Five, you’re greeted with the woodiness of the Hojicha and a strong base of cardamom. This chai, to me, creates such a unique experience: its chocolatey, earthy, wonderfully cardamom-y. I love that One Stripe went with a Hojicha base instead of decaf black tea (I love a good coffee shop Hojicha latte with vanilla syrup).

Farah Jesani (my “Indian women under 5 ft. tall club” kindred!) is a chai founder I’ve connected with on Instagram, and I love how much she’s grown One Stripe’s community these past few years, expanding into coffee shops and cool indie markets, especially on the west coast. With a mission for single origin tea, they work with Chota Tingrai in Assam, India to bring us these delightful tea blends with the funnest names.

Also check out there: Chai Me At Home and Masala Chai Concentrate.

VI. The Tea Heaven’s Kashmiri Kahwa

✨ A rose garden in tea form with this fragrant Kashmiri Kahwa.
☕ Quick Link: Kashmiri Kahwa ($20 for 3.5oz)

My brother Sufyan gifted me this Kashmiri Kahwa blend by The Tea Heaven from a trip to Seattle in 2022. It was such a meaningful thing because it was right after my dad came back from his first month-long hospital trip when he was receiving treatment for AML Leukemia. When my dad came home from the hospital, I got to make this Kashmiri Kahwa as afternoon chai for my family and Azra baji, my best-friend cousin Safa’s mom, who was visiting from Malaysia. This tea is a treasure in my collection!

When you open the Kashmiri Kahwa tin, you see this beautiful mix of green tea, rose petals, saffron, cardamom, cinnamon and more, all mingling together and perfuming the air around you. This tea blend translates to a stunning steep. When you spoon it into your chai pot and let it boil with water and your preferred milk, you’ll see that the saffron spreads a lovely yellow color around the surface. It is so aromatic in smell and taste!

I connected with the founder Harshada Bansal last year over Zoom, and I was so struck by her family background in the tea business, witnessing the inequities in the tea industry firsthand. She decided to venture out on her own to start The Tea Heaven, after cultural barriers made it hard for her to inherit her family’s tea business. The Tea Heaven subverts historic tea industry norms by way of recognizing environmental impacts of the industry, sourcing from small farms where tea workers are treated fairly, and creating eco-friendly tea bags.

Also check out their: Mango Black Tea and Cardamom Chai.

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🌀 The Abbasi Chai Experience:

My dad and I are varying degrees of lactose sensitive. During the pandemic, we scoured our local grocery stores for the perfect plant-based milk for our morning chai: Oatly Full Fat Oat Milk. It creates such a good texture, creaminess, and thickness. Enjoy our chai recipe!

SERVES: 2 People (No Cats)

INGREDIENTS: Wagh Bakri Loose Leaf Black Tea, Water, Oatly Full Fat Oat Milk, Kirkland Evaporated Milk (optional), and any fun, funky, flavored chai (optional).

HOW TO CHAI:

1. Add 3/4 mug of oat milk, 3/4 mug of water and a splash of evaporated milk to your chai pot with 2 tsp of Wagh Bakri black tea and optional 1 tsp of a fun flavored chai to your chai pot
2. Bring to a boil, stir, and let it simmer on low heat for 6-8 mins. The heat should be at the point where the chai looks like it’s lightly simmering and the chai granules are moving in masses of foam but not aggressively where it’s boiling over.
3. When you’ve reached your desired chai color and strength, turn it up to high heat for a bit. Then, turn off the stove, strain the chai into mugs, add sugar (my choice) or honey (my Abu’s choice) or drink it unsweetened depending on your preference. ENJOY.

— Recipe by Samia & Farooq Abbasi

📍On The Go: Elaichi Co. Chai in Berkeley, CA

If you find yourself in Berkeley, check out Elaichi Co. near UC Berkeley campus! It is owned by a South Asian-Muslim Gen Z couple, Muhammad “Mojo” and Zainab Joya. They have a yummy assortment of chai (including oat milk chai) and fun fusion pastries & desserts to snack on, to fuel your work or school day. Plus, they’re always doing cool events and pop-ups, bringing in local businesses and community members.

Also, shout-out to Chai and Vibes, a cool Bay Area community pop-up org! They recently did a block party together!

🌸 More South Asian Women-owned Tea Brands:

Brook37 Tea, Chai Diaries, Chai Five, Diaspora Co. (just bought their Chai Masala!), Simply Bhonu, Teadrops, SOUL CHAI, and Aaja Chai.

^^ If you know of any South Asian-American women owned chai businesses not on this list, happy to add your recs!

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END NOTES // I had a lot of fun writing this blog post in the past few months and reflecting on my favorite steeps. What I will leave you with is: it’s so worth it to look into how you’re spending your dollars and where those dollars are going, when it comes to the tea you’re drinking. By sipping mindfully, you’re benefiting an ecosystem of real people (instead of just helping big companies get richer) when you support small tea businesses. — S.A.

Image Credits: Chai product images from brands’ websites. All other pics are by me. Stovetop chai pics are not a completely accurate depiction of brands’ loose leaf chai blends, because many were mixed with Wagh Bakri black tea upon my dad’s request, lol.

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💫 Catch Up:  

07.26.24 | In The Liminal: My life-long relationship with Liminal Spaces

STEEPED BY SAMIA #32 // IN THE LIMINAL Vol. 1: Down, down, down, The Liminal rabbit hole. Where will it take us?

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💌 About This Blog:

Steeped by Samia is a space where I can simmer on thoughts & curiosities about life, liminal spaces, digital culture, & more. Far too often, my writing ideas fizzle out in energy; I never get to see them to their full potential. While building my rhythm with writing, I want to share these stories with you. 

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